I admit it. I fell down the rabbit hole.

I wasn’t just looking for a camera. I was hunting for the secret sauce that has made a recent comeback: the CCD sensor.

For the uninitiated, CCD sensors are the tech world’s equivalent of vinyl records. They render colors in a way that feels thick, warm, and distinctly not like a smartphone. But finding one in 2025 usually means buying a bulky brick that requires its own carrying case.

I didn’t want a project. I wanted something I could slide into my pocket or hang from my bag.

I stumbled onto the FinePix Z90 on eBay late one night. It was sitting in that awkward teenage phase of technology—released in 2011, right when cameras were desperately trying to be smartphones. It had a touchscreen. It had a sliding lens cover. It looked like a prop from a Y2K sci-fi movie that got the future slightly wrong.

I hit “Buy It Now” before I could talk myself out of it.

Continue reading “Fujifilm FinePix Z90 Review: The $70 CCD Time Capsule”