The Best Single Use Disposable Cameras!

Despite being the most common and cheapest of the 8overallthe Kodak FunSaver performed best.  Its 800 iso color negative film has great exposure latitude making it much more versatile – it could shoot in open sunlight without blowing out the highlights but also did very well in low light.  Its grain is very subtle and has very pleasant warm tones.  All 8 cameras have plastic optics but the Kodak FunSave seemed to be sharper than the rest.  If you’re looking for cheap disposable cameras that produce great resultsthis might be the best choice. See image comparisons below

See Images shot with this Kodak Fun Saver

When a behemoth like Kodak updates a hugely popular single use camerait grabs people’s attention. Sporting a dual-lens setup and the iconic Tri-X 400 film insidewe had the opportunity to test out this black and white single use camera in both outdoor and indoor settings. Andas we develop a lot of single use cameras as a traditional dip and dunk labwe’re excited to see the iconic Tri-X black and white film in Kodak’s clever little power flash camera.

See Images shot with this Kodak 400TX

Of all 8the Quick Snap is the easiest to use.  It’s the smallest and has a practical flash switch that allows you to keep the flash on.  For all the other cameras you need to press the button to charge the flash for every shot but for this camerayou can keep the flash constantly on by pushing the flash up which will glow red when ready.  Having a good flash is important for this camera because has finer grain 400iso film which means needs the flash for the lower lit sceneunlike the 800 iso cameras.  The Quick Snap is best used in open daylight with no flash or in low light with flash.  Its colors are nearly as pleasant as the rest – it often goes magenta for skin tones and whites.  If you’re looking for a cheap daylight camera that excels for landscapes this camera would be a great choice.

See images shot with the FujiFilm Quick Snap

This cameraalong with the rest of the Simple Use cameras has some major differences from common disposable cameras- they can be reloaded with film and used multiple times which is super coolthey also have 36 exposure compared to the rest which is only 27 exposuresand they have flash gels which can give you a wide range of unique flash effects.  The Lomo 400 cold comes with Lomography’s 400 color negative film has decent exposure latituderelatively fine grainand very pleasant tones.  The plastic optics produce a slightly softer image but a much more unique look than the traditional Kodak & Fuji cameras.  It also costs more than most disposable cameras but if you plan on reloading it will be much more cost-effective than buying a bunch of single-use cameras. See image comparisons below

New to our lineup for 2020the Rollei disposable camera comes pre-loaded with the Rollei RPX 400 27 exp. B&W film is which is a great film stock with very good exposure latitude. The camera has an identical design as the JCH Kassha but produced better and more consistent results. It has a 31mm f/9 at a 125th lens that’s pretty sharp from 3-5ft and gets pretty soft after 15ft. Like the other disposable camerasit performs best on bright sunny days or close shots using the flash. The flash is reliable and if you’re in anything other than bright lightit’s highly recommended to use the flash. This camera did create some interesting distortion which is most-likely from the film being a little loose inside of the camera. Overall it’s a fun camera to shoot with – we liked the look of the Rollei RPX 400 but if we had to choosewe’d still pick the Ilford Single HP5 which seems to be sharper and have less image distortion.

See images shot with the Rollei Inferno Ragazzi

We were excited to shoot with the new Kassha disposable camera loaded with 27 exposure Japan Camera Hunter StreetPan 400 film. This film is known for its’ contrast and punchy tones that can look really good when properly exposed which is the major flaw with this camera… This camera has a fixed aperture of f/9 with a shutter around 125th of second which would be fine for daylight shooting but since this film seems to be darker/needs to be overexposed it produced many dark images. Even with the flashit produced dark images on occasion. And on top of thatits 31mm lens doesn’t have a wide depth of field which produces blurry images from roughly 15ft to infinity (fixed focus 31mm lens). It’s the sweet spot for focus and its fast is 3-5 feet. If you’re looking to shoot a B&W disposable camerawe recommend the Ilford & Lomography cameras over this one. We’ve included some images below that show the good and the bad.

See images shot with the JCH StreetPan Kassha

This camera is physically the same as the Lomo color 400 but is packed with a unique filmLomoChrome Purple 400 which mimics color infrared film in some ways.  The photos this camera produces are other-worldly.  It’s a fun camera and of all the Simple Use cameras this is the one we recommend most because LomoChrome Purple isn’t a cheap film to buy so it’s fun to shoot once then once the roll is donetake it out and load another 400 iso color negative film in the camera. See image comparisons below

See images shot with LomoChrome Purple Simple Use

This is the only black and white camera of the Lomo Simple Use cameras.  It’s packed with Lady Grey 400 which is a black & white film that has very noticeable but pleasant grain and decent tones but it falls short of the quality B&W film the Ilford cameras are packing so if you don’t plan on reusing this camera and you want black & white we highly recommend the Ilford disposables. See image comparisons below

See Images Lomo B&W 400 Simple Use

This 400iso B&W disposable camera is surpassingly sharp and is great for open daylight shooting but not in low light.  The XP2 film has a very fine graingreat contrastbeautiful tonesand can be developed as C-41.  It’s a great camera for classic nature landscapes and cityscapesas well as natural light portraits. See image comparisons below

This camera is truly unique due to the fact that it has the classic true b&w HP5 Plus 400 iso film in it.  White the HP5 has more noticeable grain than XP2 the tonescontrastgrainand exposure latitude are far superior – just look at the details in the shadows!  This b&w disposable camera is a great overall shoot that performs well in open daylightlow light without flashand in low light with flash.  Of all 3 B&W disposables, this the one recommend most.  Even though you could reload HP5 film in a Lomo Simple Usethe Ilford plastic optics are still sharper. See image comparisons below

See images shot with the Ilford B&W HP5 Single Use

This is the only waterproof disposable camera we tested.  With its 800iso grain film and no flashyou’ll only want to shoot it in daylight or underwater that’s being hit by light.  It produces better slightly better skin tones than the Fuji Quick Snap and does better in low light due to its 800iso film.  It’s obviously the best of the 8 cameras if you plan on getting wet but if you don’t plan on getting wetwe don’t recommend this camera.

What’s the Best Waterproof Camera? Click to find out.
The DarkRoom tests the top waterproof cameras with a side-by-side photo comparison.

Loaded with Kodak Max 800 which is a stop faster than the Kodak Fun Saver 400 – this allows it to be more versatile in lower light areas like underwater. Its’ rugged build and waterproof down 50ft make it ideal for winter water and extreme outdoor activities. If you don’t plan on shoot underwater though we highly recommend the Kodak Fun Saver which produces higher quality images. Wine this camera is encased with a plastic cover it seems to be less sharp and due to no flashit’s not ideal for indoor use. Of the two underwater single-use camerathe Fuji Waterproof Quick Snap and thiswe definitely recommend the Kodak which produced slightly sharper images and more consistent image quality.

What’s the Best Waterproof Camera? Click to find out.
The DarkRoom tests the top waterproof cameras with a side-by-side photo comparison.