"SnapMatic!" the ProSnap Deluxe Camera
Let’s check out what’s probably my favorite weapon in Fallout 76. It’s challenging to obtain, deals no damage, uses up ammo that you have to craft, and doesn’t affect anyone in any way. Although it is unbreakable and immensely satisfying to use…
Introducing the SnapMatic!
A compact rangefinder camera, the ProSnap Deluxe was manufactured for the discerning photographer, capable of accepting various lenses for use in the field.1
It’s a camera, a working one that takes photos/screenshots! How cools is that? Sure, you could just use the photo mode or turn off your HUD and shoot without it, but you’d still be missing the core benefit of this “weapon” class item. You can use it when you least expect you’ll need it. And you can zoom with it if you get a larger lens.
Let me explain what I mean using an example. As I was casually strolling around the Brotherhood encampment Fort Atlas I heard a thunderous noise, and the ground shook beneath me. I turned around, grabbed the camera, jumped off the cliff (oh yeah, I’m highly mutated in the game, but more about that some other time), and snapped a pic of the unexpected nuclear explosion.
Now, the image… it’s not much… but imagine if you just want to take a quick snap of an attacking monster and then kill it. You can do that with this. Besides, this is literally a picture I took in a matter of seconds, no prep needed, just something that caught my eye, no HUD.
The camera itself is a rather neat thing. It currently supports four lenses - the standard one, then a 105mm, a 200mm, and a night vision lens. (You need to unlock the additional lenses and craft them onto the camera.) It also has a variety of replacement covers (paint jobs). The lenses can be obtained from quests and dailies.
You may be asking yourself, how do the lenses work?
- Standard lens offers no magnification
- 105mm allows you to zoom 2x, 4x and also offers you the standard 1x zoom (no zoom)
- 200mm is like the 105mm one; however, it offers 3x and 6x zoom instead
- I haven’t got the night vision lens, but I’m guessing that it offers a better ability to shoot in the dark
The zoom is optical, meaning the zoomed picture has the same resolution.
As with other weapon mods, the lens will change your camera’s appearance, as well as the appearance of the HUD while using it. Generally, the better capabilities, the larger the lens. Just like the real world. The only bit sad thing is that the photo will have the same resolution as your screen. There isn’t a way, as far as I’ve seen, to switch the ratio.
How Do You Obtain the Camera Itself?
As I said before, the SnapMatic is difficult to obtain… well, I guess it’s more annoying than difficult. You see, you’ll have to traverse Appalachia in search of a dead tourist body (or a totally random toolbox). In addition, it spawns in a different location each time, contains a single camera, and can be freely looted by anyone.
The body can spawn around any significant tourist destination on the map. Fortunately, some player-made maps show you the possible locations; there are around a dozen. An example of such a map is this one. Given enough time and effort, you will eventually find it.
Server hopping (leaving and joining the server) is a viable option.
Once you find the tourist, they will have a broken version of this camera on them. You can proceed to go to a tinker’s table and refurbish it. Once that’s done, you’ve got a working camera! If you complete the quest that comes with the broken camera, you’ll obtain your first lens mod - the 105mm one.
You’re Also Going to Need Some Camera Films…
…where the main components are crystals. You can find those within magnifying glasses, microscopes, and a bunch of other junk items. They’re crafted at the tinker’s table.
Let’s Take a Look at How to Use It Properly
Generally speaking, you can use it the same way you use an automatic camera. The camera attempts to focus on the item you point at; it’s not great, but it’s not horrible either. Here’s an example. Please focus, pun intended, on the soldier in green. He’s near the table in the far right corner of the room. These two pictures were taken from the same spot, only with a different zoom.
So… as soon as you get the camera fixed up and grab some film, you’re ready to go. So… go! Find some friendly (or hostile) NPCs and take a portrait shot or something. The possibilities are endless.
Fun fact - your photos will show up on the loading screen.
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ProSnap Deluxe camera. (n.d.). Fallout Wiki. Retrieved September 5, 2021, from https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/ProSnap_Deluxe_camera ↩