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As far as photography goes, I strongly believe that I can speak for so many of us and say that Fujifilm just isn’t totally doing it anymore as far as the retro aesthetics go. Instead, several smaller companies have been popping up to challenge the retro market — and many of them are successfully capturing our hearts. But more importantly, companies like RewindPix are showing us that cameras can actually be very affordable. We spoke to the company’s Xiao Liu to get a major handle on how their latest digicam is challenging the current Japanese giants of the camera world.
Phoblographer: Tell us about the processor and the sensor in this camera, please? Who’s making them, and how are you customizing them to be different from everyone else on the market doing similar things?
Xiao Liu:
Processor (SoC): NT96565MQG – a Novatek SoC widely used in mid-range dash cams. This is the same chip powering Paper Shoot, which, in my own testing, delivers the best image quality among current screen-free digital cameras.
Sensor: Sony IMX258 (13MP, 1/3.06″). We initially considered the larger IMX485 (8MP, 1/1.2″) for its excellent low-light and dynamic-range performance. However, the IMX485 comes with two drawbacks:
- Cost pressure – higher unit price due to strong demand in the surveillance market.
- System requirement – it would require an upgraded SoC, which drives COGS (cost of goods sold) significantly higher.
To keep MSRP aligned with competitor “pro” models, we settled on IMX258, which balances cost, availability, and performance.
“In our philosophy, post-shoot cropping or heavy editing runs against the spirit of this type of camera”
ISP Tuning: Our team includes two ISP engineers (long-time friends from the Bay Area). We sourced NT96565MQG +
IMX258 development boards from China and worked through multiple tuning passes. The main focus was taming highlight blowout – a common weakness in peers’ cameras. Within the limits of the hardware, our engineers managed to deliver “good enough” IQ with far better highlight control than typical screen-free alternatives.
Resolution Adjustment: While the Sony IMX258 natively outputs 13MP (4:3 aspect ratio), our camera’s optical viewfinder is designed for 3:2 – the classic film ratio. To ensure what you see through the viewfinder matches exactly what the camera captures, we deliberately trimmed the active sensor area to 3:2.
The result is an effective 10.8MP resolution. This means we “sacrificed” about 2.2MP of pixel count, but for a good reason: What you see, what you capture exactly. In our philosophy, post-shoot cropping or heavy editing runs against the spirit of this type of camera. We want users to shoot it right the first time, just like film and without worrying about trimming later. The payoff is that your photo comes out exactly as you framed it in the viewfinder, with minimal post-processing.
Phoblographer: There are lots of random digicams on the market right now. What made you want to create this one
Xiao Liu: One of the biggest motivators behind Rewindpix was seeing the explosion of random digital cameras flooding the market. On the surface, that’s actually good news: it proves there’s real demand. Vintage-style digital cameras are suddenly hot again (some fans even dream of reviving CCD sensors). Camp Snap alone sold over 800 units, and countless small sellers are drop-shipping lookalikes.
But here’s the problem: none of them deliver a satisfying experience. They all share the same pain points: tiny inaccurate tunnel-view viewfinders, low dynamic range, noticeable shutter lag, buzzing speakers, and mediocre “film” filters.
After buying and testing a ton of these cameras myself, I realized the space deserved better and I believe with my enthuristics and resources (engineers/coder friends in top tier companies), I can fix these pain points within the budget.
My daily carry is a Ricoh GR3x, and I used it constantly to photograph my wife and our kid. One day, though, my wife “complained” that my photos didn’t have the same vibe as those from her friends’ Fuji X100V or even their film cameras.
That comment hit me. I tried everything: endless searches for the right “recipes”, hours tweaking in Lightroom, and cycling through preset packs. That was the spark. What if we could automate the film-look process—combine a simple, screen-free digital camera, which provides good enough IQ as a base with a simple film-filter app? A camera that shoots straight into a film-like mood, without spending hours behind a computer.
So I chatted with one of my coder/photographer friends and the journey began.
Phoblographer: If I wanted to use this camera to get the look of older digital cameras instead of film, is that possible? How do I do it?
Xiao Liu: Yes, it is possible. The companion app uses 3D Luts as filters and combines with customizable parameters (Exposure, high/low light, contrast, saturation, grain, vignetting, lens blur, temperature, chromatic aberration), users can adjust the filters to whatever effects they want and save them as their own “film/filters”. So you can imagine: produce your own “film stock” before loading it into the camera. (there will be light leak, photo paper texture, analog film timestamp and even gameboy dithering effect filters as well, but keep them as secret for now please, they will be for Kickstarter stretch goal)
Phoblographer: I know you’ve got a Xenon flash built in. But why did you choose to use a cold shoe and not a hot one?
Xiao Liu: COGS control is the main thing. In order to target a compelling MSRP, we need to control COGS down to every penny, not to mention the ever changing China-US tariffs. For the earlier design, we were thinking no in camera flash (just like Ricoh) but with a hot shoe. However, due to most of the users seeking for convenience and daily carry of this kind of cameras, a built-in flash seems to be a must. Therefore, we decided to go with Xenon flash (which cost more than we expected due to production constraints of the capacitor). Second reason is the structure, in order to fit in a hot shoe, we need to move the Xenon flash closer to the viewfinder to make room. However, the space is so limited and it will increase the assembly difficulty, which increases COGS we are controlling.
Phoblographer: Is there any weather resistance built into this camera?
Xiao Liu: No, with the winder, no waterproof nor chance to add an underwater case 🙂
Phoblographer: How are you keeping the price so affordable?
Xiao Liu: Made in China (We were lucky to find an experienced OEM partner who believed in this niche market. So I guess they didn’t go crazy with the quote. Most of the R&D was done by close friends who happen to be top-tier engineers: our only cost was beer, coffee, and late-night takeouts.
