I like photography again

In a cramped hallway that shares the dance floor and bathrooms of a local club, I saw some girls taking pictures. Instead of an iPhone, one of them held a retro digital camera above the group's heads at an angle. The flash went off and I squeezed past them as they looked at the screen and giggled. It's a small moment, but it's also part of a much larger consumer trend. Now – thanks to TikTok – the handheld digital cameras of the 90s and 2000s are making a massive comeback, and I can say that it's one of the trends that is actually well worth the hype.

Point-and-shoot cameras, known as "digi cams" online, have become the new darling technology for Instagram girls everywhere. This is largely due to TikTok, where content about digital cameras has turned into a huge trend. There, a simple slideshow showcasing a person's favorite cameras can get more than 2.4 million views. People share tips for getting into digital cameras. Others talk about the best settings to capture the perfect glamor shot. Many rate the cameras in their collections. Even the cameras themselves are fun, as people decorate their cameras with glittery stickers and beaded ribbons.

Nostalgia definitely plays a role in the hype. While some people buy cheap (but new) cameras from the TikTok store or opt to splurge on more impressive new models, many of the videos emphasize that digital cameras imbue the images with that "vintage" mom-and-dad vibe from the 1990s and 2000s -numbers (if that's when your parents grew up, that is). Digital cameras have this nice middle ground where the images feel a little more retro and new, but they don't require the hassle or expertise of using film. But this isn't just some sort of lo-fi trend – many of the images actually just look better than phone photos, thanks to a decent flash and the mechanical advantages of using a camera with a larger lens. Of course, when you're browsing online, you can never be sure how a photo might be manipulated or edited, but side-by-side comparisons with images from iPhone cameras attest to the extra layers of color and warmth that taking a selfie with a digital camera can add. So after giving it some thought I decided to take the $40 plunge and buy a retro camera of my own.