Wallet, keys, lipgloss, phone, Nikon Coolpix L15 digital camera. Once the contents of any hot girl’s bag in 2008, these essential items are now the contents of hot girls’ bags in 2022. All the rumours are true – the humble digital camera is once again finding its way into our hands.
In a world where phone cameras are impossibly convenient and incredibly high quality, it might seem surprising that a gadget that peaked in popularity 15 years ago is blowing up. However, following the resurgence of flip phones and wired headphones, it’s inevitable that our interest would pivot back towards digital cameras too. And when Bella Hadid, Charli D’Amelio, and Devon Lee Carlson are looping one around their wrists in photo opps, it’s only a matter of time until the rest of us start doing it too.
The hashtag #digitalcamera on TikTok has over 88 million views, with videos prophecising “this is your sign to take a digital camera on holiday with you” as sun-drenched snaps appear on the screen. The mid-2000s digital camera aesthetic is instantly recognisable – the images are clear but a little bit hazy, almost dreamlike — a subtle veil of the past.
Stylist Emily Beaney regularly posts snaps taken on her digital camera on Instagram and TikTok. She began using it with her grandfather as a kid, and rediscovered the joy of using his little silver model after his passing. “I love my camera because it feels like it’s my life through my grandad’s lens. It is less harsh – my insecurities are not on show and it is not perfect, so it feels more like art rather than just another photo,” Emily explains.
Nostalgia is key to the never-ending cycle of trends – from Y2K to indie sleaze, we are constantly looking backwards to find eras to reinvent — and the recent explosion of digital cameras is no exception. “When the original digital cameras came out they weren’t cute or kitsch or trendy, they were as exciting as the newest iPhone,” fashion historian and trend analyst Rachel Weingarten tells i-D. “There will likely be an entire subgenre of young adults who find themselves fixated on the aughties for many years to come, and that might involve the technology.”
The simple, nostalgic routine of using a digital camera is another aspect Emily loves. “It just makes me feel like I can keep my phone in my pocket,” she says. “I enjoy ending each day with plugging in the SD card, looking over what I did and the outfit I wore, and sharing that before deciding what to wear the next day.”
And although — or perhaps because — this technology has been eclipsed by newer developments, the images produced by vintage digital cameras can be uniquely striking. Photographer and co-founder of the Instagram account @digicam.love, Bảo Ngô, regularly employs them for her work. “It reminds me of my tween years making a Myspace behind my parents’ backs – it’s fun and rebellious,” she says. “Even now I’m a full-time professional photographer, I still love using these cameras. Everyone used to think it was so funny I would show up to shoots with these compact cameras from 2006, but it’s my personal opinion that digital noise is actually superior to film grain. It gives a lot of texture and character.”
And, if you love this slightly retro look, using a digital camera is far easier than learning to use a film camera and paying the costly printing fees. “As a working class person from a working class family, my choice in tools has always been rooted in what is financially possible for me,” says Bảo, whose camera of choice is a second-hand $25 Sony Cybershot T10.
Jo, who runs a Apeture Priority, a Depop shop selling second hand cameras, has seen a sharp rise in the demand for digital in recent months. Affordability is a core ethos of her business, and she also views digital cameras as an accessible portal into the world of photography. “Initially, I was against stocking digital cameras… Two years later and the store is 50/50 film and digital and I am currently getting more interest in digital than film,” Jo says. “I think we’ve become numbed to the novelty of things – everything is on our phone now and you choose between an Apple or Android, but the cameras are all pretty similar. With digital cameras they all have a different aesthetic.”
Like every online trend, there is of course an element of performance here too, and some digital camera fans are using their Fujifilm Finepix as props more than as a tools for photography. It will be only a transient interest for some – as Rachel notes, “This isn’t a trend that can last because we’ve outgrown that technology in leaps and bounds”.
However, at least as trends go, this one is actually relatively sustainable. Many families have an old digital camera lying around the house, or you can buy a second-hand one for around $15. As Bảo says, “We have these compact digital cameras that are both affordable and widely available. They also have very specific qualities that really make an image. We should take advantage of that.”