Imagine someone took a film camera from the ’80s, whispered “Wi-Fi” into its ear, and it suddenly woke up in 2025 with a flip screen and a social media strategy. That, dear reader, is the YASHICA FX-D — the digital film simulation camera that wants you to slow down, look cool doing it, and still have content ready for Instagram.
Billed as a modern homage to the beloved FX-3, the FX-D blends the tactile charm of analog cameras (yes, there’s a real manual film advance lever!) with the instant gratification of digital shooting. It’s like shooting film, minus the awkward “Did I load this right?” anxiety and 10-day lab turnaround.
But this isn’t just a pretty face for your shelf. Under its retro hood, the FX-D packs six film simulations with names like Ruby 60s and Golden 80s — which sound like cocktails but are, in fact, vintage-inspired color profiles. There are also two black-and-white modes, including one specifically tuned for street photography, so you can look like a serious artist even while photographing your cat.
Want to shoot mindfully and still get selfies? You’re in luck. The FX-D 100 comes with autofocus, zoom, and a flip screen, while the FX-D 300 throws in optical image stabilization for good measure. Both support creating your own “film recipes,” because nothing says retro-modern like customizing grain and tone curves from a touchscreen.
And yes, there’s an app. Because, how else are you going to get your beautiful shots straight onto Instagram in the fastest possible time, right? Speaking of instant photo sharing, there’s, of course, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity to facilitate that as well as for the remote control function via the said app.
Other spec sheet details that might interest you include a 13 MP Sony IMX 458 image sensor, a 2.8” 4:3 aspect ratio LCD with modest resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and 0-180° screen rotation angle, and a 3x optical zoom lens with an aperture of f16-2.8, and a focal range of 0.5m to infinity for wide, and 1m to infinity for telephoto. Oh, it also has 4x digital zoom, and it can, of course, record videos with resolution from 720p all the way to 4K.
The YASHICA FX-D is now on Kickstarter with prices starting at HK$2,657 (about US$339). If you’re nostalgic for film but also allergic to film, this might be the one camera that lets you have it both ways.
Images: Yashica.
