Yashica Capitalizes on Compact Camera Craze With New ‘City’ Series Point-and-Shoots

Compact cameras are all the rage. While companies like Panasonic are trying to capitalize by making minor tweaks to relatively pricey older cameras with models like the ZS99, others opt for a “make it as cheap as possible” approach. Yashica falls into the latter category with its latest compact cameras, the City 100 and City 200.

While Yashica itself has not added the new cameras to its website at the time of publishing, Digital Camera World reports that the two cameras differ primarily in terms of their built-in lenses. The City 100 sports a three times optical zoom lens, while the City 200 has a 10 times zoom.

Both cameras feature the same 13-megapixel Sony image sensor, a small Type 1/3.06 chip similar to those in many older mid-range smartphones. The relatively small sensor captures 4:3 images and 4K video at up to 60p frame rates. It’s unclear if the camera captures RAW photos, but Yashica’s DigiPix 100 does not, so it would not be wholly surprising if the City 100 and 200 follow suit and shoot JPEG only.

The new City-series cameras also join Yashica’s DigiMate compact camera and the Yashica x Hello Kitty DZ-100 digital camera, which was just recently announced in a new white version. Neither of these models record RAW images, either, by the way.

Compact digital cameras are all the rage, so it’s no surprise that Yashica is interested in launching new models. It doesn’t necessarily even matter that the City 100 and City 200 don’t have impressive or modern features and specs, as not even a year ago, one of the best-selling cameras in the world was a Kodak point-and-shoot camera with a tiny 16-megapixel sensor, five times optical zoom lens, and features straight out of the 2010s.

Pricing and Availability

The Yashica City 100 and City 200 feature a built-in microphone, autofocus with some subject detection capabilities, scene modes, and filter effects. Per Digital Camera World, the City 100 is slated to arrive by the end of February for £220, which is about $275. The City 200 should launch the following month for £260, or $325. Official U.S. pricing may vary slightly, but that’s the best estimate for now.

Image credits: Featured image created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.