The Thumb-Sized Keychain Camera Everyone Wants (The Kodak Charmera)
*watch the full unboxing here
This is the camera everyone’s been talking about.
It’s called the Kodak Charmera - a little camera the size of your thumb that attaches to your keys.
And it’s not just a toy - it actually works.
Plus it comes in a blind box, giving you a chance at 7 different styles.
Like many others, the moment I saw it, I wanted it.
I had been waiting a long time for someone to make something I could unbox but there was never anything photography related.
Fast forward a few months and this camera has sold out pre-orders 4 times and is still one of Kodak’s best sellers.
Today I’ll be giving you my thoughts on the Charmera.
Let’s begin.
Unboxing
What’s fun about the Charmera is that it’s not only a keychain camera, but it also comes in a blind box.
If you’re unfamiliar with blind boxes, they’re basically just randomized collections of stuff, where the thrill lies in opening the box not knowing which one you’re gonna get.
You’ve probably heard of Labubus which had been massively popular as of late.
The Kodak Charmera comes in 7 different styles, one including a secret rare transparent color scheme.
The secret rare appears only one in 48 boxes, so not terrible odds, but still hard to get.
In my opinion, the Clear and Blue are the best looking ones, although Yellow and Red are nice as well.
So I’ll be unboxing as many as it takes to get either one; you can watch the full unboxing in the video link above.
Features
Although specs and features aren’t the point of the Kodak Charmera, they’re still worth mentioning.
The camera itself has a 1.6 MP 1/4-inch CMOS sensor.
It shoots JPEG only and surprisingly video as well.
1440x1080p at 30 fps is actually pretty impressive, and it’s great for getting that old digicam look.
If you shoot video with this camera I’d recommend holding with two hands as it’s very sensitive to shakes.
Also be careful when touching the camera - it’s quite sensitive to taps so it’ll pick up the noise of your fingers in audio.
Your best bet for decent video is to hold it with four fingers and keep it as still as possible.
That way you can get the low-quality look without it being completely botched.
The camera sports a 35mm f2.4 lens.
In my opinion, this is the perfect focal length for this style of camera.
It’s my favorite focal length and it’s suitable for everyday photography, especially hangouts, parties, road trips, and making memories.
Initially I was worried they’d put something wider on this camera like they’d do commonly with fixed consumer type cameras, but they stuck to 35 for this one.
And it’s great - not too wide, not too tight, no complaints.
The camera also has a 0.96 LCD screen to compose and scroll through the menus.
It’s decent enough for composing the shot and framing it, but no crazy level of detail will be shown.
I was surprised however, how you can actually see exposure changes.
Meaning if you point at the sky vs the ground the camera will show that exposure difference on the LCD screen.
It takes a couple of seconds but it means you can actually control the exposure by pointing the camera a certain way.
Since the camera is fully auto and you can’t pick the focus area, I’ll use this to expose for the highlights vs the shadows.
It’s basic, but it’s more than I was expecting.
The Charmera does have a laughably small viewfinder that I think they added just for kicks.
It’s tiny, doesn’t show accurately what’s your photo’s gonna look like, and is really just a pin hole.
And 99% of your photos will be taken on the already small screen, but I like the design addition.
Now in terms of storage, the camera actually does have an internal memory.
With it, you can take a whopping 2 pictures.
I kind of laughed at this when I first turned the camera on because it feels like Reto also added this for shits and giggles.
Both the viewfinder and internal memory, although impractical, are great design implements - because they keep in line with the “mini camera” style.
You do want to get a micro SD card though, as that’s where most of your pictures will be stored.
The camera takes up to 128GB, but you really don’t need that much.
I myself got a 16GB SD and with that alone I can take more than 56,000 pictures.
Logically, I don’t even know if I’d fill that up in my lifetime with this camera.
However, you’d probably want a little extra storage if you’re shooting video.
So I’d say 8-16GB is perfect, as those SD cards will cost about the same as the smaller ones anyways.
The camera charges via USB-C, so it’s conveniently modern - it’s crazy how it took so long to get that from Apple.
The battery is tiny, so it doesn’t last super long, but also charges really fast.
There are also many different filters and framing options to play around with.
