- Retro compact has no rear LCD and film-style digital filters
- It offers instant one-button Wi-Fi transfer to cloud or mobile app
- Kickstarter campaign is now live, with super early bird pricing starting at just $99
Update 24 June 2025: The Echolens Kickstarter page is now live, allowing would-be buyers to back the project and secure one of the first batch of production cameras. We’ve updated this story to reflect new info that has emerged as a result.
The upcoming Echolens is a digital camera that stands out from the pack. Designed to recreate the experience of shooting on analog film, it has no rear screen and four built-in film emulation filters to create vintage-style photographs. And the X100VI look-a-like is also going to be really, really affordable.
We’ve seen cameras like the Echolens before. We don’t mean compact, fixed-lens and pricey cameras like the imperious Fujifilm X100VI, the stunning Leica Q3 43 or even the recent fun-oriented Fujifilm X, although there’s definitely a bit of all three in the Echolens’ eye-catching retro styling. We mean in pared-back, cheap point-and-shoots like the Camp Snap, which also has no screen and a refreshingly simple approach to shooting.
Echolens, which has an 8MP CMOS sensor, 35mm lens and Xenon flash, appears to be a little more advanced than the Camp Snap. For one thing, it has an LCD indicator on its top plate to keep count of your shots.
After 54 snaps have been captured, you’ll have to offload them to your smartphone or the cloud via the camera’s built-in Wi-Fi – a feature that’s supposed to ‘echo’ the act of changing the roll of film in your analog camera. This offloading apparently takes just one button press and no time at all (less than a second per shot, according to the creators).
Stripped-back shooting
The Echolens website promises a minimalist approach to photography, stripping away much of the tinkering that can get in between the photographer and their subject.
That means simplified controls (there’s a shutter button, an image transfer button and a dial to switch the flash on and off, and that seems to be it), a viewfinder for composition and nothing in the way of AI image enhancement or over-sharpening. Instead, the user can pick from a range of digital ‘film’ styles designed to replicate the color profiles of classic 35mm stocks. These are called Kodagrain, Dreamroll, B&W and Rosebyte – but more will be added if and when the campaign achieves over 1000 backers.
A USB-C port is also present for recharging, and Echolens’ makers claim the battery will last for several days on a full charge. The port can also be used to transfer images, should the user prefer it to Wi-Fi.
The launch of the Kickstarter page has also confirmed Echolens’ price – and it’s very affordable.
The pledge requirement for an Echolens camera is $149 (around £110 / AU$230), with an estimated delivery date of October this year. For those super early birds who back the project on its first day, however, a pledge of just $99 (about £73 / AU$150) will secure one, while a separate, limited early bird pledge (with limited supplies) is also available for $125 (£93 / AU$190).
Of course, backers sometimes have a lengthier-than-advertised wait for the finished product after a Kickstarter campaign closes, so as always with crowdfunding campaigns, we suggest you take that October 2025 delivery date as a guide – particularly if the camera proves popular and a great deal of units need to be produced.
Interestingly, one of the stretch goals (5000 backers or more) will allow backers to add a portable instant printer to their order, allowing physical prints to be created and shared even while you’re at your summer BBQ/office Christmas party/birthday bash.
We’ve been in touch with the Echolens creators about getting our hands on a review sample of the camera, so hopefully we can take this intriguing little camera out for a true road test very soon. We’ll keep you posted.
