Godox C100 camera: photographing through a transparent screen

Wednesday 1 July 2026, 20:10 by Elja Trum | 1,202 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Godox is best known for flashes and LED lighting. Now the Chinese brand has surprisingly launched its first camera of its own. Just don't expect a competitor to Canon, Nikon or Sony. The Godox C100 is mainly a small and affordable toy, but one with a fun concept.

The C100 has no normal screen on which you can view a live image or your photos. Instead, you look through a large transparent window in the body. So you look directly at your subject, rather than at an image coming from the sensor.

The viewfinder is not entirely without electronics. Framing lines, exposure settings and the remaining battery capacity appear in the transparent display. According to Godox, the screen lets through more than 50 per cent of the available light.

No immediate playback

After taking a photo, you cannot view it directly on the camera. To do that, you have to connect the C100 to your phone or computer via USB-C. You can also remove the microSD card from the camera.

That perhaps makes taking photos with the C100 a little more exciting. You take a photo, but only find out later whether it worked. A bit like analogue photography, then, although fortunately you do not first have to have a roll of film developed.

Godox therefore puts emphasis in its promotion on taking photos without constantly looking back at them. Observe first, press the shutter and then simply carry on. That may sound a little overly philosophical for a camera costing a few dozen euros, but the idea is quite likeable.

The camera supports the 16:9, 4:3, 3:2 and square aspect ratios. The framing lines in the transparent screen are automatically adjusted to the selected ratio.

Can also be used as a light meter

One notable extra is the built-in light meter. The C100 can measure the brightness in the centre of the image and show a suitable combination of aperture and shutter speed based on that.

This also means the little device can be used as a separate light meter with an old analogue camera. For photographers who still regularly use a camera without a built-in light meter, this toy therefore has a practical function after all.

The design, incidentally, looks remarkably similar to the Escura InstantSnap, a camera that was shown earlier at the CP+ photography fair. The transparent window on the Escura was mainly a simple frame, however. Godox has developed the concept a little further with active information in the display.

Small and light

The Godox C100 measures approximately 104 by 72 by 19 millimetres and weighs just 65 grams. That makes it easy to slip into a jacket pocket or carry as a distinctive accessory on a cord.

Photos and videos are stored on a microSD card of up to 128 gigabytesB. Charging and transferring files is done via USB-C. According to Godox, the battery lasts for more than an hour and a half when filming continuously.

So far, Godox has revealed remarkably little about the sensor, resolution, lens used and video quality. The small sample files shown so far suggest that you should not expect impressive image quality. You clearly buy this camera for the experience, not for maximum sharpness or large prints.

For now, only in China

The C100 was launched in China for 199 yuan, which converts to around 26 euros. It is not yet clear if or when the camera will officially become available in the Netherlands.

As a serious photographic tool, the Godox C100 is unlikely to find its way into many camera bags. As an affordable toy, however, it is a fun concept. The transparent viewfinder looks original, the light meter is a smart addition and not being able to review your photos might even help you take more considered photographs.

And for a price of a few dozen euros, not every camera has to be a technical masterpiece, of course. Sometimes photography is simply allowed to be fun.

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