There’s a good chance that if you’ve spent any time at all on Instagram or TikTok over the past year, you’ve seen the Camp Snap advertised as if it were Dasani in the Sahara Desert. The thing is everywhere. Its shtick is that it’s a simple digital camera with no screen on the back. No screen, no temptation to get drawn too much into obsessing over picture-taking perfection.Now the successor, the Camp Snap 2, launched on June 2, 2026. It’s still so new that we had to scramble to get it into our guide to the Best Point-and-Shoot Cameras. But now that I’ve had more time to use the thing and test it out, I can say that I’m surprised that even though it’s clearly an evolution of the previous Camp Snap, it’s more of an improvement than I’d expected.camp snap 2 – Credit: matt Jancera snapshot of my thoughtsAt 70 bones, the Camp Snap 2 doesn’t cost so much that you’re going to worry about dropping it over the side of a boat or having it come back in 12 pieces from your kid’s day at the YMCA. Few serious photographers are going to make the Camp Snap 2 their main camera. I’d say none would, actually. But that’s not the point (and that’s not to say serious photographers won’t enjoy the experience of using one). As a fun, casual camera to whip out without worrying about carrying around expensive, bulky gear, it’s a winner, even for more experienced shutterbugs.And for amateurs (i.e. every smartphone owner walking around every day with an incredible digital camera in their pocket), the Camp Snap 2 is a breath of fresh air that will remind you of the days before everything seemed so …curated. If you’re among the horde that’s starting to get a bit creeped out by the smartphone panopticon, but still want to capture memories in real time, consider switching to a Camp Snap (and a dumbphone).(opens in a new window)Camp SnapCamp Snap 2(opens in a new window)Available at Camp SnapBuy Now(opens in a new window)the distraction-free anti-smartphone cameraThe Camp Snap 2 straddles a funny line between digital and film camera—not because it has absolutely anything to do with film, but because there’s no screen on the rear. You hold the camera’s viewfinder to your eye, peer through the center because the edges of the viewfinder are kind of hazy, and then snap your picture, like you would with a film camera.There’s no way to retake a shot, and there’s no way to see what you just photographed. You’ll find out how your picture turned out when you connect it to your computer later with the USB-C-to-USB-C cable and offload your JPG images.the camp snap 2 (right) has a new button for filters next to the lcd screen – credit: matt jancerUntil then you just take your shot and move on with enjoying whatever you’re doing, be that a beach day, hiking trip, or birthday party. It’s purposefully designed to keep you from obsessing over retaking and reframing your shots ad nauseum. What it’s like to use Camp Snap 2I love that you don’t have to hunt down (oddly specific) batteries to feed the Camp Snap 2. Its internal, non-removable battery holds enough juice for 500 shots. Then you have to recharge it via the USB-C-to-USB-C cable included with the camera. There’s also no need to switch the camera on and off—it falls asleep automatically when not in use to save battery. A click of the shutter is all it takes to wake it back up, making the user experience even closer to that of a film camera.And while the original Camp Snap’s shutter speed was slow enough that any amount of action turned out blurry, the Camp Snap folks have worked to solve that problem. The faster shutter speed turned out “action” shots (I use the term pretty loosely) much more capably than the old model. It’s also got an improved, re-designed, faster response shutter button, so framing those shots accurately was easier.the camp snap’s six built-in filters – credit: camp snapThere’s one more button on the rear of the Camp Snap 2’s sleek, simplistic case than there used to be. This one selects the built-in filters, which is a new addition that the previous Camp Snap didn’t have. The six filters are shown above. You can tell that Camp Snap is leaning hard into nostalgia with these retro filters, can’t you?For colors you’ve got your choice of white, yellow, olive, brown, and black. There are also four transparent color cases, too, which the old Camp Snap never offered. They’re named Blue Rush, Strawberry Splash, Tangerine Drift, and Twisted Lime.brown camp snap 2 next to white original camp snap – credit: matt jancerhow i tested the camp snap 2I just walked around and shot pictures of stuff. I’m laughing a little because it sounds so glib, but that’s how I thought best to use it. No formal photo competitions where I’m geeking way out on focal lengths and lining up exquisite shots. That’s not what the Camp Snap 2 is for or how most people are going to use it. So I used it like most people would. I took photographs of opportunity: things inside my apartment nearing the golden hour of sunset when a particular