Disposable Cameras: Everything You Need to Know (How They WorkWhere to Buy & Develop Them)

Disposable Cameras in 2025

Disposable cameras—those classic single-use cameras we all carried around in the 90s—are back in a big way. They’re simplecheapand the perfect intro to shooting 35mm film without any technical stress. Just pointclickand let the magic happen. Whether you’re documenting a weekend adventurea weddinga road tripor just diving into film for the first timedisposable cameras make it easy. In this guideyou’ll learn how disposable cameras workthe different types out thereand what happens when it’s time to develop your disposable camera. And when you’re readyShutter Junkies Photo Lab handles disposable camera developing quicklyaffordablyand with the best scans around.

For me personallydisposable cameras have been a big part of my life since I was a kid in the 1980’s. They were something I just took for granted and for whatever reasonlike most peopleI just stopped buying them. That is until recently. Now I absolutely love using them and we love developing them for our customers at our film lab. If you look closely at the handsome group of young adults in the photo aboveyou can possibly find memany years ago when I was 16 and a senior at Boles High School in QuinlanTX.

What is a Disposable Camera?

It’s a very simplevery cheap pre-loaded roll of 35mm film loaded into a plastic body with a simple mechanical shutter and film advance and some very basic electronics and a battery. Originallythey were made to simply be dropped off at the local film collection center so you didn’t even have to deal with disposing of the camera and they could be easily recycled. Nothing is adjustable - everything operates in a fixed mode. The lens is fixed and plasticthe aperture is fixedthe shutter speed is also fixed at around 1/100th of a second. The only variable is the film speed. You can usually purchase disposable cameras in ISO 200400and sometimes 800. The flash is usually decently powerful and is normally off. You normally have to press a button to charge the flash before you click the shutter. The recharge button has to be pressed each time so that you can have the flash charged for each shutter click.

These cameras are still made to be taken/sent directly to a film lab for processingbut they can easily be processed at home and if you want to save money on postage when you send your film inyou can open up the camera and send the roll of film in by itself.

Disposable cameras all come loaded with filmthere are several different options ranging from basic color to black and white to some crazy film stocks. Disposables come in a lot of different film speeds alsoso it gives you a lot of flexibility

Where Can I get a Disposable Camera?

Disposable cameras are available at a lot of places! They are sold in-store at CVSWalgreensWalmartand Target. Mostly these stores either carry a Fujifilm or Kodak disposable in a single packa multipackand a waterproof model.

You can also pick them up online from Amazon and several other retailers. Amazon and other online retailers have a much better selection!

How Do You Use a Disposable Camera?

Disposable cameras are great because they are so very easy to use. The only thing you need to worry about is buying the right camera/film speed. Because the settings are all lockedthere’s no flexibility in exposing the film. While you could maybe use a 800 ISO film in a darker rooman 800 ISO film might not be the best for a bright sunny day. Fortunatelythe cameras are all labeled with what lighting environments they are best suited for. All you need to do is make sure you select the right one. Fujifilm Quicksnap disposable cameras come loaded with 400 iso filmwhich works better in bright daylight conditions. The Kodak brand disposable cameras (Funsaver and PowerFlash) come loaded with 800 ISO filmwhich works better in darker spaces like indoors.

After thatyou literally just point and shoot. The focal range is pretty big on these cameras. The biggest thing you need to remember is that the minimal focal distance is going to be your biggest concern. You can’t put the camera right in your face and expect the image to be in focus. GenerallyI’ve found that about an arm’s length away is the minimal focal distance for these cameras. If you’re in the shade or a shady areayou should definitely always use the flash. In facteven if you are out in the sunuse the flash any way as it helps to fill in the harsh shadows on the face. In most situationsyou can never have enough light!

It is important to note that when you are taking a photolooking through the viewfinder only gives you an approximation of the image you are taking. There is no optical view finder or ranger finderits simply a hole in the top of the camera for you to look through. You need to take parallax into consideration when taking photos of objects close to you as it might change the final composition of the actual image.

Where Can I Get My Disposable Camera Developed?

There are still quite a few places out there that process film. Unfortunatelymost of them are not local for the majority of us. I created a blog post talking about your options for getting your disposable cameras developed. Check out that blog post HERE! There’s a lot of great information there that will also help you with disposable cameras. WalmartWalgreenand CVS still process filmbut you won’t receive your negatives back. Even if you’re new to filmone thing you need to know is that YOU ALWAYS WANT YOUR NEGATIVES BACK! If a service doesn’t return your negativesdon’t use them. If you have your negativesyou can reproduce the image as many times as you want. The digital scans are no replacement or substitute for the film negatives.

