Rolling Square Await Camera on Kickstarter: Film-Inspired Digital Camera With Prints
A night out ends with dozens of near-identical shots, filed on a phone that will hold thousands more before anyone scrolls back to them. The Await camera, a retro digital camera, runs on a slower deal: a roll of 24 frames with nothing to look at until it is finished, then 4x6 prints that arrive at the door.
Await is the 20th crowdfunding campaign from Rolling Square, a Swiss team that unveiled the camera at CES in January 2026 and gathered feedback there before bringing it to Kickstarter. The Await camera price on Kickstarter is $100.
📈 Campaign: $118,552 raised from 1,014 backers, goal $22,408, 12 days left.
💰 Early Bird Solo: $100 (77 of 100 left); Full Kit $111 (78 of 100 left); x2 Full Kit $201 (20 of 100 left).
📦 Delivery: estimated December 2026.
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Quick Verdict
Our verdict: 8.5/10
Who Is It For?
It suits people who take a camera to parties, clubs and nights out and want a handful of deliberate shots instead of a phone full of retakes. It also fits anyone who buys disposable cameras for those moments and wants a digital camera that looks like film without buying a new camera each time.
Main Strengths
Each roll keeps its photos hidden until it is developed, so you shoot with intention and put the camera down between shots.
Finished rolls become 4x6 prints delivered to your door, ordered in one tap from the Await App.
A real xenon flash, not an LED, handles a dark club or an indoor dinner.
At 92.7 g and a footprint about 44% larger than a credit card, it fits a pocket, and its magnetic faceplate swaps between five colors.
Rolling Square has delivered more than 750,000 products across 19 campaigns, and Await comes with a 30-day return policy and a 2-year warranty.
Main Limitations
Prints are a recurring cost charged per roll, plus a shipping fee that varies by country.
The app that develops the rolls is still in active development, and the FCC, CE and UKCA certifications are in progress.
Downloading through the app replaces the original files with filtered ones, so unfiltered originals require a cable transfer first.
Is the Await Camera Worth Backing?
Back it if you are the party shooter described above and want fewer photos that you actually keep. Skip it if you want to check every frame as you go or need a high-resolution sensor, since your phone already does both. The roll that keeps each shot out of sight until it is developed is the reason to back the Await camera on Kickstarter.
Await Camera Price on Kickstarter
The Await camera price on Kickstarter is $100, against an MSRP of about $145. The Solo tier is the one to take: one camera and its wrist strap are all you need to shoot, and the faceplate color is picked after the campaign in backer tools. The Full Kit, at $111, adds a neck strap and two spare faceplates, and both tiers are limited to 100 units.
The camera price is fair for a reusable body; the running cost is the prints. Automatic mode charges $8.99 per roll plus shipping from $4.99, while rolls kept digital in the free app cost nothing. Shipping the camera is a flat fee of about $9 worldwide, and the Full Kit's extra $11 buys $32 of accessories at the campaign's add-on prices, worth it if you want the neck strap or expect to use the extra faceplates. It is $100 on Kickstarter.
What Is the Await Camera and What Does It Make Possible?
Await Camera: A Translucent Retro Digital Camera That Fits in a Pocket
The Await camera is a retro digital camera reduced to two buttons and a window. The shutter button takes the picture, and a long press turns the camera on or off. The function button toggles the flash, or the 10-second timer when held. You frame through an optical viewfinder, and the translucent body leaves the circuit boards on show, a nod to the transparent Game Boy Color and to '90s and '00s pop icons such as the Poké Ball.
The body measures 98 x 68 x 15 mm (3.86 x 2.68 x 0.59 in) and charges over USB-C. A threaded mount takes a tripod, side loops take the included wrist strap, and Torx screws keep the design openable for future add-ons. The maker's crowdfunding record runs from inCharge in 2014 to the Supertiny 100W charger we reviewed.
Why the Phone Camera Roll Became Its Own Problem
The phone made every photo free, and free photos pile up. Ten shots of the same dinner table, then the screen checked after every frame. The library keeps growing in the cloud faster than anyone can sort it, let alone print it.
The decision moves before the shutter. You frame the moment, take it once and return to the conversation. The photos from the night turn up later, once it is already a memory.
