Fotorgear Campix Retro Camera With Waist-Level Viewfinder and Swappable Lenses Launches on Kickstarter From $109

Fotorgear Campix retro digital camera Kickstarter, Digi Mart USA News: Smartphone accessory maker Fotorgear is introducing a retro-style digital camera called the Campix, following the trend set by the Fujifilm X-half. The camera uses a waist-level viewfinder instead of a rear display, so the user holds it at waist height and looks down into it, similar to classic Rolleiflex or Hasselblad cameras.

The viewfinder shows a digital readout with battery level, the selected filter and the number of photos remaining on a digital “film roll.” Users can choose a film that is considered full after 36 photos, and the images can then be transferred to a companion smartphone app for viewing and editing. Shooting in RAW rather than JPEG allows the filter to be chosen later in the app, while exposure is set automatically.

The camera includes a small pop-up xenon flash and a fixed-focus 26 mm f/2.2 lens, which according to the report should render all objects at 0.9 meters or more sharp. The lens uses a 37 mm filter thread, which Fotorgear also uses to attach converters it markets as interchangeable lenses.

These include an 8 mm fisheye, a 16 mm ultra-wide-angle, a 60 mm portrait lens, a 75 mm macro converter and a 1.55x anamorphic lens, with most lenses priced at $79 each.

The camera has a 1,000 mAh battery that is said to support about 400 photos with flash, charged over USB-C. The report notes that image quality is likely to be significantly worse than a smartphone, as the camera uses a 13-megapixel Sony IMX258 sensor in a 1/3.06-inch format.

The Campix is being funded on Kickstarter, where it has raised over $260,000 from more than 1,000 backers with 30 days remaining in the campaign. The “Super Early Bird” price is $109, plus import VAT, customs duties and shipping, and the retail price is expected to rise to $209. Shipping is scheduled to begin as early as January 2027.

The report reminds readers that crowdfunding campaigns carry the risk of late delivery or quality issues, and that Fotorgear is an established company known mainly for smartphone camera grips and teleconverters.