Yashica made headlines when the brand launched a Kickstarter for a series of compact retro cameras that include film presets and even a retro “film” advance lever. But the Yashica FX-D, FX-D300, and FX-D S300 will soon be available from retailers after a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Yashica distributor Transcontinenta says that the FX-D 100 and FX-D 300 will be available at Yashica dealers in the UK and Ireland beginning in September. The Yashica FX-D S300, a variant made in part from requests for a viewfinder on the cameras, will follow one month later.
The Yashica FX-D 100 will retail for about £245 outside of Kickstarter, with the Yashica FX-D 300 at £350 and the FX-D S300 at £435.
U.S. retailer availability and list prices have not yet been confirmed, but the Kickstarter hinted at an eventual $359 list price for the FX-D 100 and $549 for the FX-D 300.
The Yashica FX-D series proved to be popular on Kickstarter, garnering support from 1,890 backers, with late pledges still available. The series’s popularity likely stems from the retro camera trend. All three cameras are made to look like a vintage SLR, drawing inspiration from the Yashica FX-3, including even replicating the film advance lever. The digital cameras also have built-in film simulations.
However, the Yashica FX-D series is more of a budget retro compact camera than an advanced retro compact camera (the category that cameras like the popular Fujifilm X100VI fall under). The FX-D 100 uses a Sony sensor that’s commonly used inside of smartphones, while the 50MP FX-D 300 has specifications that look similar to the camera on the iPhone 15. The compact cameras also lack some of the higher-end features on advanced compacts and don’t offer manual modes outside of a programmed auto, and also currently lack RAW files.
While the cameras look like the retro FX-3, the FX-D series uses fixed lenses, with the 100 offering some optical zoom and the 300 only offering digital zoom. Only the S300 has a viewfinder, while the other two keep the viewfinder bump at the top of the camera just for looks.
Digital Camera World’s Matthew Richards got his hands on the Yashica FX-D 300 for a review, and ultimately concluded that the camera felt rather plasticky and gimmicky, and produced image quality on a level with cheaper cameras. But, Richards admits there are people who will probably love the FX-D 300 – I suspect, based on the smartphone-like sensor specifications, smartphone photographers looking for a camera with a retro feel may be the most interested in the series.
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