Chuzhao Digital Twin Lens Reflex Camera Review
I received the Chuzhao Digital Twin Lens Reflex Camera as a Christmas gift from my daughter, and at first glance it’s hard not to be charmed by it. Styled like a classic twin-lens reflex camera from the early days of photography, it immediately stands out with its square body, dual lenses, and waist-level viewfinder — a look that’s very different from the phones and mirrorless cameras most of us use every day. On paper, it promises a fun blend of old-school design with modern features, including 12 MP stills and 1080p video.
Of course, retro looks only go so far, but that is also kind of the point here. This camera is not trying to replace a modern mirrorless camera or even your phone. It is more about the fun of using something a bit odd and nostalgic. In this review, I will talk about what it is like to use day to day, the kinds of images it produces, and who this camera will probably appeal to the most.
With those expectations in mind, I took the Chuzhao out for a few casual walks to see what shooting with it actually feels like.
All of the photos shown here are straight out of camera with no edits, so what you see is exactly what the camera produced. This camera is available on Amazon for CAD $65 and out of the box includes the camera, a camera strap, and a 16gb micro SD card.
Here are a couple of photos with soft focus but a charming retro look.. The Square resolution perfect for Instagram. Shot indoors with low light.
Large character to attact shoppers into a pop-up store in Toronto: Color
Large character to attact shoppers into a pop-up store in Toronto: Black and White
Pros
The camera is tiny easily fitting in the palm of a child's hand. It's fun to use and the rendered images have a retro feel that can be at times reminiscent of a polaroid from the 1980s. In bright light skies and bright backgrounds end up over exposed and washed out.
The Chuzhao is a conversation starter. After only two outings with the camera I was asked about it three times.
Tiny camera easily fits in the palm of your hand.
Cons
There is no way to control the exposure. It's slow to turn on and autofocus misses focus often. Additionally when in focus the image is soft, but in a charming retro fashion. Due to the limited dynamic range high-contrast scenes tend to produce blown highlights or dark areas that lose detail. In practice, this just means you need to be a bit mindful of bright skies or deep shadows.
There is no way to set a focus point. Be sure to have your subject in the center of the frame.
Finally the Chuzhao shoots only jpg so no option to edit raw files. However, at this price point, this is not unexpected and I feel that the target audience is not going to care about raw editing.
Muddy sun stars and chromatic aberration is strong with this camera.
Specifications
- Resolution 12MP 3456x3456
- Display Resolution: 240x240
- 1/4 inch sensor
- 1080P FHD videos
- 1000mAh (4 hours of usage)
- USB Type C
- Dimensions 42.5x52x89.8mm
- Standard tripod mount screw hole
Gallery of Sample Images
CTV Broadcast building on Queen Street West
Hot dog vendor - color
Hot dog vendor - black and white
Steam from the ground, the best location in Toronto to get that New York City feel
Paul, at lunch during our photo walk
Pizza
Boarding the subway
Exhaust pipes on a cold winter day
Christmas Raindeer at the Eaton Centre. Not having control of the shutter speed made the lights blurry.
Christmas tree at Brookfield Place
Street vendor selling trinkets on Queen Street
CN Tower
CN Tower - color
CTV Broadcast building on Queen Street West
Hot dog vendor - color
Hot dog vendor - black and white
Steam from the ground, the best location in Toronto to get that New York City feel
Paul, at lunch during our photo walk
Pizza
Boarding the subway
Exhaust pipes on a cold winter day
Christmas Raindeer at the Eaton Centre. Not having control of the shutter speed made the lights blurry.
Christmas tree at Brookfield Place
Street vendor selling trinkets on Queen Street
CN Tower
CN Tower - color
There are four buttons on the front of the camera for power, shutter, filter, review, and video.
My camera has firmware version 2.5B. I can set the date/time but when I view photos on the computer the date/time is not saved to the image metadata. Further more all exif data is blank so setting the date in the firmware does not help at all nor is there any useful information. Finally there does not appear to be anyway to update the firmware that I can find.
My first time out with this camera I took almost 250 shots over 3 hours and the battery still had 1 bar remaining. Battery life far exceeded my expectations.
Who is this camera for?
The Chunzha camera is for photographers looking for a fun and unique experience. It's a novelty camera that is stylish and and arouses curiosity in people around you. Three times in my first walk around town I had people comment on the look of the camera.
It's not made for serious photography and as such it's drawbacks, softness and limited features, are easily accepted especially at the budget price of CAD$65.
At the end of the day, the Chuzhao Digital TLR camera is less about the photos you walk away with and more about the enjoyment of using it. Its retro design, tiny size, and simple operation make it a camera you pick up out of curiosity rather than necessity. If you approach it with the same expectations set at the start, it delivers exactly what it promises.
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