This $119 Camera Won’t Let You See Your Photos

Every phone camera in 2026 runs the same loop: shoot, preview, delete, reshoot. That cycle has been the default for so long that most people don’t notice it happening anymore. The Flashback ONE35 V2 exists to break it. For $119, you get a reusable digital camera with no screen, no instant preview, and a default 24-hour wait before a single image appears. The friction isn’t a flaw. It’s the entire product.

Price: $119
Where to Buy: Flashback

So the real question is: can 27 exposures and a forced delay change how you feel about the photos you take? The original ONE35 answered that for more than 50,000 buyers across 68 countries. The V2 makes the case harder to dismiss.

Flashback began in a garage in 2022 when two Australian friends, Kelric and Mack, started building prototypes. Their 2023 Kickstarter cleared $80,000 in 13 minutes and eventually crossed $800,000. The camera won a Good Design Award, appeared on Shark Tank Australia (where the founders turned down $500,000 to keep the company independent), and quietly built a community that’s now shot more than 10 million photos. Word of mouth has played a big role in that momentum. That kind of growth points to a gap in the retro digital camera market that smartphones created without meaning to. The Flashback camera keeps growing, and the V2 is proof the concept scales.

What actually changed

The V2’s biggest upgrade hides behind the plastic shell: a new 13-megapixel sensor pushing 4,144 x 3,088 resolution through a 1/3.1-inch sensor and f/2.2 lens at roughly 30mm equivalent. Those numbers won’t challenge a modern smartphone, but the V2 handles tricky lighting much better than the original. The first version tended to blow out bright areas or lose detail in dark spots. Flashback says the new sensor also improves color accuracy, though we haven’t compared V1 and V2 side by side. It’s a meaningful step forward that doesn’t pretend to be something else.

Four film simulations now live in the companion app: Classic, Mono, Beta, and Cine. Classic pushes warm amber tones that resemble old vacation prints. Mono delivers high-contrast black and white with clean, natural grain. Beta lands somewhere between a faded Polaroid and a washed-out film slide, while Cine adds a cooler, muted tone pulled from movie film stock.

Each mode processes your 27 shots after transfer, and the results lean into that soft, faded analog look without feeling like a gimmick. If you’ve spent time around “film preset” content on social media, you know the visual neighborhood. The processing here is built into the camera’s own software rather than added through a separate app.

RAW file export in Adobe DNG format is the sleeper addition. Nobody expects editable RAW data from a $119 camera shaped like a toy. That single feature turns it from a fun novelty into a real creative tool for anyone willing to edit in Lightroom.

Eight colorways include two transparent models that expose the camera’s internals through clear plastic, a direct callback to late-’90s electronics like the iMac G3 and the see-through Game Boy Color. At 147 grams, the body slips into a jacket pocket without adding bulk, and the built-in xenon flash still delivers that classic overexposed party photo look. Battery life runs about two months on a single USB-C charge, roughly 15 rolls before you need a cable. The box ships with USB-C, USB-A, and Lightning adapters, a thoughtful inclusion that most companies skip at this price.

Who should skip this

If you need consistent image quality for anything beyond casual shooting, look elsewhere. The sensor produces charming photos, but sharpness and low-light performance sit well below what even a mid-range phone delivers in 2026.

The 24-hour delay will sort people out even faster. Film Camera Mode locks your images behind a full day’s wait after transfer, and there’s no screen on the camera to preview anything. Digicam Mode removes the timer, but you still can’t check shots in the field. No chimping, no quick reshoot, no delete button. If instant feedback is how you nail the composition you want, every piece of this design will push back. The ONE35 V2 is built for a specific kind of patience. It makes zero apologies about that.

Who this is for

Start with the people who’ve noticed their camera roll holds thousands of photos they’ll never scroll past again. The 27-shot limit forces a real choice before every frame, and that single constraint turns out to be the actual product. Pass the camera around a dinner table, and the shared 24-hour wait builds a group excitement that instant uploads can’t match. It becomes a shared experience in a way phones stopped offering years ago.

The retro crowd will find plenty to appreciate on the surface. Transparent colorways look genuinely good clipped to a bag or sitting on a shelf. Colors like Yellow/Black and Coffee/Cream hit that sweet spot between playful and intentional. There’s something satisfying about carrying an object that sparks conversation just by how it looks. The compact form factor draws questions before you even explain what the camera does. The plastic body feels light and playful, though CNET noted the buttons and sliders feel flimsy up close. It’s a tradeoff that tracks with the disposable camera DNA. You notice the texture the moment you pick it up. It’s the kind of design detail that rewards handling over spec-reading.

If you miss the ritual of dropping off film and waiting for prints, you already understand what Flashback is selling. The V2 doesn’t try to compete on traditional camera specs. It tries to make each frame feel like it costs something: a moment of attention and 27 chances to get it right.

Casual photographers who’ve bounced between phone filters and disposable cameras will land here naturally. The ONE35 V2 fills a spot that didn’t exist five years ago, somewhere between throwback toy and real creative tool. At $119, you’re paying for a reason to care about 27 frames. The 24-hour wait that follows is what makes each one feel earned.

Price: $119
Where to Buy: Flashback

The Flashback ONE35 V2 is available now from the Flashback website and B&H Photo. It ships with a USB-C cable, adapters, and a sticker sheet. A vegan leather case runs $19 separately.