Portable digital cameras are back thanks to TikTok

In a narrow hallway that separates the dance floor and restrooms at a local club, I saw some girls taking photos. Instead of an iPhone, one of them held a retro digital camera above the group’s heads at an angle. The flash went off and I snuck past them as they stared at the screen and laughed. It’s a small moment, but it’s also part of a much larger consumer trend. Today, thanks to TikTok, portable digital cameras from the 90s and 2000s are making a massive comeback, and I can say that this is one of the trends that is definitely worth the hype.

Affectionately nicknamed “digital cameras” online, point-and-shoot cameras have become the new technology darling of Instagram girls everywhere. This is largely due to TikTok, where content on digital cameras has become a major trend. There, a simple photo slideshow showing a person’s favorite cameras can garner more than 2.4 million views. People share tips for getting started with digital cameras. Others talk about the best settings for taking the perfect glamor shot. Many people evaluate the cameras in their collections. Even the cameras themselves are fun, as people decorate their cameras with glitter stickers and beaded bracelets.

Nostalgia definitely plays a role in the hype. While some people buy cheap (but new) cameras from the TikTok store or choose to shell out for new, more impressive models, many videos point out that digital cameras imbue photos with that “vintage” mom and dad vibe from the 1990s and 2000s (if that’s when your parents grew up, of course). Digital cameras have this nice in-between status where the images look a little more retro and original, but they don’t require the hassle or expertise of using film. But it’s not just some sort of lo-fi trend: many photos actually look better than those taken with a phone, thanks to a proper flash and the mechanical advantages of using a camera photo with a larger lens. Of course, when browsing online you can never be sure of how a photo can be faked or altered, but side-by-side comparisons with photos taken by iPhone cameras attest to the added layers of color and warmth that comes with taking a selfie with a digital camera. the camera can add. So after thinking about it, I decided to take the $40 plunge and buy my own retro camera.

After seeing a clip on TikTok, I ended up getting a 2004 Canon PowerShot G6 because of the way it seemed to capture the golden light. Using a digital camera while out is definitely different than taking a photo on an iPhone. With a phone, it’s easy to mindlessly press a button and take dozens of photos in minutes. With the Canon, I took maybe two dozen photos over an entire evening, and the photos I took I liked better than the average photos on my phone. I was sometimes disappointed by the number of blurry photos, but that didn’t detract from the charm of the experience. The photos that turned out well were phenomenal – so much so that I once had one printed as a gift to a group of friends I had photographed at a party.

My iPhone’s camera tends to bring out a stark white color in bright sunlight, and features like its portrait mode often mistakenly straighten my curly hair and mess it up awkwardly, like it’s part of the back -plan. Looking at my Canon photos for the first time, I was shocked by how the retro camera brought out the nuances of my skin and captured a warmer look. As a mixed person who often feels whitewashed in other (non-photographic) ways, using an older digital camera felt affirming because it literally allowed me to see myself in a new light – one where I look browner, i.e. more like myself. Details like these may seem minor, but they matter to me.

Online, a lot of the hype seems to come from how sexy people can be if they use a point-and-shoot camera to take a photo, but for me, at least, it’s more than that. Looking at these photos makes me feel more like myself. Now I can see depth in different parts of my face, like the frizz in a certain part of my curls or a wrinkle in my smile that I hadn’t seen before. Sure, I don’t like lugging around another piece of tech, but the photos are worth it. And for me personally, I don’t know if I’ll ever share an iPhone photo on my Instagram again.