We also offer disposable camera processing! Unlike some of our competitorswe handle your images ourselves and we always return your negatives. Click HERE to get your order started! You can also send it off to a number of really great labs out there. Richard Photo Lab is great as well as The Darkroom. Almost all labs will give you scanning options as well as prints and other options. If you’re mailing your film inyou. might want to remove it from the camera so save on postage. If the lab you are sending your film to offers a pre-paid labelI would just send the whole thing in. Most labs have places to recycle the cameras and batteries and it beats throwing all of that away yourself.

How to Get Disposable Camera Pictures on Your Phone

Almost every lab the processes your negatives will offer scanning services. At our photo labyou can have your images scanned and they go to a gallery where you can download them onto any deviceincluding your phone. Almost every lab offers this same servicebut some still send you CD’s or USB sticks. Check with your lab before placing your order. I usually opt for higher resolution scans so that when I download them to my phone or tabletI like getting an image that’s decent enough quality that it could be printed and edited a bit. You can also purchase a film scanner yourself and scan your negatives. It is a little more work but it gives you a little more control over the scans and the final product.

Simple Use Vs. Single Use Cameras

There are two other types of cameras out there on the market which fall into the disposable camera familyin my opinion. RecentlyLomography.com released a new line of cameras call Simple Use Cameras which shared the design and simplicity of a disposable camerabut were made to be reloadable. Disposable cameras have to be essentially broken to get the film out and while you can reload and tape up the camera and use it againit’s pretty much trashed. Lomography’s Simple Use Cameras come pre-loaded with film and are easily reloaded and reusable. The price for these cameras is significantly higher than traditional disposablesbut you have to take the reusability into consideration when looking at the price.

Single-use cameras are merely a rebranding of disposable cameras. With sustainability and conservation being very popular some companies decided to move away from the disposable moniker because of negative connotations associated with the word disposable. Single-use cameras are no different than normal disposable cameras.

Best Disposable Cameras Today

Kodak FunSaver

The Kodak Funsaver is one of the most popular disposable cameras out there today. This is one of the most popular cameras we see being used today and we develop hundreds of them each week. The shape of this camera is a little bigger and bulkier than mosthaving curves that fit nicely in your hand but making it a little difficult to fit this disposable cameras in your pocket. The camera comes loaded with Kodak 800 ISO film which works great in the daylight and indoors with the flash. The biggest issue with this camera is when you are shooting in extremely bright situations like sunlight snow or a bright sunny day at the beach. In those casesthese cameras tend to overexpose a stop or two. But indoors and at night the Kodak Funsaver excels rendering much more information in the darker areas than its competitors. This camera has a plastic bodya plastic 30mm lens locked in at F10 and the shutter is set at 1/100th of a second. The effective flash range is from 4.5 feet to about 12 feet. Any closer than that and everything over exposes and anything further and it will be severely underexposed. The camera’s flash button has to be held and the flash recharged each time you want to use it. You can hear the capacitor whistling as it charges up and a red light on top of the camera illuminates more brightly as it charges up. This is an effective way to make sure the flash is fully charged each time you take a picture but many of our customers forget in the moment to hold down that button to charge the flash and underexpose the image completelylosing the moment forever. Our favorite part about these cameras is that they are easily reusable (though they aren’t really advertised to be) and easier to recycle than other throw away cameras.

Fujifilm Quicksnap

The Fuji Quicksnap Disposable camera is another very popular disposable camera. Its availability at most Walmart locations makes it a popular choice amongst many casual photographers. The Quicksnap has a much smaller form factor than the Kodak Funsaver and easily fits in your pocket or purse or backpack. But its smaller size has no effect on the quality of the images you get. Unlike the Kodak disposable camerasthe Fuj Quicksnap comes loaded with 400 ISO filmone stop lower than the 800 ISO film in Kodaks. This slower film speed gives you better results in bright daylight condition and really good results in all other conditions. The effective flash range is about 4.5 feet to 12 feet and this features a “stay-on” flash switch rather than a flash button. Slide the flash button on and the flash will continually recharge while you use it. The only downside to this is that sometimes the flash doesn’t fully recharge if you’re taking pictures quickly. While the Kodak Funsaver struggles in bright lightthe Fuji Quicksnap struggles in darker spacesindoors and at night. As long as your subjects remain inside the effective flash rangeyour images will still turn out greatbut outside of the range everything is going to be underexposed and just black. The Quicksnap has a 32mm plastic lens and an aperture that is set at f10 while the shutter is set to 1/140th of a second.

