I've always loved Kodak disposable cameras, and I've always known that they were still popular among a certain demographic, despite the decline in analog photography.
But I had no idea just how popular they still are. Snoop Dogg was rocking one at the Paris Olympics. Hope Walz had a Kodak disposable camera at the Democratic National Convention.
Between celebrities like Shaquille O'Neal being seen using them to millennials and Gen Zers feeding their craving for Nineties nostalgia, sales of Kodak disposable cameras have doubled in the past five years.
That's according to Kodak Moments, whose "single-use cameras" (to give their official and less eco-abrasive name) have been absolutely skyrocketing in popularity.
As reported by NBC News, photo labs are currently being inundated with hundreds of disposable cameras to process on a daily basis.
"Phil steadily owns a darkroom in San Clemente, California, where his lab technicians process and recycle 200 to 300 disposable cameras every single day," states the report.
As with other photography crazes, whether it's crappy digital cameras from the 2000s or the remarkable Fujifilm X100 TikTok phenomenon, it seems to be down to younger generations and the trends set by the online world.
"It's social media. They're seeing it on TikTok," says Steadily. "Young people now, they didn't grow up with physical print, whereas old people like me that's how we saw our photos."
Of course, a lot of Gen Zers are expanding their wings beyond disposable cameras and are venturing headlong into the world of true film photography, using both vintage cameras and brand new models like the Pentax 17.
On the flipside, though, many youngsters are dazzled by film cameras but have no idea how they actually work. Still, yet more evidence that film isn't dead – in fact, it's literally stronger than it's been in years.
As well as the best disposable cameras, you might be interested in the best film cameras – and if you want the experience of a disposable but without the waste, check out my Flashback One35 review.
