What is the Kodak Charmera blind box camera craze and why is everyone trying to get one?
It's been dubbed the "Labubu of cameras”, and getting one is almost impossible unless you have really fast fingers.
The Kodak Charmera. (Photo: Reto Productions/Kodak)
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Step aside Labubu, you ugly-looking grinning doll monster that for some silly reason some people find really cute, a new collectible craze is in town.
Meet the US$30 Kodak Charmera, a tiny digital camera on a keychain with retro looks that comes in a blind box and features seven designs: Six standard ones and a special secret edition version.
Made in collaboration with Reto Production, the Kodak Charmera features a style inspired by Kodak's single-use disposable camera from the 1980s called the Fling, and lets you record both photo and video. The secret edition comes with a transparent shell that shows off the camera's internals.
Weighing in at 30g, the Kodak Charmera shoots 1.6MP images with the ability to add Kodak frames, filters, and a date stamp, just like something you'd see in an old film camera. It stores the images on to a microSD memory card (but it doesn't come with one), and you can transfer the files out using the included USB-C cable.
SO WHY ARE PEOPLE GOING CRAZY FOR IT?
"There's a huge interest in it because it's easier to shoot than shooting actual film which is tedious and costly when you count film, development and scanning costs," said Shawn Low, founder of Camera Assembly, which sells and repairs film cameras.
"But as a film person I just think they are trying to jump on the blind box hype because the camera is toy-like and does not replicate the experience of actually shooting film."
So far, demand has been ridiculously high after the Kodak Charmera went viral on social media thanks to videos of the blind box unboxing experience. It's pretty similar to the Labubu craze, which had also been mocked in a recent South Park episode.
THE “LABUBU OF CAMERAS”?
Social media pundits such as mrbrown have also called it the "Labubu of cameras", and the popularity of its blind box cameras has helped raise the profile of the 133-year-old photography company on social media, which had warned investors last month that it may have to cease operations. Kodak said that it may not be able to pay its upcoming debt obligations of US$500 million and may have to shutter its doors.
Like Fujifilm, which has successfully made the pivot into pharmaceutical, cosmetics and healthcare by using its expertise in chemicals that were developed for film processing, Kodak has also tried to do the same thing with a US$765 million loan from the US government in 2020.
It's not clear when this will start paying off, as the company's 2025 second quarter financials reported a net loss of US$26 million, a decrease from a net income of US$26 million from the same quarter last year.
That said, with the Kodak Charmera selling out every time there's stock, perhaps there's hope yet for Kodak to find success with more blind box products. Otherwise, if Kodak has to close down, the Charmera could become even more limited than it already is.
WHERE CAN YOU GET ONE?
The Kodak Charmera is sold online at the official Retopro store, but you can also pick one up at authorised third party stores such as 8storeytree. That said, whether you can get one is another issue altogether. The official second preorder was launched Sep 30, and they sold out within seconds. There's no word yet on when the next preorder will take place. Find the list of official retailers here.
