Le Clic: The Colorful 1980s Camera That Sparked a Photography Journey
A classic pink Le Clic 110 camera from the late 1980s. These pocket-sized film cameras came in bright, bold colors (often with matching wrist straps) that made them feel more like a fun accessory than a piece of electronics. AI image by HastingsNow.com
Origins of the Le Clic Camera
Le Clic was a product of the Concord Camera Corp, a U.S. company founded in 1982 by Jack Benun. Concord specialized in making inexpensive “cheerful” cameras under various brands like Le Clic and Keystone, churning out millions of units through the 1980s and 90s. Most of these were manufactured in Asia (often China), keeping costs low. By 1986, Concord introduced the Le Clic line – a series of compact cameras designed to use Kodak’s 110 cartridge film (and in some models, the then-new disc film format). Le Clic made its official debut that year, and quickly became the must-have gadget for cool kids and teens. The brand name itself played on a faux European vibe – adding a French “Le” for a touch of mystique – despite being an American creation.
Timeline of Le Clic:
1986: Le Clic cameras launch in the U.S. with bright colors and 110/disc film formats.
1987: Concord releases the pocket-sized Le Clic Le Mini (110 film) in a dozen-plus colors, even bundling a little yellow waterproof case.
Late 1980s: Further models appear, including 35mm versions. A rugged weatherproof Le Clic Tuff and basic 35mm “Le Clic 170” joined the lineup, ensuring there was a Le Clic for every use.
1990s: Le Clic cameras pop up in pop culture (movies, etc.) even as film formats evolve. Concord acquires rival Keystone in 1991, uniting the brands.
2009: Concord Camera Corp closes its doors as digital photography rises. The Le Clic brand fades out along with other film camera lines.
2025: A revival! Plans are announced to reintroduce Le Clic as a retro-styled modern camera with digital features, tapping into ’80s nostalgia.
A Camera Meets Fashion: Marketing & Launch
From the start, Le Clic wasn’t marketed like a traditional camera – it was sold as a fashion accessory. Advertisements proclaimed that this wasn’t “your parents’ Kodak”. Much like Swatch watches of the era, Le Clic cameras came in vibrant colors and trendy designs, meant to coordinate with your outfit or mood. In fact, some ads even encouraged owning multiple Le Clics in different hues (just as teens might wear several colorful Swatch watches) to maximize style.
The launch of Le Clic in 1986 was pure 80s spectacle. At a lavish event in New York’s historic Astor Hall, Keystone (the distributor working with Concord) unveiled the cameras to 500 guests from the fashion world. In true over-the-top fashion, waiters descended a grand staircase carrying silver trays not of champagne, but of brand-new Le Clic cameras – a dramatic presentation to signal that a camera was now the season’s hottest accessory. According to a Chicago Tribune report on the event, this “bodacious exhibition of ’80s excess” set the tone for Le Clic’s image.
Marketing materials and commercials from 1986-87 further reinforced the fashion-forward vibe. One TV spot (which you can still find on YouTube) features a montage of freeze-frame images of models in bright neon outfits, striking poses with their Le Clic cameras. The edits, music, and styling scream late-80s cool. The camera itself is often shown slung around necks or pulled from a pocket as a statement piece. Le Clic’s logo — with its jaunty “Le” — was splashed in a stylized font on the camera and packaging, just to remind you this wasn’t a boring old point-and-shoot. Everything about the branding was designed to make taking photos feel trendy.
Models, Features, and Quirks
Le Clic cameras were easy-to-use, fixed-focus film cameras – perfect for kids and beginners. The most popular models used 110 film cartridges, a small easy-load film format that was popular for “pocket” cameras in the 70s and 80s. Others in the Le Clic line used Disc film, a futuristic wheel-shaped film introduced by Kodak in 1982. (Disc film was technically inferior – tiny negatives meant grainy pics – but it looked high-tech and fun to 80s consumers.) Either way, Le Clic kept things simple: no focus to adjust, no exposure settings, just a basic lens and a shutter button. Even flash was optional on some variants. Notably, the Le Clic design moved the shutter button to the front face of the camera on some models, which looked avant-garde, although it wasn’t the most ergonomic choice.
Inside that funky exterior, the camera specs were humble. A typical Le Clic 110 might have a single plastic lens, a fixed aperture around f/11, and a shutter speed about 1/100s. In plain terms, it could snap a decent daylight photo, but struggled in low light or for producing sharp enlargements. Some models, like the Le Clic with built-in flash, took AAA batteries and had a manual film advance wheel on top (often in a contrasting color for flair). The Le Clic Le Mini of 1987 was even tinier – “scarcely wider than a 110 cartridge” – truly pocket-sized, though you had to attach its waterproof case for any serious protection. There were at least 17 color variants of the Mini, and similarly a rainbow of options for the other Le Clic models. Whether you liked hot pink, teal, purple, or classic grey, there was a Le Clic for you. And at an affordable price point, it was easy for parents to say yes when their kid begged for a cool camera.
