We wouldn’t have guessed that increasingly small cameras would start turning up, but here we are. The Haru Mini Retro Camera, to give it its full title, is a very tiny compact shooter currently on sale in Japan. It joins the likes of Kodak’s Charmera, which we saw late last year, as a properly pocket-sized snapper.
As you’d expect from something that’ll disappear in your palm, it’s not terribly expensive. The ¥5,800 price tag works out to a little over R600. Of course, since Haru’s little compact is only on sale in Japan for now, it’ll take some doing to spend that.
Haru snaps
When we say it’s tiny, we mean it. The Mini Retro measures 52 x 40 x 17mm, weighing a whopping 68 grams when it’s dangling from your keys. The company behind it, Hansmare, has fitted it with a real camera sensor and even a 1.47in IPS panel on the rear so you can see what you’re pointing at.
Snaps are taken using the 20MP sensor. Amazingly, it’ll also shoot video, with all content being saved to a microSD card. The tiny battery is apparently rated for 65 minutes of use between charges. Transfers to your PC are via a USB-C port. It should save swapping that little plastic memory chip back and forth.
If you want a working camera capable of hiding in your tiniest pocket, you’ll need to bring it over from Japan. The 20MP sensor isn’t going to give you stellar shots, given how little space there is for lenses. But it’ll definitely attract attention if you whip one out in public. Provided onlookers can see the thing, that is.
