The Kodak Charmera is back, and it has gone full Y2K. Reto, which makes the tiny keychain camera under the Kodak name, just launched a Millennium Edition. It swaps the old looks for chrome finishes and early-2000s style. As before, you buy it in a blind box, so the exact design is a surprise.
Seven Y2K designs in a blind box
In total, there are seven looks. Six are new metallic colorways inspired by early-2000s gadgets. The seventh is a hidden “Mirror Silver” model that turns up at random. So you will not know which one you got until you open the box. A single box costs $34.99, while a six-pack runs $210, and each one ships with a keyring and a USB-C cable.
The lo-fi camera inside
The hardware is proudly basic, and that is the point. Inside, a 35mm f/2.4 lens sits over a tiny 1/4-inch sensor. Meanwhile, photos land at 1.6 megapixels, and video tops out at 1440 by 1080 at 30fps. The result is deliberately grainy, much like a real toy camera. There is no microSD card in the box, though, so you will need your own.
A digital time machine
Reto leaned into the era on the software side too. The interface mimics an old video-player look. On top of that, there are CRT tube effects and pixelated filters that scream 2002. Add the new frames, and your shots come out looking like they escaped a flip phone. In short, it is nostalgia as a feature, not a bug.
If you want one, move fast. Specifically, worldwide sales opened June 16 at 10 PM ET on Reto’s site, and past Charmera drops sold out quickly. Still, at $35 a pop it is an easy impulse buy and a fun collectible gift. And for anyone chasing that compact-camera charm on the cheap, the Millennium Edition is a tidy hit of Y2K.
