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Cameras

Echolens Review: The Kodak Charmera on Steroids

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 11/18/2025
11/18/2025
6 Mins read
A vintage-style camera with a brown strap rests on an open magazine on a wooden surface.
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Last Updated on 11/18/2025 by Chris Gampat

While all the other photo publications are chasing companies that don’t care about us for review units on the newest cameras, I’ve decided a while ago that I’ve mostly given up on the big three. At this point, asking the non-existent avocados in my fridge to stop browning feels easier than asking Canon, Nikon, and Sony to make something for photographers first. And I know that I speak for communities of photographers out there who face reality with a dose of therapy — that’s why so many new point-and-shoot cameras are popping up. And most recently, the Echolens has found its way into my office. To be honest, this is the most enjoyable experience I’ve had with one of these digicams all year.

Before I go on, I have to reiterate this: I’m so glad this camera exists. I remember when folks were really hyped about it. Then it became official. After some delays, it’s now here. Below are some details about this camera from our original news article:

  • It’s got a vintage Leica-inspired design
  • The team says that it’s inspired by old disposable cameras from the 90s
  • Full retail cost will be $150, but Kickstarter pricing was lower
  • There’s a built-in Wifi button to upload images directly to your phone
  • There’s no screen
  • It’s made with Polycarbonate Composite & Aluminum
  • It has a Xenon flash
  • It uses WiFi and USB-C
  • There are various film filters to capture that vintage look
  • Pure images, no AI smoothing or excessive sharpening

By all means, this is the Anti-AI camera — and I’d rather warm up to a human any day instead of an AI.

The Echolens is a different kind of point-and-shoot altogether. Like both the Paper Shoot camera and the Camp Snap Pro, it doesn’t have a screen. That means that I’m not spending a lot of time customizing the camera to my own wants and needs. Indeed, modern camera menus have become so complex and extensive that they require their own search bar. While the technology inside these cameras has modernized, the menus still feel like they’re from a time before Apple introduced the universal search feature.

A hand holds a camera above a desk with a photo, showing the bottom and battery indicator.
Echolens prduct image
A brown leather camera rests on an open magazine with a colorful portrait of a woman on one page.
Echolens prduct image
A camera with a brown leather strap labeled echolens rests on an open magazine and book.
Echolens prduct image
A vintage-style camera with a brown strap rests on an open magazine on a wooden surface.
Echolens prduct image
A vintage-style camera with a leather strap resting on an open New Yorker magazine.
Echolens prduct image

Like the Leica M11-D and its predecessors, it harkens back to a time before then. The Echolens feels like a time between 1998 and 2006, when smartphones weren’t in everyone’s hands yet, but we were all still thinking about tech heavily in the aftermath of 9/11. This is evident in many things that the Echolens wears like your favorite outfit. In place of a screen on the back, there’s a little screen with a shot counter on the bottom. You get 54 shots with every digital roll of film that you shoot. You’ll wake the camera up by turning the film advance wheel — which is quite an odd albiet fascinating way of doing things that reminds me of disposable cameras. After you’d shoot a frame, you’d immediately advance to the next. Echolens doesn’t want you to do that. Instead, it wants you to wait until you’re about to shoot, then advance the wheel, then shoot. This is something to keep in mind as you’re going about life and shooting — otherwise the camera will go to sleep in between shots.

Because there’s also no screen, the battery life lasts for nearly forever. This is the case even when using a flash. Like those older disposable cameras, the Echolens gives you an indicator light to tell you when it’s ready to fire. But instead of it going from red to green, it’s either off or glowing red. And trust me, you’ll need to use the flash.

Next, you’ll put the camera’s beautiful viewfinder to your eye, and shoot. The shutter is loud — and you’ll even feel it. However, it doesn’t line up with how long the shutter stays open for. So instead, you’ll need to shoot, maybe wait a second or so while keeping perfectly still, and then take the camera away. This is one of the most confusing things about the Echolens. However, if you’ve developed your photography career by practicing good form and not relying on technology to do everything for you, then you’ll be just fine. We’ve got a treasure trove of articles on how to do this, but here’s one that may really appeal to you.

