Yashica Funtastic overview: Is that this tiny Y2K digicam truly enjoyable?

Keychain digicam mania is upon us. Although tiny cameras have been round because the spy-camera period of the Minox, the arrival and unprecedented success of the Kodak Charmera final yr appears to have kicked the present pattern for thumb-sized, imperfect digital enjoyable into overdrive.

It appears that nearly each month one other copycat keychain digicam seems in the marketplace. More not too long ago, a few established retro digicam manufacturers have additionally jumped into the miniature digicam enviornment. One of them is Japanese model Yashica, which not too long ago launched its Funtastic vary (Approximately AU$38–45, relying on the model).

Naturally, I needed to give certainly one of these little cuties a run. But is it truly Funtastic?

The tech

Weighing simply 22 grams and measuring 6.3 x 2.2 x 2.5cm, the Funtastic is broadly comparable in measurement to the Kodak Charmera, though it’s barely lighter.

Made from ABS plastic, it encompasses a 0.96-inch 180-degree flip display and a plastic f/2.8 lens, equal to round 35mm in full-frame phrases. There are two rear perform buttons, a top-mounted energy button and a shutter/perform selector.

Shutter velocity is round 1/125 sec, whereas the main target vary runs from 30cm to infinity.

A tiny entrance LED fill mild could be switched on or off. Underneath, there is a microSD card slot, formally rated for playing cards as much as 64GB. I used a 128GB card with none points. There’s additionally a USB-C port for file switch and charging the inner 200mAh lithium-ion battery.

Inside is a 1/4-inch, 1MP CMOS sensor. Yashica claims 1440 x 1080 JPEG stills and 30fps AVI video on the identical decision, though the recordsdata are output at 980 x 1280 pixels for stills and 1280 x 720 pixels for video as soon as processed and cropped natively.

The Funtastic affords 4 filters along with the usual color profile: black and white, sepia, a pale inexperienced forged and a cool tone.

There are a number of variations out there: Peanuts Sweet Dreams Home, as reviewed right here, Snoopy’s Summit in inexperienced, Hello Kitty in purple, and the blue Yashica Boy, which is normally a bit cheaper. A charging cable and themed keychain are included within the field.

In use

In the hand, the Funtastic truly feels moderately effectively made, particularly contemplating its measurement and worth. The flip display feels sturdy sufficient, whereas the buttons and menu system take a couple of minutes to get used to. Fortunately, there aren’t many choices to navigate.

Power it up and also you’re offered with photograph, video or playback modes. Dive into the final settings and you will find decision choices, the essential format and quantity controls, manufacturing facility reset, date and time settings and never a lot else.

Once you’ve got mastered the lengthy and brief presses on the selector buttons, it is all fairly easy.

As with different keychain cameras I’ve tried, nonetheless, the display and filter results could be tough to see correctly whereas taking pictures.

The flip display is beneficial for selfies, offered you may have lengthy sufficient arms, and it can be utilized in a TLR-style association for low-angle photographs. Unfortunately, the ensuing picture is the other way up when used this manner.

The fill mild is much less spectacular. It’s significantly underpowered and is absolutely solely helpful at distances of round 40cm or much less, though that is hardly uncommon for a digicam of this kind.

If you are anticipating the Funtastic to provide photos that even vaguely resemble these from a basic Yashica movie digicam, you are going to be disillusioned. That’s merely not what this digicam is about.

The commonplace color profile has the looks of a dodgy early-Nineteen Eighties tv display. Images are harsh and distinctly retro, with loads of fringing and chromatic aberration, barely blown highlights and a noticeable green-magenta forged. White steadiness may also differ noticeably between scenes.

And that is form of the purpose.

The different filters are considerably restricted in quantity, so I discovered myself sticking largely with the usual color mode and black and white. The latter is definitely fairly nice and possibly my favorite of the out there choices.

Video is recorded in a retro 4:3 format and makes use of the identical filter profiles. It’s extraordinarily shaky when handheld, as you’d anticipate from a digicam this small.

The mixture of the color results and 4:3 side ratio is presumably supposed to duplicate the look of a Y2K-era video digicam, which is able to enchantment to anybody chasing that exact model of nostalgia.

The outcomes

Features: ★★

The Funtastic is pretty restricted on the subject of options and filter choices. The flip display is beneficial, significantly for selfies, however there’s little else to get enthusiastic about.

Experience: ★★ 1/2

It’s actually enjoyable to make use of, however the restricted filters and comparatively poor picture high quality take a few of the shine off the expertise when you get the recordsdata onto your laptop or cellphone.

Value for cash: ★★★

Compared with the Kodak Charmera, the Funtastic represents cheap worth for cash. A couple of extra tips and filters would have pushed the rating increased.

The wrap-up

The Funtastic is undeniably cute. It’s enjoyable to have a look at, enjoyable to hold round and enjoyable to shoot with, and I’ve little doubt that Peanuts, Snoopy and Hello Kitty followers will love the themed variations primarily based on seems to be alone.

But is there actually any ‘tastic’ to the Funtastic for a critical photographer?

There is certainly enjoyable available with the imperfect photos produced by keychain cameras. That’s their enchantment.

But in contrast with the Kodak Charmera and Holga keychain cameras I’ve not too long ago used, the Funtastic feels a bit underwhelming. Its comparatively low picture high quality and restricted collection of quirky filters depart the ‘tastic’ half considerably skinny on the bottom.

That mentioned, it’s a step above the generic keychain digicam clones flooding the market, and the themed editions give it a degree of distinction. If you are a Snoopy or Hello Kitty fan in search of a tiny digicam to throw in your keyring, there’s lots to love.

For everybody else, although, there are extra entertaining methods to spend AU$40.