A soft blur, flash that rendered backgrounds black and dates stamped in the corner – these little details take one back to the 2000s, when digital cameras were all the rage and photographs felt precious. As smartphone cameras grew crisper and clearer over the past decade, they replaced the small, brick-like devices. After all, why carry two devices on nights out, to college and trips when one will do? But now, in pursuit of nostalgia, Gen Z Bengalureans are bringing digital cameras back.
“After taking a photo, I remember putting it on my laptop and seeing this warm, fuzzy glow that I couldn’t see on a phone camera. Maybe it’s a sense of nostalgia, but it reminds me of a time I was too young to remember,” says Agnij Purushothaman, who recently started using his grandfather’s 2005 Nikon digital camera after discovering it still worked. This is a pattern among many enthusiasts, reclaiming cameras that once photographed their childhoods, but this time, taking the helm to recreate the same look. Rupkatha Dutta, a master’s student in Communication Studies, who carries her father’s old camera to class regularly, adds, “On social media, the content you see is so clear it almost hurts your eyes. But digital camera pictures are so soft, your eyes feel a little light.”
For graphic designer Mavika B, 25, her digicam has become a constant companion on nights out, pointing out that she’s been seeing more youngsters start to pull them out in restaurants and bars. “I love nightlife culture, so I love how digicam photos make it look like it’s nighttime at all times,” she says.
It’s in the last year or so that the digital camera made a comeback, coinciding with the rise of Y2K, especially in fashion. Many youngsters went in search of a digital camera after seeing pictures taken on these devices populating social media. “In my friend group, there are three to four other people who also have these cameras and take pictures with the intention of looking cool with their blurry photos online,” explains Nidhi Bhandari, a communications consultant.
She points out, however, that even if the results may end up on social media, the desire that drives many is to take intentional photos that don’t get forgotten in a phone. “My phone gallery has pictures of bills, notes, pictures of signboards, because I didn’t have glasses that day – pictures just get lost in this void. A digital camera needs more intentionality,” explains Bhandari. Mavika adds, “It’s also the physical aspect of this tiny object -– that you turn it on and the lens pops out. Just that interaction with physical buttons in itself is fun and cute.”
Many of these features are the draw of film photography, which has been seeing a resurgence since the pandemic, but digital cameras offer practical advantages that appeal to college-goers’ budgets – not requiring film reel purchases or film developing costs. But, if you plan to buy an old camera instead of looking for it in the family attic, you’ll find that prices have not decreased. “People have been reselling the cameras for a high price, though it’s been 10 years since they were released. I found them going for Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000,” says Mavika.
Playing with colours
While these cameras don’t allow for much control with ISO or aperture, enthusiasts have found ways to experiment in creative ways. “My friends and I tried putting physical filters on top of the lens – colours of cellophane paper to add tints and a holographic sheet for a prism-like effect. One of my friends adds fingerprints on the lens to get a dreamy look,” says Bhandari.
Dutta does something similar but substitutes cellophane for sunglasses. Nightlife lovers like Mavika may enjoy a trick she tries when around artificial light. She explains, “With the flash on, if you shake your camera a little, it will create trails of light and a messy background that has a tipsy look to it.” Purushothaman adds, “The colours on digi cams are already appealing but if you edit the exposure, saturation or contrast a little, it takes pictures from 0 to 100.”