One of the smallest camera I’ve ever shot offers HD video, 2MP stills and the smallest LCD screen I’ve ever seen all for the price of round in your average pub. And It’s not spectacular, maybe even rubbish but it is fun. It’s just that not all Y3000 are the same……..
For reference the one I got was the sold on Amazon by a 3rd party reseller called Bewinner. Here’s a link but I do get commission on that and you can find Y3000 models on a range of sites
But why do I stress that not all Y3000 are the same ?
Pick ‘n’ Mix of models
Unusually I’m gonna talk about other reviews up front. Prague.Panda on Medium seems to have the same model in his review and I need to give the Panda a shout out for telling me how to turn off the date stamp. Like wise YouTuber Smoorez reviews this and gets similar results (he tears the camera down if you want to see inside)
The camera also appears in Krymi Ples on YT has the same box and spec as mines but her image quality whilst not brilliant is way better than mines. She Looks like a product reviewer so I do wonder if she got a more higher end version.
Likewise another ‘tuber Isaac Carlton got similar results.
But the OG review goes to Tech moan back in 2011. He seems to be reviewing a subtly different camera only offering as Keith Lemon-tastic HD ready (720p) video. But the quality of the image are way better than any of the other reviews as is the video.
He links the camera to CHOBi Cam One sold by Japanese company JTT. This was way more expansive & only shot VGA video but came with accessory lenses.
So things vary quite a bit and I need to be clear about this.
My review is based on the model I got.
Whats in the Y3000’s box
So you get the camera, small instruction sheet, USB (micro) cable(not pictured) a metal key ring and small wrist strap. The guide sheet is basic
The Y3000 Camera spec
No lens, sensor or exposure info is given. The camera claims to shoot 3760×2218 4:3 stills as well as 1080P 30fps video in 16:9 . It will deliver technically on those but I think there is some interpolation as we’ll see. The manual claims the built in battery is a 180mAH
And then there’s the best bit the tiny 0.96″ screen. You get a slot for micro SD (the amazon page says up to 128Gb). It can also function as a web cam.
It looks like toy dSLR for a Barbie doll. The sensor sits in the faux lens barrel just behind a protective filter.
Controls
You have a combined on/shutter button which makes sense but you do find yourself turning it off by accident
On the side there a 2 point toggle switch. This lets you rotate between modes (still, video, playback) using the top end.
The bottom end allows you to change filters in still mode. You get 5 -B&W, Sepia. Blue, Green and inverted/negative. In play mode both buttons let you move through images and video. You need to hold down the upper end to exit back to stills from this.
Can you set anything else ?
There are no controls but you you can tweak the clock and whether you get the on screen date stamp. There is a txt file SetTime.txt when you connect the camera
This contains a single line looking like this
2024-05-01 00:00:00 YNow you might spot the first portion is a date in Year-mth-dy hr:min:sec format. Changing this and saving allows you to rest the camera’s internal clock to that time when powered off and on. The Y is for datestamp on . Swap it for N and you turn it off.
In use
Hold down shutter to turn on. There’s a couple of second delay as the splash comes up (saying vivitar). The camera freezes for a second once on then it’s operational. A blue light appears on the front.
For film shooting hold down the shutter lightly and briefly. There is no clue really when seen from behind but if you look carefully the LCD briefly freezes. When seen from the front the blue LCD goes out
I say push briefly as too long turns the thing off. Otherwise it’s fun enough to use. The Blue LED isn’t going to make it subtle for candid shots.
The camera goes into suspend after a brief while a light tap of the shutter brings up the LCD again.
Connect the camera via USB or take out the micro SD to transfer images
Results
Fun this might be but as you’d guess that there are a few limitations namely image processing and the video.
On a plus – it kinda did okay under different lighting
Sensor Woes & Interpolation
The big problem with this camera is its sensor & settings. There isn’t a lot of EXIF type data but we know we get are 3520×2460 images. That’s around 8.7MP sound great but….
The image quality is no where near that. We know the images are just 72 dpi. Most camera shoot at 96 dpi. In itself not a deal breaker but it adds onto the image quality stuff.
Then there’s the JPEG quality rating. It is just 20 (%). This means the image is heavily compressed and explains why the near 8.6 MP image above is just 441KB. And that’s one of the larger images we were down to about 150KB. Normally you’d expect Nearer ~4 to 4.5MB
For comparison this image was captured on a Samsung S500 a 2006 5MP digi- compact. JPEG quality is 97% and the file 2.38MB which is about bang on
But it’s not just down to JPEG compression. I artificially compressed the above image to 20%
Lets compare these pixel to pixel on a 500×400 crop. Although there is a difference it’s not quite as bad as you’d think
However with the Y3000 and really I need to warn you before looking
No serious it’s not good
if squeamish last chance to turn back
Don’t say I didn’t warn you…..
So we have the compression stuff and low dpi. But…… you’ll notice how jagged and blocky the image is. This looks like badly done interpolation and probably means the sensor is actually a lot smaller possibly the 2MP or less of the Amazon listing (would tie with the old Y3000)
B&W images fair better
Of course the lens is also fixed focus and wont have the same optics as the Samsung.
What I will say is on average the image was better than the scamera cameras I’ve tested like the Wish Camera and the No Name Vlogging as well as the less scammy $17 kids camera.
Oh and there is worse to come with Video….
