This week, New Google smartphone series Cameras with AI image generation capabilities are now available, but for an increasing number of people, the allure of a less cutting-edge gadget: a compact camera.
US soccer player Megan Rapinoe was spotted taking a photo from the stands at the Paris Olympics, with model Alexa Chung captioning the photo: A recent Instagram photo of her with her camera“I’m part of the photo-dependent millennial generation, and I’m fighting the digital threat with analog mode.” Recent Glimpse Photos of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s home life show disposable cameras placed amongst clutter, while Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift have both been photographed holding compact cameras.
While there’s still a mix of digital and film cameras from the early 2000s, the new generation is also embracing the older technology. On Instagram this week, Mihara, star of Industry, which just wrapped its third season, posted a selfie with a compact camera. Ayo Edebiri took her own camera to the Emmy Awards Both are 28. Model Bella Hadid, 27, is a fan. Online, Gen Z content creators are giving the camera a TikTok-esque treatment, stealing public clout from the latest It products and offering up expensive model dummies.
According to a Cognitive Market Research survey conducted earlier this year: The global film camera market is expected to reach £303 million by 2030, up from £223.2 million in 2023. Kodak has seen demand for film nearly double in recent years, and in July Harman, the UK’s only 35mm film maker, announced that Multi-million pound investment in new facilities announced Spurred by rising demand: Tesco, which still has more than 480 photo-printing locations, has seen demand for its film-developing services rise, with take-up up by nearly 10% this year.
The Pentax 17, released earlier this summer, was “the first film camera produced by a global camera brand in 21 years,” according to Paul McKay, co-founder of Analog Wonderland, a company that sells film products while seeking to support the growing analog film photography community. Pentax “has had to bring back retired engineers to mentor younger engineers because they believe this market is “growing and not going to go away.”
Stores targeting young people, such as Urban Outfitters, sell Hello Kitty-themed disposable cameras, lilac and matcha green Fujifilm Instax Minis and Lomography cameras.
But many younger people are looking for second-hand cameras, with searches on second-hand goods website Depop up by 51% since the start of the year. Sarah Kidwai, 25, captioned a TikTok video in which she tries to stop viewers from buying the Canon G7 X digital camera. “You don’t have to spend $700 on a camera, you can buy one on eBay and get a great camera.”
Part of the appeal of film cameras compared to digital cameras is the way the photos look. Dazed magazine’s art and photography editor Emily Dinsdale described the aesthetic as romantic: “Even the mistakes are romantic: the light leaks, the red-eye, the grain in the first few frames of a new roll of film.” In a feed full of glossy photos, analog commands attention.
Images taken with real film cameras often have a “nostalgic, grainy, film-like texture” and are full of charm and imperfections, says Eliza Williams, editor of Creative Review magazine.
For some older users, it’s nostalgia, but for younger people in particular, “part of what draws us to the camera is this idea of it as an object — it’s a beautiful thing to hold in your hand, and it looks really cool compared to other people holding their phones,” Williams says.
The camera is tapping into Gen Z’s resurgence in all things Y2K, from low-rise jeans to velour. “There’s a well-known resurgence of the ‘indie sleaze’ era of the mid-to-late 2000s,” says Louise Iames, strategy director at Digital Fairy, a creative agency that specializes in internet and youth culture. “Digital cameras have been pretty much ever-present during this period.”
She noted the re-emergence of nostalgic technologies across internet culture, This video From Super 8 photos of 80s parties to early internet design codes like Frutiger Aero, [that] is once again attracting attention.
The coolness of cameras is in play even when the technology isn’t being used: In the new season of “Emily in Paris,” which premiered this week to a furor of derision and delight, the protagonist’s phone case mimics the look of a point-and-shoot camera, cloaking her always-on smartphone with more analog flourishes.
According to Yems, “On a deeper level, Gen Z is the first generation that has the ability to document their lives in a completely seamless way. They never have to fill up their memory cards, and they don’t have to spend hours transferring videos and photos between devices and to Myspace and Facebook,” so, she said, “the process of using a point-and-shoot camera gives the output meaning, intention and tactility.”
In a survey McKay conducted this week, the most common reason cited for shooting with film was that it allowed them to slow down (66%). “There’s a mindfulness element to it,” McKay said. “When this generation talks about film photography, they talk a lot about mental health.” Those who choose to develop their own photos, rather than relying on snapshots, may be even slower.
Dinsdale believes the increased use of analog cameras indicates a desire for authenticity in an age when deepfakes mean a distrust of visual imagery. “People trust photos taken with a film camera more than digital photos,” he said, adding, “As AI-generated imagery becomes more prevalent, this sentiment will only increase.”
She continues, “Given how digital photography and smartphones have really changed the value of images, it comes back to the idea that photos taken on a phone are not as special as photos taken on film.”
For Williams, “at a time when all of us, especially Gen Z, are looking for relief from the pressures of daily life and the addictive nature of screens, cameras and taking photos bring nostalgic joy, give us a sense of wholesomeness and artistry, and make us look cool all at the same time.”