Image Quality: In truth, Le Clic was a textbook case of style over substance. The camera worked – you could get your prints back and recognize your subject – but the photos were often a bit blurry or grainy. As one enthusiast site later noted, these plasticky cameras were “lo-fi” but “worked okay” for what they were. If you were a serious photographer, you wouldn’t be caught dead with one in the 80s. But for a 9-year-old in Minnesota excited to take her first snapshots, a Le Clic was perfect. It made photography fun, approachable, and personal. The limitations of 110 film (small size, so-so quality) were actually a blessing for a child – you weren’t going to make poster enlargements anyway, and the prints at 3×5 size looked just fine when you picked them up from the local drugstore.
Cultural Moments and Surprises
Despite (or because of) its toy-like nature, Le Clic secured a little spot in pop culture. Perhaps the most famous appearance is in the 1992 film My Cousin Vinny, where Marisa Tomei’s character Mona Lisa Vito wields a bright pink Le Clic camera (the disc film model) throughout the movietheretronetwork.com. In fact, a photograph she snaps – of tire tracks, using her Le Clic – ends up as crucial evidence in the film’s courtroom drama. It’s a fun Easter egg: the ultra-fashion-conscious Mona Lisa chose a camera that perfectly matched her personality. (If you watch closely, the prop department even covered the “Le Clic” logo on her camera, but its distinctive look is unmistakable.)
Le Clic also made cameo appearances in other late-80s films. The thriller Miracle Mile (1988) features a sequence with an entire store display of Le Clic cameras in the background, as if to firmly plant the story in the late 80s zeitgeist. In the 1989 comedy Cookie, a teenage character buys a pink Le Clic while hanging out at the mall. These moments might be brief, but they underline how Le Clic had become a cultural touchstone of teen life – a shorthand for “hip young photographer” of that era.
Media coverage at the time ranged from amused to appreciative. The trendy launch event earned write-ups in papers like the Chicago Tribune, which seemed both slightly tongue-in-cheek about the excess and impressed by the marketing genius. Photography magazines didn’t exactly review the Le Clic for its optics, since it was understood to be a fun gadget rather than a technical tool. User reviews in hindsight are full of nostalgia: many recall it as “my first camera” or joke about how bad their photos turned out (“blurry thumbs and all”). But those who grew up with one have a fond spot for its neon charm. Indeed, today there’s a small collectors’ market for Le Clic cameras, especially the rarer colors or models. What was once a cheap kid’s camera is now a retro collectible – a reminder of a more playful time in consumer tech.
Hastings Nostalgia: Analog Creativity in a Small Town
For Ashley in Hastings, Minnesota (and countless 80s kids in small towns), the Le Clic camera was more than a plastic toy – it was the gateway to a lifelong love of photography. There’s a special nostalgia that comes with those first clicks of the shutter. You’d load a fresh 110 film cartridge, listen for the “click” (or “le clic,” in spirit!) of the shutter, and hope you got the shot. Then you had to wait – sometimes weeks or months – until the roll was finished and developed at the local pharmacy or photo lab. Each photo was a little surprise, often with goofy framing or accidental fingers over the lens. But those off-kilter snapshots of birthday parties, pets, and first days of school became treasures in the family album. In an era when Hastings was a smaller community and the world was less documented, having your own camera as a 9-year-old felt empowering. It allowed kids to tell their own story of small-town life: the fall colors along the Mississippi, friends at the local ice rink, or that cool art project in Mrs. Johnson’s class – all through their own eyes.
Ashley’s pink Le Clic ignited her creativity. By the time she reached high school in the early 90s, she was ready for more. She signed up for photography classes at Hastings High, learning darkroom skills and 35mm technique – a big step up from the toy-like simplicity of the Le Clic. Yet, that foundation of analog fun remained. Even as she (and the world) moved to digital cameras in the 2000s, there’s a certain joy in remembering the roots of her hobby. The limitations of the Le Clic taught her to improvise and cherish each shot. It wasn’t about getting a perfect Instagram-ready image – it was about capturing a moment with all the imperfections that come with it.
The Legacy of Le Clic
Looking back, the Le Clic embodies a perfect 80s intersection of technology, fashion, and youthful optimism. It taught a generation that photography could be part of your personal style and daily life, not reserved for special occasions or skilled adults. It also proves that sometimes a gimmick can spark something genuine: many photographers today, like Ashley, trace their earliest inspiration to that goofy little camera with splashes of neon on its case.
The story of Le Clic also offers a lesson in nostalgia’s power. Decades later, the brand’s cult status has sparked a modern revival effort – with plans for new cameras that look vintage but feature digital conveniences. It turns out those “crappy pictures” we took in 1988 mean more to us than the razor-sharp smartphone snaps we take now, because they have a story and a context. For a local community like Hastings, embracing that analog past can be a way of celebrating our own history – remembering the days when a simple point-and-shoot could make a kid feel like an artist, and when waiting for your photos was just part of the fun.
In the end, Le Clic’s legacy isn’t in the photos it took (many have faded or been lost over the years). Its legacy lives on in the people it influenced. It lives on in scrapbooks and memories, in the spark of curiosity it gave a 9-year-old girl, and in the continued passion of those who still say “remember that little camera?” with a smile. Le Clic was a click that started countless creative journeys – and that’s something worth cherishing in our Hastings community and beyond.
Sources: Le Clic camera background and Concord history; marketing and launch details; cultural references theretronetwork.com; technical/collectible notes; personal recollections.