Stills
What I will say is this gets exposure reasonable good. There are limts and noise becomes in increasing issue so night shots are pretty limited as things go soft blocky
Dusk shots are better and look not as awful when shrunk as here to 500-600 pixel width but they are a oil painting when you zoom in
This become evident when you zoom in
The noise at what I assume is a higher ISO or gain is just not good. Thing are better in good light.
okay well a bit better
Optical Issues
This does better close up. This for lo-fi junk cam did alright on the computer screen text test. The text at ~15cm is readable although has obvious ghosting from likely the 20% quality compression.
You can also see a degree of pincushion radial distortion (not bad though). The image quality lessens to the corners with obvious fall off. Closer shots are certainly better slightly and good light helps heap as there is less noise.
B&W shots and sepia do the usual trick of everything looks better in Black and white.
Look it’s better than the scameras and for small 400-600 pixel wide web images it doesn’t look that bad
And there is some fun to be had.
Video
So Whilst I’m no video expert I did do review of this on YT and here’s the link to midway through where I have the video footage. There’s 2 sets one with the Y3000 and my Google pixel 7 mobile turned down to HD. One pair was in good light the other at dusk
You do get 1080p images at 30fps. But you wish again they hadn’t interpolated . They also stretch the video.
Take this still.
Notice the red car. It might look like a typical saloon but that’s actually a modern VW Beetle (A5)
compressing this into a 4:3 format is more realistic
And of course this makes me wonder about the actual sensor is it a native 4:3 one that might be interpolated say just VGA
A 33 second clip came in at 47MB (just over half the size of a similar HD video clip from Pixel 7)
Unlike the stills which have so lo-fi charm, the video is a let down because of the framing. It’s easy enough using tools Handbrake to push the format to 4:3 but you can buy lots of cheaper and better older digis that will give you 4:3 videocam like footage which is as good as this’ll get.
Buying a Y3000
Mines came from Amazon for £16.48 inc P&P &VAT (I had a 41p discount off list). It came without a micro SD but given the low file size, I had plenty suitable lying around. An old 32GB card from a mobile gave this a capacity of about 64-80,000 images or 320 minutes of video
You can find on loads of sites for around this price point from the Bay to Chinese market sites like Aliexpress or wish but be aware on some of those tax is added later. Also these may be better
Here’s a link to the one on Amazon I got (i get paid commission on this so feel free to get there yourself or shop elsewhere)
Is the Y3000 a scam ?
On the 4 point test I set for digital scameras it actually passes easily
- It Works
- Does the spec match – as far as I can tell
- Build quality is what you’d expect
- Does it claim to be something it’s not – not really
So no it’s not a scam but weigh up if you will use it a couple of times and add to our e-waste
Final Thoughts on the Y3000
If I had the same camera as Krymi Ples or Isaac Carlton this would be an easy yes. But me and other reviewer got a less good image quality. I’ve ordered another one from AliExpress and I’ll let you know if it’s better.
That said for stills there is some lo-fi charm and this camera cost less than 2 dominos medium pizza on a decent offer (other pizza makers are available).
Video not so. Too much force editing is required for something that looks like a early noughts VGA quality image on on a budget Digicam which will take better stills and have more features
But for the price. it a tiny bit of lo-fi rubbish fun (in stills) but I’d say you can do better although bigger.
And seriously unless you’ll shoot it a lot despite the price you’re just going to add to the e-waste mount. I and others have reviewed this for you.
Alternatives for Lo-Fi Fun to the Y3000 ?
Look it’s a hard choice between this and the $17 Children’s cam (it has snake and other games though) for still. the Y3000 does shoot better video however. It is quite small although not the same size as the Y3000
Camp Snap currently is selling for about £40. It’s fixed focus and lacks a screen and forget video but it’s Lo-fi 8MP aren’t interpolated and alright given the price and design constraints. There is the option to flash new filter effects onto the camera too (you can’t swap until you flash the camera firmware). A New camera called the Retro snap is being touted online for pre -order that looks a lot like a Camp snap but with a built in switchable choice of filters
Of course the modern lo-fi digital Grandaddy the Paper Shoot offered that for the last dozen years. Now in it’s 18MP revised form (in 2021 I tested the old 13MP version – superseded at least twice). There is currently some serious beef between the core manufacturing group and their old North America/UK distributor. You can buy a entry case and 18MP model for about £90-100 for either at the mo but I’d think carefully whom you should give you’re money too (I’m favouring the parent company). Video is technically possible but is only brief clips and involves fangling around with charging bricks. Again no screen is part of the charm, but image quality is more on apar with an older smart phone than lo-fi
There is the Flashback One35 a camera I’m torn over with it’s disposable film camera aesthetic which limits you to 27 shots a digital roll and forces you to wait for 2-3 days for virtual processing. It delivers crap disposable images which I guess is it’s purpose but you can’t help think I could have bought a camp snap for a third of the price and get 8MP images I can run through a film filter. The Film experience may appeal but there again is no video.
Of course buying second hand vintage gear can give you the same look but there’s a few catches. The Gen Z fixation with retro digicams may be on the wane but is till affecting market prices and you’ll still pay double figures for mid noughties VGA capable . My sense is they’ve moved slightly up market making HD quality mid 2010’s compacts really pricey. The iON Cool-iCam S1000 which is new old stock is about the same price and offers better stills – perhaps no lo-fi enough and is waterproof with a LCD. But it eats batteries for breakfast and it’s VGA video is as woeful as the Y3000 but at least not skewed.
But there is one sort of camera they’re not bother about. One that can not only do HD video for single figures but let you online order Pizza and call your mum.
Welcome to the world of early 2010’s budget smartphones. That Moto Razr will set you back a mere 8 quid from CEX unlocked. Granted it’s C class so slightly mangled but working one. An A class (aka minty) is just £12. And that HD video is not going to set the world on fire but…