Paper Shoot Cameras: Style and Minimalism

We have recently put on our store a…DIGITAL camera! What, surely not - is this an April Fool? No it isn’t, but don’t worry 😂 We’re not moving away from our analogue obsession, but there is a very good reason why we’ve chosen to include the Paper Shoot camera in our store. Read on to find out more about the camera and how it fits into the modern film shooter’s life!

Paper Shoot Camera: what is it?

The first Paper Shoot camera was designed by George Lin in 2013. George is a film photographer who wanted to create a digital camera that was creative and easy, but didn’t fall into the modern trap of chasing technical perfection at the expense of fun.

Over the past ten years the business has grown into a global brand - with many viral TikToks along the way - and a ton of prestigious honours including multiple Red Dot design awards. They are also regularly developing and improving the products, and in 2021 the latest iteration of Paper Shoot camera was featured in Time magazine’s “Best Inventions of the Year”!

George’s philosophy of design is definitely ‘less is more’, but at the same time he has a strong sustainability interest. The ‘paper’ in the name actually refers to a material called ‘stone paper’. This is durable but sustainable, a fascinating combination of materials that will survive an accidental rainpour or coffee spill but won’t contaminate our planet in perpetuity.

Is Paper Shoot designed to replace film photography?

Absolutely not! The reality of photography today is that 99% of film shooters are hybrid: using DSLRs, compacts, or mobile phones to complement their analogue habits.

Even the most passionate film advocate knows that there are moments when having a digital sensor on hand is useful: you’ve got ISO 100 film loaded in your camera on holiday, you pop into a dark cathedral and suddenly need something for low light; you are in Kodak Tri-X mode but there’s an irresistible bunch of colourful flowers; you want to try some composition ideas before committing it to film and the cost of developing.

And in this instance I’d much prefer you to use a Paper Shoot camera than a mobile phone or DSLR! After all - there are many reasons that people still shoot film - and not all of them are to do with the literal analogue experience. There is also the wish to stay in the moment, avoid screens, and use a camera that is stylish and fun. Paper Shoot ticks all those boxes and more.

Speaking personally, the Paper Shoot camera has found a home in a camera bag pocket (at 100g it is barely noticeable 😂) but for obvious reasons could never be a legitimate replacement for my Pentax 17 or Olympus OM1.

What are the options?

It is super simple to swap the cases on a Paper Shoot camera, and George has created an incredible range of cases to give folks an awesome choice. You can head to the UK Paper Shoot store to see the entire set, from high fashion to Alice in Wonderland to DIY colouring cases! And for those with a more discerning taste they also have see-through cases and cork cases (I love the polar bear one)

However we have chosen to keep it simple and put a smaller range of options on Analogue Wonderland. Naturally it was the vintage camera cases that immediately drew our eye.

So if this resonates: you know that there are times when you need a digital camera but you don’t want the screen and connectivity of a phone or the weight of a DSLR, then head over to the Paper Shoot product page and choose your style!