Flashback One35 V2

The Flashback One35 V2 ($119) may be a digital point-and-shoot camera, but it does everything it can to work like a film camera. It skips a rear display in favor of an optical viewfinder, makes you turn a faux film advanced wheel between every photo, only …

The Flashback One35 V2 ($119) may be a digital point-and-shoot camera, but it does everything it can to work like a film camera. It skips a rear display in favor of an optical viewfinder, makes you turn a faux film advanced wheel between every photo, only holds 27 pictures at a time, and makes you wait a full day to see your pictures after finishing a virtual film roll and sending it to a smartphone app to "develop." It's a charming concept, and we like that it includes different film look profiles, but I ran into some bugs when trying to change filters and am disappointed that its flash isn't useful in bright conditions.

If you're looking for the disposable camera experience in digital, the $99 Camp Snap Pro lets you change filters on the fly, is more versatile for flash photography, and works without a smartphone app, making it our Editors' Choice. The FlashBack One35 V2 could be mistaken for a disposable 35mm camera from a distance. It's small enough to slide into your pocket, about 2.1 by 4.2 by 1.2 inches, and while it seems heavy for its size at 5.2 ounces, it won't weigh you down.

It's in line with the $69.95 Camp Snap Screen Free Digital (2.5 by 4.5 by 1.0 inches, 3.4 ounces) and Camp Snap Pro (3.0 by 5.0 by 1.5 inches, 5.1 ounces), two other compact cameras that omit a rear display. The camera is available in several colorways. I received the black-and-orange version, but you can also get black-and-yellow, white-and-red, white-and-teal, white-and-pink, coffee-and-cream, or transparent plastic with an orange or teal stripe.

I've only seen them in pictures, but the transparent versions are cool; they show the internal guts, something camera nerds will appreciate. There aren't many controls at all. The One35 V2 is a one-button camera, so it only has a shutter button to take photos, a wheel you'll need to turn a few times after each photo (to simulate the winder on a film camera), and a toggle to turn the xenon flash on or off.

I can't decide if the film advance wheel is charming or annoying. I like the tactile aspect; it makes a clicking sound when you turn it, just like a disposable film camera. But I'm frustrated that I've got to twist it four times to get ready to take a new photo. The film advance does double duty as the power control—the camera turns on when you turn it, and powers down automatically after three minutes of inactivity.

There's a monochrome LCD on top that shows how many photos are left on our virtual film roll—the One35 V2 lets you take only 27 photos between downloads. This is a completely artificial limitation; the camera has enough built-in memory to hold more than a hundred photos. It's not a big deal if you always have your phone with you, but the One35 is a less-than-useful option if you're looking for a digicam for weekend trips when you want to get away and disconnect entirely from modern tech.

The One35 V2 has a USB-C port, but it's only for charging its internal, non-replaceable battery. You can plug it into a computer and download images, but they're in a non-standard DNG format that won't open in Photoshop or Lightroom, so that's an academic point. It relies on Wi-Fi and a smartphone app to develop those DNGs into JPG photos you can print and share. Battery life is excellent. I started with a full charge, snapped 81 photos (3 rolls of 27) and some one-offs, and had about 70% of life left.

Since you can only take 27 photos between downloads, you're not likely to run out of juice. It is a downer if you're concerned about creating more e-waste, though. Eventually, the battery will stop taking a charge, and the One35 V2 will turn into a shelf warmer. That's the same story with many other inexpensive cameras, including the Camp Snap and Camp Snap Pro, as well as instant film cams like the Polaroid Flip.

Camp Snap cameras are great for kids because they're cheap, simple to use, and don't require a smartphone to work. The Flashback One35 V2 matches them on the first two points, but it strictly requires a smartphone app to work. The app is free to use and is available for both Android and iOS. It took about around 3.5 minutes to copy a roll of photos to my iPhone. The app is where you'll go to download photos from the camera to your phone, change the operating mode.

You can use it in Film Camera mode, which locks you into one filter profile, makes you take a full roll of 27 photos before you download to the app, and then makes you wait 24 hours to see your images. The idea is that it emulates using a disposable film camera, though I'll say a one-hour wait time would be far more appropriate. If this annoys you, switch to Digicam mode, which works the same way—it locks you into one filter and limits you to 27 photos at a time—but lets you download partial rolls and doesn't come with any wait time.

