Reto Ultra Wide & Slim 22: Review with Sample Photos and Expectations

For film photographers who want to free themselves of the burden of excessive camera weight, no greater camera holy grail exists than a tiny, light, and ultra-wide camera. This camera needs to be reliable, built well, sturdy enough to carry and use, and capable of taking fantastic photos on a reliable and consistent basis. The Reto 22 checks the small size and weight boxes.

At 100mm X 59mm X 28mm, the Reto 22 is the smallest 35mm film camera ever made. You may say, no it’s the Minolta TC-1, but the TC-1 is 1.5mm deeper and only 1mm shorter, which means that it’s 7,109.5 cubic millimeters larger than the Reto 22. And at 224 grams versus the Reto 22’s 68.8 grams, the TC-1 also weighs 155.2 grams more. And the Reto 22 has a lens that’s 6mm wider – 21 percent wider – than the TC-1. The Reto 22 should have a slot as a highly popular camera among the point and shoot crowd.

But the Reto 22 lacks some other things that a small camera needs – namely all the other things. The Reto 22 is a rebadge of various cameras made over the past couple of decades. This current iteration is marketed by Reto as a beginner’s camera for daylight use suitable for all kinds of film including slide film.

I take issue with the idea that this camera is suitable for slide film, but that’s a rant that those of you watching this channel will know the key points of, so I’ll spare you. What makes me mad about this camera is that I bought it, as I write this, 13 months ago. In that time I ran five or six rolls of film through it, which is apparently a lot I have heard, before it started to develop problems. My most recent roll had inconsistent spacing, a new issue. No frames overlapped, but this does indicate a potential issue with the mechanism. I also, after it sat for a couple of months, found a small, cylindrical piece of plastic under it when I moved it. This, it appears, is from the film rewind button. Does the film rewind button still work? Maybe.

But here is the biggest problem that I have with this camera: It CAN take good photos, yes, but it also seems to approach doing that like the horror movie character Jigsaw – making you play a game that’s not intended for you to win to get that good photo. And, in general, I feel like marketing a camera that does not work reliably to a beginner audience is a problem. Beginners lack the knowledge to understand if the problems that they encounter are their fault or the camera’s. My first camera, a little Le Clic disc camera, certainly had flaws and I never knew if the problems with the photos were my fault or the camera’s.

Even in full sun with 400 ISO film, the Reto 22 leaves negatives thin with poor density and low-quality shadows. In fact, I left the hallmarks of thin film in the images in this video specifically to illustrate the frequency of that. Throughout this video you’ll see shadows devoid of details, highlights the color of decades-old coffee with old milk added for creamer, and – the worst offender of all – chemical and hard water circles that only show up when a negative is severely underexposed or underdeveloped. The slowest film I used was 400 ISO. So, honestly, 800 ISO film outdoors in full sun is probably the best choice. In shade or cloud cover, even with 800 ISO film or film pushed to 800 ISO, this camera struggles. Indoors, no matter what you do, it will be useless.

And all of these criticisms, by the way, ignore the huge and image-dominating flare circles and the ease with which fingers intrude into images unless you hold the camera with all your fingers on top and below it. This lens is impossibly wide for this form factor.

If you decide to buy this camera or already own it, go into the use with your eyes open: From a usability perspective, this camera is easy to use. From a value perspective, the price as of this video’s recording of $23 is fair for something that can be carried around everywhere. But from a results perspective, this camera’s compound acrylic lens creates images that are a challenge to turn into good results.

All that said, sometimes things with the Reto 22 will simply click well and a very nice image will arrive. Understand that will be the case and you will set yourself up to have a better time with this camera. Now, all that said, of the similar-class inexpensive plastic reusable cameras currently on the market, this is one of the two or three cheapest, provides a unique offering, and viewed through that lens, it’s probably a fine choice for some photographers.

Join this channel to get access to perks:
   / @davidhancock  

David Hancock's Amazon Author Page with Links to Select Camera Manual eBooks:
https://www.amazon.com/David-Hancock/...

Reto Ultra Wide & Slim 22: Ultimate Guide and Tutorial
   • Reto Ultra Wide & Slim 22: Ultimate G...  

Reto Ultra Wide & Slim 22: Review with Sample Photos and Expectations
   • Reto Ultra Wide & Slim 22: Review wit...  

My Instagram:
  / davidhancock