Rediscovering the Digicam With Pentax Optio E10

Digicams are making a comeback. The Verge, New York Times, BBC, and other news and photography outlets wrote about it last year. Even Analog.Cafe readers raved about the affordability and simplicity of the almost-forgotten consumer gadgets of the early ‘00s and ‘10s.

To understand why, I read dozens of articles, spoke to the new digicam users and tried my hand with Pentax Optio E10, a nineteen-year-old six-megapixel camera. In this article, I’m digging a little deeper for reasons to use one today (including ways to do it better) and the trend’s relationship to the still-rising popularity of film photography.

In this article: What is a digicam? CCD vs. CMOS sensors. Why digicams today? Digicams vs. film. Which digicams are the best? Pentax Optio E10. Tips for making better images with digicams. What to do before getting a digicam. Where to get your digicam. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

What is a digicam?

“Digicam” is a portmanteau coined from “digital” and “camera.” Today, it often refers to old consumer point-and-shoot digital cameras made in the ‘00s and ‘10s with CCD sensors and low (by today’s standards) megapixel counts.

However, the lo-fi digital camera aesthetic isn’t firmly defined. Some folks are shooting with sub-megapixel cameras made for professionals back in the day, a growing number of people are picking up Gameboy cameras, and there are even new projects featuring deliberately low resolution and eight-bit colour.

CCD vs. CMOS sensors.

The vast majority of modern digital cameras use CMOS sensors. These new devices can create images with a greater dynamic range, fewer artifacts, less noise, and a more compact design. It’s also cheaper to produce CMOS sensors as they do not have separate readout circuits.

However, CCD sensors register overexposures more gradually as the rendered highlights “bloom” or “spill over” to the darker areas. While this can be considered an artifact, the resulting renderings yield a softer roll-off from blown-out highlights into the rest of the image. This non-linear response to overloading is often likened to negative film.

I think it’s important to remember that the above differences can be very difficult to spot in individual images. Modern digital cameras often take advantage of their increased dynamic range to simulate non-linearity (a more gradual transition to shadows and highlights). Conversely, even the old digital cameras, like Pentax Optio E10, use some in-camera processing to cover up the CCD sensor issues. Besides, there are many more reasons to shoot older digicams today than just the sensor choice.

Why digicams today?

I asked my brother-in-law’s Gen-Z girlfriend why she likes digicams. For her, it was a chance to get away from the distractions of being an iPhone user. She wants to capture the moment and also be present.

Devices that are made to be cameras only are also easier to use. There’s no app to find and launch; they won’t slip out of hand and are easier to grasp. It may also be more convenient to find and organize your photos when storage is limited (many digicams can only work with 2GB memory cards or smaller) and dedicated to photography — no pictures of receipts, screenshots, memes, and photos used only once in a message while shopping. Digicams also tend to be much slower, taking at least a few seconds to “recharge” between each shot, which ensures that the storage can’t be flooded with multiple copies of the same image with a slightly different angle.

Digicams are privacy-friendly. There’s no location in the EXIF data, no fingerprint. Even if the image is uploaded to social media or an app that’s hungry to learn more about its users, it won’t snitch. The quirky, dated device look is more likely to put the subject at ease than a brick that mines data constantly or a professional-looking camera poised to capture every imperfection in full detail.

There are tons of apps and digital filters out there that can hide blemishes and add visual effects. Some go as far as to generate images that subvert reality. On the other hand, digicams will forgive imperfections by covering them up with their own — but they won’t deliberately alter an image. Digicam’s lo-fi effect is the result of the historical limitations of hardware and software designed to recreate the moment faithfully.

Photography has been a part of our culture for nearly two hundred years. It’s a beloved hobby of many and is more accessible now than ever; it’s no surprise that more casual snappers are looking to take it further with experiments. Sharpness may finally be overshadowed by the desire to make interesting photographs. Digicams make different-looking images by definition; there’s no need to buy filters and play with countless sliders — the look is baked-in. Because of that, digicams are often compared to disposable/film cameras for their unpredictable distortions and artifacts.

Last but not least, digicams are an affordable, eco-conscious way to capture moments and practice creativity. They can be found for free or bought for cheap; each time such a purchase is made, e-waste is diverted from a landfill.

Digicams vs. film.

Digicams are for fun, lo-fi experementation. The images they yield are sometimes compared to film, yet the effect is certainly different.

Fidelity. Digicams have a limited resolution by definition. Things are a little more complicated with film, but in general, it is limited by the lens rather than emulsion. There are lenses out there that are a lot less sharp than those on digicams, grainy films, and film scanners that produce poor quality — but the upper end of film photography is beyond anything even the modern digital camera can produce (think large format photography).

 ☝︎ Further reading: “How to Make Sharper Photos on Film.”

Variety. There are lots of very interesting digicam options out there. However, they can not possibly compete with the nearly two hundred years of film camera production.

Versatility. Film cameras can be very small, but digicams are generally more compact. However, most film cameras will have a greater shutter speed and aperture range, more ISO/sensitivity options, and other features that make them performant in more situations than digicams.

Price. Though some digicams can be rather expensive, and there are tons of very cheap film cameras out there, the fact that you don’t need to buy and develop film means that digicams can cost you less over time.

Ease of use. Digicams are generally easier to use than film cameras. Both types of cameras have point-and-shoot options, but film usually needs to be sent to the lab or developed at home (unless it’s instant).

Energy consumption. One thing to keep in mind is that digicams are power-hungry. Whereas many film cameras can work without batteries or last for months on one charge, digicams can deplete your cells faster than you fill the memory card. It’s best to invest in rechargeables.