item looked just right in the lighting, the stray cat that’s moved into my apartment building’s courtyard and blesses us with her impromptu visits, and whatever old car I happen to see parked along the curb in Queens.Camp snap vs. camp snap 2: What’s newAs luck would have it, just a few days after we put up our revamped review for the original Camp Snap, they went ahead and released the Camp Snap 2. The new model is positioned as a straight-up replacement for the previous Camp Snap; the old model is no longer for sale from Camp Snap, though they can still be found on Amazon. And while there are a few units left over on third-party retailers, with the newer model available for the same price, there’s no reason to pass by the Camp Snap 2. I’ve tested both of these cameras, and the new model is better in every way.the camp snap 2 (front) has a nicer texture than the original camp snap (rear) – Credit: Matt JancerLuckily for me (and you), I still had an original Camp Snap here when the Camp Snap 2 arrived, so I could A/B them side by side. The Camp Snap 2 is 15 percent lighter at 3.8 ounces, but you’ll hardly notice. They’re both lighter than pocket lint. The new model is also slimmer, which is noticeable, although not significantly.Holding the Camp Snap 2 feels far nicer. The textured black plastic body feels more premium than the smooth plastic of the original, and the colored vinyl wrap feels softer, too. The original Camp Snap felt a lot cheaper than the new one, even though they’re the same price.And as I mentioned above, the Camp Snap 2’s shutter speed is faster than the original Camp Snap’s. The original was too slow to capture anything but the most still photos. All the pictures of my friends with that one turned out so blurry that someday, I’m sure, those photos will turn up in a Discovery Channel series about poltergeists.bottom of the camp snap 2 (left) and original camp snap (right) – Credit: Matt Jancercan i upgrade the memory?Yeah, technically. There’s a hinged door on the bottom of the camera body that hides the buttons to set the date and time, as well as the microSD slot for a removable memory card. The screw is meant to keep children from opening the door and messing with the memory card. You can remove the screw and ditch it, like I did. The door has a latch, so it’ll still close tightly without the screw.Each Camp Snap 2 comes with a 4GB microSD card, which can hold 2,000 shots. You can upgrade it with a microSD card of anywhere up to 64GB, but why would you want to? A 64GB memory card would hold 32,000 shots. No judgment, but ask yourself if you’re really going to shoot that many pictures on the Camp Snap 2 before you have a chance to offload them to a computer or external drive before you spend the money on a new card. alternative point-and-shoot cameras I recommend(opens in a new window)LomographyLomomatic 110(opens in a new window)Available at LomographyBuy Now(opens in a new window)The Lomography Lomomatic 110 constantly comes to mind as a worthy alternative point-and-shoot camera, although it’s fairly different from the Camp Snap 2. It’s fun, it’s funky, it’s film. The Lomomatic 110 shoots 110-format film, a smaller-than-35mm format introduced in the 1970s for teeny travel cameras, like the Lomomatic 110 itself. The images I took weren’t the highest of quality, but they were beautiful, thanks to the Lomography-branded film I fed into it.(opens in a new window)FujifilmInstax Mini EVO(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)The Fujifilm Instax Mini EVO is sort of the direct opposite to the Camp Snap 2. It’s heavy at 10 ounces, expensive at $228, and it most definitely has a screen (with built-in filters) on which you can obsessively perfect your shots over and over. But it was a hell of a lot of fun to test. Oh yeah, it’s also an instant-print digital/film camera that spits out tiny photographs on the spot for you.See a complete list of the Best Point-and-Shoot Cameras here.SO is Camp snap 2 worth buying?The Camp Snap 2 is a fun, low-stress camera. It makes no promises at creating the sort of high-quality images you would take on a Fujifilm X100VI or Ricoh GRIV. Rather, the Camp Snap 2 is for fun, casual shots, when you want a camera that’s easy to always have around, just in case you need it, while getting you away from your smartphone and its obsession-inducing tendencies to overanalyze your photo-taking. You can slip it into a jacket pocket or purse and not worry about banging up a $1,000 camera.Plenty of cameras market themselves based on how deeply one can lose themselves in it. The Camp Snap 2’s appeal, in contrast, is how you can keep your head in the moment—your friends, the party, all the gorgeous scenery—without really having to think about the camera at all.(opens in a new window)Camp SnapCamp Snap 2(opens in a new window)Available at Camp SnapBuy Now(opens in a new window)The post Social Media’s Favorite Point-and-Shoot Camera Gets a Reboot: The Camp Snap 2 appeared first on VICE.