Await Camera Key Features and Specs: Rolls, Prints and Xenon Flash
Three Rolls of 24 Frames: Photos You See Only After Developing the Roll
The camera holds up to three rolls of 24 frames, 72 pictures in all. The rear OLED screen lists frames left in the current roll, rolls left before processing, battery in four bars, and the flash and timer status. There is no picture to review on it.
A sync with the app, over Bluetooth 5.2 LE and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, develops each finished roll through the Await filter, empties the camera and frees it for the next session. There is no artificial waiting period: a roll can be developed as soon as its last frame is taken, so the wait is the roll itself. Developed rolls stay in the app's gallery with no fee or subscription.
Automatic or Manual Printing: 4x6 Prints Delivered From the Await App
Prints come out at 150 x 100 mm (6 x 4 in), the size of a 35mm lab print, on premium paper from partner print labs. Printing is priced per roll, so leaving out frames you do not want printed does not lower the price. The campaign's own comparison puts an Await roll, 24 prints, at $8.99 plus shipping, against $23 to $33 for 35mm film and developing, $50 for Polaroid and $24 for Instax or Kodak Mini Shot.
Two modes decide when a roll prints. In Automatic mode, every synced roll queues for print and ships 24 hours later, a window in which any roll can be skipped and kept digital. Manual mode keeps rolls digital until you send one to print, at $9.99 a roll. The app asks for a card at onboarding so printing takes one tap, and nothing is charged until a roll prints.
Xenon Flash and the Await Filter: A Film Look From an 8MP Sony Sensor
The sensor is an 8MP Sony IMX179 (1/3.2-inch, 3264 x 2448) behind a fixed f/2.0 lens with a 2.8mm focal length, about 26mm in full-frame terms. The Await team built the filter from a study of vintage photographs and film, then tested it across thousands of pictures in light, shade and low light. For anyone after a digital camera that looks like film, the filter applies one consistent signature to every roll.
The flash is a xenon gas-discharge tube, the technology of classic film cameras and studio strobes. The campaign says it produces a daylight-balanced burst that freezes motion, with an analog flash look an LED cannot replicate.
Should You Back the Await Camera on Kickstarter?
The Await camera is a retro digital camera for parties and nights out, a reusable stand-in for the disposable camera at a party. It goes to an outdoor night party, or into a club with the flash on.
Rolling Square has its manufacturing partners onboarded and prototypes validated through multiple revisions, with production split into controlled batches ahead of a delivery estimated for December 2026. At $100 against an MSRP of about $145, with the Solo tier the one to take, the Await camera is on Kickstarter.
FAQ about the Await Camera on Kickstarter
How long does the Await camera battery last?
The 1000mAh rechargeable battery is good for approximately 600 photos with the xenon flash, or up to 2,000 photos without it, by the maker's figures.
Can you get unfiltered original photos from the Await camera?
Yes. Connecting the camera directly to a computer or smartphone gives the original photos with no filter and no compression. Files downloaded through the app are converted, and the originals are not kept, so transfer by cable first if you want both versions.
Why choose the Await camera over a disposable camera?
Both give a limited set of shots that makes each one count. A disposable camera is used once, so every new set means buying another camera and paying for developing. The Await camera is a reusable digital camera that looks like film, holds 72 frames between syncs and keeps every developed roll in its app.
Is Rolling Square legit?
Rolling Square is a Swiss company that has run crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo and Kickstarter since 2014, and Await is its 20th. It reports more than 750,000 products delivered, holds a 4.5/5 Trustpilot rating and guarantees delivery of Await to its backers.
How does the Await camera compare with the RewindPix?
The Await camera weighs half as much, 92.7 g against 185 g, and delivers 4x6 prints from its app, a service our RewindPix review does not list, while the RewindPix wins on resolution and looks, 13MP and 36 presets against 8MP and one filter. Both use a xenon flash and an optical viewfinder, with no photo review screen.
Does the Await camera work with Android phones?
Yes. The Await App runs on both iOS and Android, and the camera connects to the phone over Bluetooth 5.2 LE and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi to sync and develop its rolls.
About the Author
Michael Green
Chief Editor at GizmoCrowd
Michael has been tracking tech and innovation campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo for over 10 years, covering wearables, health tech, smart home devices, and audio-visual equipment.
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