Personally, I liked the option to stick on a date stamp to every photo.
It makes it feel more film-like and I can remember when I took the photo.
The other filters aren’t anything crazy obviously, but can be fun to switch up your looks.
Now there are some major downsides with this camera:
It’s got a small sensor, low megapixels, tiny viewfinder, and lacks RAW capabilities.
I’m kidding.
That’s obviously not the point of this camera.
This is a keychain camera - meant to carry around with you everywhere and capture low-res digicam aesthetic almost disposable film camera like photos.
Not to be used for anything remotely professional.
And it’s $30 MSRP in a blind box.
If it was more expensive that’d be a different story, but for what it is, it’s awesome.
It’s not something you’d expect amazing image quality out of, but rather use for fun and convenience.
Let’s talk about that.
Convenience
I want to take a moment to highlight the convenience factor of this camera.
Obviously, it’s tiny.
But the fact that it’s a keychain means you not only can bring it everywhere, but will bring it everywhere.
Wherever you go, your keys will go, and with it the Kodak Charmera.
I’m gonna be honest and say it makes a difference.
I’ve had some troubles in my own photography routines where I don’t always want to bring a camera around, but will sometimes find myself wanting to take a picture.
And sure I could use a phone, but I prefer separating my photos with a different device (see the article I wrote a couple of months ago on smartphones vs cameras).
Now my daily driver is the Fujifilm x100 series - that’s been my primary solution for both everyday and street photography.
I think it does a great job and it’s just portable enough to bring around with me to random places.
But sometimes it is a bit overkill.
So lately I’ve been leaving it at home, especially when I’m out running small errands.
This is because I get lazy to carry it around - especially for just a quick 15 minute trip to the grocery store.
You’ll obviously get more pictures and occasionally capture rare moments if you always have a camera on you; and I’ve had many times where I’d reach down looking for my camera only to realize I didn’t bring it.
But many of these little everyday photos I don’t do anything with, so I figured, maybe I don’t need to be taking them.
Some might argue this is a good thing, live in the moment, be present, whatever - but that’s besides the point.
The point is, the Kodak Charmera solves this problem for me.
I can take random useless everyday photos if I feel like it, just to scratch the itch.
I don’t worry about image quality, I don’t have to edit the photos, it doesn’t take up much space, and I always have it on me.
I could do technically do this with the x100vi, but again, it’s a bit tiresome, a bit overkill, and I can’t help but be tempted to edit the RAWs.
That or leave them on my hard drive never to be seen again, which makes taking them a little pointless.
This is an actual problem I’ve been noticing as I’ve been cleaning up my hard drive from 2025, and finding a ton of photos I could honestly live without.
But because I have them, I feel the need to use them.
Call it a photographer’s dilemma, I don’t know.
So nowadays, I’m preferring to leave the x100 for street photography sessions, walks, and hangouts, and leave it at home when I’m out running quick errands.
In all other instances, if I’m taking a picture of a random tree, flower, or building, the Kodak Charmera should suffice.
That’s the phase I’m in currently, and we’ll see how it goes.
Is It Worth It?
Overall, I’m quite satisfied with the Kodak Charmera.
It’s a fun little camera to unbox and neat to bring around as an accessory.
It also serves as a great gift for your friends or yourself.
It’s low stakes, easy and convenient to use, and something that anyone can enjoy - you don’t have to be a photographer.
I could also see it being a great gift for kids to play with and start taking pictures without having to get a phone.
It’s also one of those things where I’d take photos on for years before importing them to my computer.
And then open up Pandora’s box filled with all these memories.
So it feels a little more analog with the delay in viewing and processing (in a good way).
Obviously it’s not the best tool and I wouldn’t use it for more serious things like street photography even though you technically could.
But it’s not meant for that anyways.
And for something that’s $30, I’ve got nothing to complain about.
Let me know what you think of the Kodak Charmera in the YouTube comment section.
Do you have one and how do you like it?
And if you’re looking to learn more about improving your photography, check out either Photography Systems or Photography Essentials.
It’s there we cover everything from the basics to the psychology of improving.
I think you’ll find it useful.
Thanks for reading, have a great day.
