Retro Japanese Camera
Olympus Camedia C-840L
This is the Olympus Camedia C-840L. It came out in the late 90s in Japan. Back then, it was a luxury item, and cutting edge technology. Can you guess how much it cost on release?
How much did this camera cost when it was released?
Were you surprised? I was too. Even in person, it doesn’t feel particularly well made. It’s plastic and reminds me of a cheap disposable film camera. However, considering inflation, this cost as much as a new iPhone costs today.
These days you can find them for less than 1000 yen at second-hand stores, or around 1500 yen on online flea market apps in Japan. Personally, I got mine for 500(3$) yen at Hobby Off in Niigata, and in perfect condiiton!
Don’t let that initial price fool you though. I also needed to buy 4 AA batteries and a special memory card called “SmartMedia” to use it. SmartMedia cards are very thin and they don’t make them anymore, so they can be expensive! That’s not to mention the special memory card reader. In the end, I spent about 5000($35 usd) yen total to be able to use it.
Having said that, it’s a great piece of electronics history. And if I had bought it back when it was released, I would have paid over 1000 dollars more! Also, the pictures are pretty cool looking. If you’re curious, I highly recommend you try out one of these old digital cameras. I often see cheap bundle deals on Mercari! And of course physical used goods stores are good too I reccomend Hobby Off.
Let’s try it out!
Compared to using my iPhone, I much prefer using a camera like this for my blog posts. Even though the iPhone has many convenient features, somehow using this feels less complicated.
Since the screen is only there for reviewing pictures you already took, it mostly stays off. It feels like I’m using a film camera without the hassle of film.
I’m not sure if I’ll keep using it. I wish it didn’t eat through batteries so quickly! Regardless, it was a lot of fun to use and learn about. Maybe I will give it to someone that wants it in the future. For now though, I want to try using it a bit more.
Extra pictures!