The One35 V2 isn't the only camera we've seen that emulates the process of shooting film in this manner—the Fujifilm X Half's Film Camera mode basically works like the One35 V2 in Digicam mode. There are four filtered looks available for your photos, each meant to emulate a different film type. Classic mimics low-cost grainy film stocks like Fujifilm Superia and Kodak Gold; Mono is black-and-white; Beta reminds me of pro films like Fujifilm ProH and Kodak Portra; while Cine goes for a filmic color grade and is evocative of Kodak E100 and Kodachrome.

I ran into a serious bug in the app when changing filters. I changed the filter from Classic to Mono immediately after downloading my first roll to the app, but the change didn't take. When it finished developing, my second roll was also in Classic, something I didn't realize until 24 hours later. During my wait time, I switched the camera to Digicam mode and changed to the Beta filter, but once again, all my photos came out with the C Classic filter.

As far as I can tell, you need to wait for the previous roll to finish developing before the change takes effect. I am able to change filters freely and correctly in between downloads when I left the One35 V2 in its Digicam mode—the bug only seems to happen when you try and change filters while a roll is waiting to develop. On the plus side, you can download unfiltered JPGs from the app if you prefer a neutral starting point to add your own filters in another app.

Unfortunately, you can't reprocess a film roll with a different look in the Flashback app. I reported the issue to Flashback, and a representative said that it's a good idea to confirm that the correct film mode is selected before developing a roll. I also noticed that the Flashback app will crash when scrolling through developed photos, which happened often enough that I don't think it's a fluke.

It's clear to me that the app needs a little bit of polish to work out the kinks. The One35 V2 doesn't just emulate a disposable camera in operation; its pictures have the same low-fi quality as a disposable 35mm film camera. The 12.8MP images look more analog than digital, with muted colors, lifted blacks, and visible grain. To my eye, the Flashback nails the film look better than the Camp Snap Pro.

While it's true that the Camp Snap lets you customize its four built-in filter options, its results always scream digital camera, while the Flashback One35 V2's results are good enough to pass as analog.  The camera isn't great in low light, so you'll want to use the flash in dimly lit interiors. Like others in this class, the One35 can't compete with smartphones on a technical level—any iPhone from the past five years is a far better camera thanks to features like its multi-shot night mode sampling and bokeh effects—but that's the point.

Flashback is going for a retro aesthetic, both in image quality and the user experience. The lens is a moderate wide-angle, around 30mm in full-frame terms, which is just about ideal for snapshot photography. It's a fixed-focus design that keeps everything from about 4 to 6 feet away from the camera in focus. The One35 V2 doesn't have any shutter lag; it came in at 0 seconds in my tests, so it's better for capturing truly candid moments than the Camp Snap or Camp Snap Pro, both of which have about a quarter-second lag between pressing the shutter and making an exposure.

The camera uses an old-school xenon flash, the same type found on classic disposables, serious point-and-shoot digitals like the Panasonic Lumix ZS99 and Fujifilm X100VI, and the affordable Camp Snap Pro. The One35 V2's xenon flash lights up a dark room and fires quickly enough to freeze motion, something you simply can't do with the LED flashes on smartphones and on some standalone cams like the Fujifilm X Half and the first-generation Camp Snap.

You'll have to be careful not to use it if you're within a couple of feet of your subject; the flash always fires at full power, so it will wash out your subject if you get too close. It may seem counterintuitive to beginners to use a flash when it's bright, but a xenon flash is usually ideal for filling in shadows in a backlit photo or for making specular highlights pop. Unfortunately, the One35 V2's flash is completely useless in bright sunlight; if you leave it on, you'll get photos that are almost entirely washed out.

I suspect this is because the camera uses a fully electronic shutter, which must remain open for a long time to ensure it syncs with the flash. Regardless of the technical reasons, it's a bummer that the flash is no good for filling in shadows or fighting a backlight. The Camp Snap Pro proves more versatile here; it also uses an electronic shutter, but its flash works fine on sunny days, plus has supports two power levels, so it's not quite as likely to wash out a photo when you're using it indoors—though it's not immune to that effect either.

The Flashback One35 V2 delivers a convincingly analog look and charming film-inspired experience, but its buggy app, artificial limits, and unreliable flash limit the camera's appeal.

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