Kodak Powerflash

The Kodak Powerflash disposable camera is very similar to the Kodak Funsaver in almost every wayexcept its form factor. It has a slimmermore compact body and fits nicely in your pocket. It’s not as small as the Fuji Quicksnapbut it has a much more practical shape. While this camera is identical to the Funsaverfeaturing 800 ISO filma 33mm plastic lens set to f10 and 1/100th of a second for the shutterthis camera is not as popular as the Funsaver or the Quicksand. But this camera is actually our favorite disposable camera as the results we see coming from this camera are slightly better than both the Funsaver and the Quicksnap. We couldn’t find any specs on the flashes powerbut we assume by the brand name of the camera that the flash is slightly more powerful and in dark situations like indoor eventsnight time photosand even weddings and wedding receptions this disposable really excels. If you’re shopping for a disposable camera for your weddingprombachelorette partybirthday partyor any other indoor disposable camera photographythis is the camera we recommend. But like the Funsaverthis camera features a hold-to-charge flash button and users are prone to forget or undercharge the flash leading to underexposed images.

Ilford HP5 Disposable (Black and White)

The Ilford HP5 Disposable Camera is a fantastic option for anyone who loves classic black-and-white film. Loaded with Ilford’s legendary HP5 400 filmthis single-use camera delivers that grittycontrast-rich look that street photographers and portrait shooters swear by. It handles a wide range of lighting conditions thanks to its versatile ISO 400 speedand the built-in flash makes indoor shooting easy. If you want the timeless aesthetic of traditional B&W photography without the hassle of loading a camerathe Ilford HP5 Disposable is a simplereliable choice. And yes—Shutter Junkies develops Ilford HP5 disposable cameras with beautiful scans and fast turnaround.

Lomography Simple Use

The Lomography Simple-Use cameras take the disposable camera idea and give it a creative twist. Unlike traditional single-use camerasthese come in several fun variationseach preloaded with a different film stock to match your shooting . You can choose the Color Negative 400 version for vibrantpunchy colors; the LomoChrome Purpleedition for surrealdreamlike purple-shifted tones; or the LomoChrome Metropolis version for a grittydesaturatedurban look. There’s even a Black & White 400 option for classic monochrome images. Each Simple-Use camera includes color gel filters over the flashletting you add funky effects right in-camera. They’re perfect for experimenting with film without committing to a full camera setup—and yesShutter Junkies develops every Lomo Simple-Use variation with high-quality scans and fast service.

Harman Reusable

The Harman Reusable Camera is a great step up for anyone who loves the convenience of a disposable camera but wants something they can keep using roll after roll. Made by Harman Technology—the same company behind Ilford film—it’s a simple 35mm point-and-shoot that comes bundled with two rolls of Kentmere 400 filmmaking it an affordable entry point into reusable film cameras. The Harman Reusable features a fixed-focus lensbuilt-in flashand lightweight plastic bodygiving it that classic disposable-camera feel with none of the waste. It’s perfect for beginnerscasual shootersor anyone wanting an inexpensive camera to toss in a bag and take everywhere. And as alwaysShutter Junkies develops all Harman/Kentmere films with fast turnaround and crisphigh-quality scans.

Disposable Cameras are So Much Fun!

I have a large number of camerasboth film and digitalthat I can shoot with. But I still love using these disposable cameras! They’re just fun and almost stress-free! And I love the look of the images they produce! These are great to give to the kids to take on trips but they're also great to grab and have some fun with friends. We take a disposable with us anytime we take our 6 kids out or head to family event or a birthday party. Our kids absolutely love using them. The tactile feel of the film winderand click and the flashthey can’t get enough when we let them take pictures.

As a camerathey are way less intimidating than a mirrorless or an SLRor even a cell phone. Anyone can pick one up and start shooting and that’s the magic of these cameras and why they have never gone away in spite of the roller coaster that film has gone through.

Jump on Amazon and check out what’s available or run down to your local Walmart and pick one up and have some fun! You won’t regret itI promise!