After you’re done shooting, you’ll press the wifi button on the bottom of the camera until you see a blue light appear on the back of the camera. Then you load up the Echolens app on your phone, connect the camera, and have the app develop the roll of digital film. Basically, it’s just downloading the 8MP images to your phone and putting them in a gallery. From that gallery, you can select your favorites and download images to your phone’s albums. When the photos have been downloaded, the app will prompt you to select one of four film rolls. There’s a black and white roll which looks a bit like T-Max and Tri-X, a Rosey one that reminds me of images from the early 2000s, another that reminds me of older Kodak film, and yet another that’s a bit warmer-toned. When you’re done, you advance the shutter to get ready to shoot or don’t do it if you’re all done using the camera.

I did exactly this the other night at my good friend’s birthday party. I was leaving early and I told him that I’d give him all the images immediately. Within a few minutes, the photos were on my phone and then airdropped to him.

But are the images good? Let me quote what a few people told me:

  • Oh, they even look retro!
  • Cute!
  • Oh my god, these are so good

Here are some of those images and more. If you’ve seen photos from the Kodak Charmera, you’ll agree that it’s basically that, but on steroids at 8MP.

Shadow of a window frame cast across a tiled floor in bright sunlight.
Echolens sample image
Black and white photo of a building with a sign reading Dan Rinaldo Co. Sporting Goods between two houses.
Echolens sample image
Shadow of power lines cast on a brick apartment building; partly cloudy sky and bare trees nearby.
Echolens sample image
Black-and-white photo of a tree-lined street with row houses and a person walking on the sidewalk.
Echolens sample image
Cloudy sky over a row of parked cars and brick houses on a city street.
Echolens sample image
A man in a tan blazer and tie sits and smiles in a dimly lit restaurant with dark walls.
Echolens sample image
A smiling couple sits close together at a restaurant table with drinks, flowers, and white tile wall behind them.
Echolens sample image
A smiling man and woman in black clothing stand side by side against a white and dark wall.
Echolens sample image
A residential street with parked cars, houses on the right, and a stop sign painted on the road.
Echolens sample image
A brick church with a clock tower and cross under a cloudy sky, surrounded by a few trees and buildings.
Echolens sample image
A US flag at half-staff with other flags on a cloudy day, trees and buildings in the background.
Echolens sample image
A beige, rounded-corner building with red windows stands under a cloudy sky, framed by leafy green trees.
Echolens sample image
A man feeds pizza to a smiling woman at a table in a dimly lit restaurant.
Echolens sample image
A man and woman stand together in a dimly lit bar, with people and booths in the background.
Echolens sample image
Two men sit at a table in a bar, smiling and holding drinks, with other people in the background.
Echolens sample image
A blurry city street scene under an elevated train track with shops and cars on either side.
Echolens sample image
A beige brick church with arched windows, red awning, and parked cars in front; a train passes in the background.
Echolens sample image

I ended up walking home in the rain, and even in light rainfall, the Echolens survived. Granted, it isn’t weather-resistant at all, and I’d put it in my pocket between taking photos. Not being weather-resistant is something I’d expect from a company like Echolens that is this small, not from Canon, Nikon, Sony, or other major brands.

To reiterate what I’ve said many times: long live the digicam. I’m so sick of all these big brands allegedly not spending money with YouTubers to get a bigger splash on the web and generate algorithmic hype than caring about authenticity. But the truth is that the Echolens feels more authentic than most of the cameras I’ve used since the pandemic.

Not everyone wants to shoot video, carry around a bit lens, or stare at screens. It may be too late until the Japanese brands realize that they’re creating something similar to the transition between DSLRs to mirrorless where they’re pigeon-holding themselves with their own fetishes. I, on the other hand, refuse to make images for an algorithm that cares nothing about me. Instead, I make photos built on internal validation that end up putting smiles on the faces of so many other people.

Japan: wake up already.

The Phoblographer Editors Choice Award logo with a red camera graphic and text.
The Phoblographer’s Editor’s Choice award

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I’m awarding the Echolens five out of five stars, the the Phoblographer’s Editor’s Choice award. It really deserves it. Go check them out.

Echolens Review: The Kodak Charmera on Steroids
Not everyone wants to shoot video, carry around a bit lens, or stare at screens. It may be too late until the Japanese brands realize that they're creating something similar to the transition between DSLRs to mirrorless where they're pigeon-holding themselves with their own fetishes. I, on the other hand, refuse to make images for an algorithm that cares nothing about me. Instead, I make photos built on internal validation that end up putting smiles on the faces of so many other people. Japan: wake up already.
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app camera camp snap charmera digicam disposable camera echolens flash kodak leica paper shoot wifi
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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