Yashica Crew: $170 Compact Digicam With 13MP Sensor and 6x Zoom

Yashica has announced the Crew, an ultra-lightweight compact point-and-shoot built to ride the revival of old-school digicams. The camera pairs a 13-megapixel Type 1/3.06 image sensor with a retractable 6x optical zoom lens, and Yashica claims it produces "36MP JPEG photos" through in-camera upscaling. Video is recorded in 4K at a frame rate the company has not specified, and seven built-in "creative color filters" are included. At 25.7 millimeters (1.06 inches) thick when powered off and 126 grams (4.5 ounces), the Crew is positioned around its pocketable form factor; other dimensions are undisclosed. A 3-inch 16:9 touchscreen occupies much of the rear panel and flips up for selfies. The zoom lens spans 4.26-24.81mm, equivalent to roughly 31-183mm once the small sensor's crop factor is applied, with an f/3.1-6.4 aperture that makes shallow depth of field difficult in normal shooting — a trait shared with the vintage point-and-shoots it emulates. Power comes from a removable 700mAh Li-ion battery charged over USB-C, a design choice that extends the camera's long-term usefulness. Instead of a Xenon flash, the Crew uses a built-in LED, a detail that undercuts the nostalgic look it otherwise courts. The Yashica Crew is scheduled to launch the week of October 26 for about $170 in black and silver, well below prices for many used examples of the popular point-and-shoots it seeks to replicate.