A $20 point-and-shoot film camera from Walmart sounds like a good deal, a throwback to the days when analog photography was king. The ONN 35mm camera is a little plastic bodied thing that promises to bring film photography to the masses, but does it deliver for the price?
The ONN camera comes in a small box with a 27-exposure roll of alleged ISO 400 color film, a lanyard, and a little manual (which contains a QR link for a digital version). The camera itself is small, having a 28mm f/8 lens, a fixed 1/120th shutter, a thumbwheel for film advancement, a recessed rewind mechanism, an optical viewfinder, and on/off flash control. It is focus-free, thus anything from 1 meter to infinity should be visible. At $13 for the camera and $7 for the film, it is less expensive than the Kodak M35, which costs more than $40 without film.
- Compact and cute design. Easily twist the lens to turn on and off
- Built-in selfie mirror for easy selfies Close-up mode with parallax correction
- Features automatic exposure and flash control for bright photos that are not “washed-out”
The plastic body is light and toy-like, with a retro appearance that some will find attractive, while others will find cheap. The viewfinder is a problem; it is undersized and mismatched with the 28mm lens, which has a field of view similar to a 50mm. One user describes the shutter button as “mushy” but it does produce a nice plastic clunk when pressed, like higher end cameras such as the Pentax 67 but less sophisticated. The film advance wheel is functional but clunky, and the rewind crank is hard to open without damaging it.
Daytime images on fresh 35mm film are good because of the film’s exposure latitude, but the lens is disappointing. Images are soft, vignette-heavy, and slightly barrel distorted, particularly in close-ups. Objects 10 feet away are ideal, but do not anticipate tack-sharp results. The flash is required for anything less than strong sunlight, and it is dependable but harsh, with a narrow light distribution that exacerbates vignetting and causes rapid shadow falloff. Nighttime photography is a gamble; interior portraits may be adequately exposed thanks to lab corrections, but overall quality is poor.
The included ISO 400 roll is actually Eastman 5207 (Vision III 250D) cine film, which has a magenta base and rounded sprockets. If you mishandle or underprocess the film, it will result in murky, color-shifted photographs. Some claim that the remjet layer removal technique increases the film’s effective ISO, but the delivered roll has faded colors and requires extensive post-processing. Replacing it with new, authentic ISO 400 film, such as Fuji or Kodak, will produce better results, but adds some unnecessary expenses.
So who is this camera for? Weddings where guests will take candid, flash heavy shots in dimly lit venues might be a good fit—hand out a pack of eight and let the nostalgia flow. Another use case is for family holidays or casual trips where everyone wants to have a camera without risking an expensive gadget. The ONN’s simplicity shines in stress free shooting situations like hiking, beach trips and parties where you just point and shoot.
