Well, what do you know. I certainly did not see this coming. Starbucks sells a lot of merch, ranging from bottles and mugs to soft toys, but a digital camera? That has to be a first. This happened in China. To celebrate this year’s holiday season, Starbucks China has released a digital camera that is oozing with a Leica/Fujifilm vibe.
There are not many hardware details to go around. We know that this fun camera is part of the Starbucks member-only Retro Digital Camera Member’s Star Gift Set, which also includes a Starbucks Card. It is most certainly not a toy camera, and it isn’t your run-of-the-mill novelty camera either.
This Retro Digital Camera produces fun images with retro vibes like those from the millennium days, thanks to a variety of retro filters. And if the selection of filters isn’t enough to scream “retro!”, then the included nine styles of Y2K frame effect, a.k.a. photo frame overlays, should. You remember those days, don’t you? Man, how this reminds us of the photos from Neoprint photo booths—another tech relic.
But what makes this camera unique is the sensors. You read that right. Sensors, as in plural, because it has not one but two of them. There is one where you expect, on the front, and the other masquerading as the viewfinder. That’s right. That “viewfinder” isn’t what it is. There’s a camera within. So selfie/wefie with this camera isn’t going to be a hit-and-miss thing. You get to frame yourself properly through the built-in LCD.
The camera features a metal and lychee-leather construction, complete with a functional shutter button and a built-in flash. Though I believe those dials up top are purely decorative. Rounding up the feature list is a Starbucks camera strap. There are two colorways to choose from: red-gold and green-silver.
The Starbucks Retro Digital Camera went on sale at Starbucks stores in China starting on November 04, 2025, for just 198 yuan [CH] (about 28 US dollars). It is not clear if it has already sold out or not.
Images: Starbucks [CH].
