Moment, more commonly known for its range of phone accessories that includes some of the best clip-on iPhone lenses, has launched its 'Long Weekend' line of products featuring a 35mm analog compact camera, plus a trendy range of bags and accessories.
The low-cost plastic camera is dressed to impress with its retro design, and has an otherwise simple operation, with a crank to wind the 35mm film, a flash that takes at least 10 seconds to charge, and a basic viewfinder to compose your shots.
Shutter speed is automatically set to 1/120sec and the f/9 aperture lens (also plastic) has an approximate 31mm focal length – that's slightly tighter than the main camera of your phone.
After launching new iPhone lenses that aim to compete with the iPhone 15 Pro's new telephoto lens, Moment is muscling in on the analog photography action too, competing with the popular Kodak Ektar H35 and Pentax's Film Camera Project.
More screen–free goodness
I'm an advocate for responsible tech, including limiting how much screen time we have in our lives. Moment’s Long Weekend analog camera is another option to consider alongside the Kodak Ektar H35 half-frame camera that shoots two frames onto a single 35mm picture, and it could win Gen Z hearts.
The Long Weekend is available in Black or Creme-Multi and costs $49.99 for the camera only – you’ll need to buy film separately. The Moment website lists the camera as a pre-order, with delivery scheduled for December 26. If you live outside the US, there will be additional import and shipping costs added.
As much as I love film and the choice of looks available from the likes of Ilford and Kodak for the Long Weekend, which is optimized for ISO 200 / 400 film, I think the Camp Snap compact camera is a more compelling choice. It's a digital camera without the increasingly exorbitant cost of film, yet it offers a similar screen-less shooting experience, at a similar price point.
In the same vein, I really dig the Fujifilm Instax Pal versus the brand’s own instant cameras. It's a digital-only 'instant' camera that connects to a portable Instax Mini printer, unlike its bulkier instant camera siblings that shoot directly to a built-in printer. You can pick and choose which Pal digital photos to print, without the waste that comes from unusable prints.
Image quality isn't the order of business for any of these point-and-shoot cameras, nor is creativity for that matter. Instead, it's about the feeling you get. I've no doubt that the Long Weekend looks and to an extent will feel the part; it feels like another bit of kit just for Christmas, not for life.
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