RETO PANO is a new film camera with a switchable panoramic mask, an “ultra-wide” 22mm lens, and a built-in flash. RETO PANO is a new film camera with a switchable panoramic mask, an “ultra-wide” 22mm lens, and a built-in flash.

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  • Dmitri May 26, ‘25

    RETO PANO is a new film camera with a switchable panoramic mask, an “ultra-wide” 22mm lens, and a built-in flash.

    RETO’s line of seemingly simple plastic cameras is more ambitious than they may lead on. RETO PANO is not an exception.

    One of RETO’s first entries into the market was RETO 3D, a 2019 Kickstarter project and a fresh take on a cult-classic Nishika N8000. On this blog, I reviewed H35N, a half-frame plastic camera with a glass and an aspherical lens element, which I think made it the sharpest camera in its class: analog.cafe/r/kodak-ektar-…

    RETO PANO adds a switchable mask to the full-frame exposures to produce panoramic images, similarly to how Minolta P’s does it: analog.cafe/r/minolta-ps-r… — but in a slightly lighter package, weighing just 93g/3⅓oz.

    PANO uses a single AAA battery for flash, although it shouldn’t need it for most shots. Its shutter is fixed at 1/100s and its lens is a fixed focus acrylic 22mm 𝒇9.5.

    The camera is expected to sell for $34.99.

    #editorial🔥 #gas

  • Dmitri May 26, ‘25

    The challenge of a small panoramic film camera with a 22mm lens is making sharp images, particularly when the lens is made of plastic. Minolta P’s (Riva Panorama), mentioned above, had a glass lens, and its images often looked soft, particularly in the corners.

    This is because a panoramic mask cuts part of the image, effectively reducing the overall resolution. Plus, a lens that is this wide is particularly complicated to make sharp.

    Previously, I reviewed another plastic panoramic camera, Vivitar IC 101 (analog.cafe/r/vivitar-ic10…), which was a lot of fun but not particularly sharp either.

    Still, the samples RETO sent in the press package look promising:

  • Dmitri May 26, ‘25

    A horizontal pano sample from RETO PANO:

  • Dmitri May 26, ‘25

    A pano shot in mixed light with RETO PANO:

  • Dmitri May 26, ‘25

    Of course, one can’t expect corner-to-corner sharpness with a $35 camera. But with the right technique, the pictures can still look very compelling: