Have you ever heard the famous words of Dr Johnson “When two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather.”? 
Maybe you have or maybe you haven’t, or maybe you have never worried about stereotypes. Well, whatever the case may be, on one splendid day in June at Burghley House, Lincolnshire, UK there were plenty of conversations going on, and not just about the weather, however wet it was – and wet is was indeed.

It was the Midget 50 celebrations and the event showcased a display and line-up of every model of MG Midget’s and Austin Healey Sprite’s from 1961 onwards– stunning little cars from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK.
Armed with numerous rolls of expired film and my SLR I set off to capture classic cars, happy faces and the odd rain drop here and there.

The weather wasn’t really on our side as we were greeted by rain on our arrival, but the day called for a celebration and so we soldiered on through the wet grass and had a blast. Kudos to the live band as they helped a great deal with keeping the visitors in sunny moods and high spirits, especially when they played ‘The wheels on the bus go round and round’ – now that was entertaining and got me smiling the whole afternoon. Good job I wasn’t the only one laughing on such a showery day, hooray for classic car enthusiasts and their obsessions. 

I’m not a car person I have to say. I like all things vintage, cameras especially, but I need technical details like a hole in the head or lead in my knee. To me, cars have names and faces and get me from A to B – wherever the mysterious location A or indeed B may be… But that lack of understanding and technical ability has never stopped me, or indeed a lot of other visitors, from enjoying car events. You can find car geeks next to people who like the car because it is pink and ‘smiles’, racing drivers next to Sunday drivers, Marmite lovers next to Marmite haters and older generations next to the very young ones. I’ve actually started to appreciate transport-related rallies, fairs and meetings of all sorts and now tend to spend my summers traveling from one to the other.
And this one was one mighty event, with all those little colourful cars, more or less, lined up on the field in front of Burghley House. Even today I am unaware of why the cars were parked up like they had just been washed up there, but guess there was some artistic thinking involved?! Or an oversight, but hey, I am a designer and just saying.

As the hours passed and the rain settled in properly I started to move my focus from cars to people. I haven’t really tried my hands on field photography and candid images, but one has to start somewhere, and I actually like my results. The multi-coloured umbrellas, cagoules and cars worked rather well against the grey sky and the happy faces one could spot here and there added just that little bit of magic you are searching for on a rainy day.

When it comes to photography, there are uncountable possibilities and techniques you can try out. I’ve always been drawn to landscapes and close-ups, even the odd abstract image, but never even thought about taking people’s portraits. An object holds an identity and has its own memories, similar to a person, and for me those object-interactions have fantastic potential. However, it was about time to photograph the owners and users of those objects. The expressions on some of the faces tell stories in their own right and in combination with the objects they were there to celebrate; you have a whole new page in the book of Midget history. It’s a long way away from portraiture photography on one hand, but also closely related on the other.

Car-person or not, it was a spiffing day filled with tonnes of car-related enthusiasm, excited conversations and interesting snapshots. And one thing that is certain, I will most definitely start to experiment with street photography further. Daily life holds immense possibilities for a photographer no matter what the weather gods have planned. Get out there and enjoy them while the summer lasts!

And so an excellent day ends and one truth has proven itself right once again, if there is the word “celebration” on the invite, a party we shall have no matter what the weather! Cheerio old chaps!

110 film has a special place for me – my first cameras as a kid was a little 110 thing, maybe a Halina which flipped open and made a fairly unsatisfying click when you took a picture. I took photos of cats and other stuff that fascinated me when I was 6.

110 was a perfect little format. The simplicity of cartridges meant it really was as close to being a “toy” as you could get – no messing with sprockets, no unwinding, no batteries.

So I couldn’t really turn down an offer to borrow an Agfamatic 2008 tele-pocket (definitely not made in 2008) from the owner of a local cafe. 110 film is sadly a dying breed, but I had some lying round, waiting patiently to be whisked off in a Baby Holga or Demekin Fisheye. In true nostalgia mood, I grabbed a roll of unknown expiry date which I got for one pound, and set off.

110 has to be responsible for some of the most eclectic cameras around – from the Superheadz Ikimono range up to some fairly decent SLRs. The film cartridge is basically lightproof and has its own wind-on mechanism, so the camera itself has little left to do.

The Agfamatic takes advantage of this by doing away with any wind-on dials or levers. Instead, to advance a frame all you do is have to push the spring-loaded side into the camera after taking a shot. This single, quick movement – accompanied by a lovely *SHER-SHUNK* noise – is all you need to shoot again.

In fact, the Agfamatic is so simple that you can do everything with one hand – perfect for when you’re carrying shopping, or a small child. You can easily flick between the camera’s wideangle and “tele” lenses with a switch on top. When you see a shot you want, you just flick the case release with your thumb, and press the large, Flip-like red button. Then another sher-shunk to wind on. Done. Love it.

And there you have it – one-handed, one-pound, one-ten photography. The expired film caught something, but needed some post-processing work to make decent (mainly exposure, contrast and noise reduction). The main pain was the cost of getting the film scanned (developing is same as any C41 film, I believe) but you can do this with your own scanner if you have one.

I do really like the results though, and still love what you can achieve for under a fiver. 110 is increasingly hard to find, expensive to buy, and annoying to develop. But for me, it’s still the original toy format.

After reading through the manual and setting up the wooden box camera I got started with my DIY darkroom, which happened to be my bathroom as there are no windows so it was ideal! Assembling the box which was easy enough, then there was a black card lining to the box which fits inside. The last step was to make the hole and then put the paper into the box (in the dark room). Once it was all set up, I read up on the exposure times and special effects you can achieve with the pinhole camera.

The first set of images were taken inside, with low lighting. I used the guidelines from the instructions but they definitely weren’t exposed long enough as hardly any detail can be seen. I think I managed to over develop this set too! I initially tried to do some of the ‘ghost’ shots where your subject stands in the frame for half the exposure time, then move out of the way for the rest of it. Seen some really good examples of this online, unfortunately mine were just not exposed long enough to work here!

After the first set I decided to try my luck outside at night time. I also knew I needed to add much longer onto the suggested exposure times. I think these were about three/four minutes each. I wanted to try to capture some lighting and see how well the contrast worked, as almost every pinhole guide states how important it is. I didn’t use a tripod for these, I purposely moved around whilst the paper was exposed to see if I could get some interesting light effects/trails.

The third set were taken in the forest after we had snow, it looked very pretty when it was all settled. I wanted to try out the camera in natural sunlight too, and I think it’s worked in my favour as the details seem to be a little more defined on these three. With these I attempted a few different shots on each exposure, works well for giving an eery/spooky look.

My overall thoughts on this kit would be that it’s good fun but also a little tricky to get right. I enjoyed having a few attempts and will certainly be trying more once I get my hands on some more paper! I hope everyone else had fun with their cameras this month too!

There really isn’t anything hard about this camera. What makes it different is  the fact that it has 2 lenses, 2 pinholes and takes 2 images of the subject on 2 frames. The idea behind the stereo pinhole is to create your own 3D images that you can enjoy on your couch, in your office or perhaps while hanging out in the hot tub with friends. The camera loads like any other Holga, but the frame counter is set far to the right side. While frame 1 is in the ruby window and ready to expose behind one lens, frame 2 is ready to go behind the second lens. Once you shoot your first stereo images, you advance the film past the 2 and stop at the 3….remember that it is a DUAL image camera, so frame 1 and 2 are the same. This all sounds confusing and I admit, I forgot about it the first time I used it…just think in odd numbers….1,3,5,7,9,11…..For the first time user, the Stereo should be nice and simple. It has an exposure guide on the back based on 400 ISO and the light conditions, so if you can count, you can use this camera.

I think my favourite thing about the stereo pinhole (aside from the fact that it’s stereo!) is the threaded cable release. I know, I know, most pinholes have some form of release, but I was just sooooooo happy that the release is a standard thread, I didn’t need any adapters, doohickeys or whatsits to use it! (sorry if that was a little too Dr. Seuss….)  It is always the small things on cameras that get me, so it is just nice to see this little addition to the Stereo. A close second is the where the tripod mount is. It is pretty well right in the middle, so if you use a quick release plate system, the camera mounts flat, not slightly crooked like most other Holgas. I’d say the only thing I don’t like about the Stereo is the fact that the Stereo viewer and the mounts come separately. Like any good retailer, the goal is to make money, but can we please, at least, create a little package that gives us the camera, viewer and a couple of mounts? (HINT!)

When I got this camera from Holga Limited awhile back, I was instantly intrigued. The idea of creating stereo pinhole images caught my attention and imagination. Anything can make a great stereo pinhole image : From a mountain, to a street corner and even your own living room. So if you decide to get one, take it everywhere and have fun with it!

Some great places to get it are:

www.holgadirect.com and www.holgacamera.net

–jim  www.jimslobodian.com

]]> http://www.holgablog.com/2011/01/17/st-st-stereo/feed/ 2 http://www.holgablog.com/2011/01/05/pinholes-in-poland-or-how-i-discovered-the-perfect-way-of-counting-seconds/ http://www.holgablog.com/2011/01/05/pinholes-in-poland-or-how-i-discovered-the-perfect-way-of-counting-seconds/#comments Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:56:45 +0000 Lisa http://www.holgablog.com/?p=4866 The New Year is upon us! 2010 is yesterday’s snow and 2011 is innocent, bright and beautiful. A story that keeps repeating itself every 365 days or so. Hooray for celebrations and a Happy New Year to all! However, those kind of celebrations are quite often overshadowed by this nagging feeling of New-Year-Resolutions and critical-thinking moments. Should we do something? Shouldn’t we do something? Indecisive? Me? Never? Maybe? Possibly? Sigh…

Anyway, I had one of those critical-thinking moments just over a year ago, in the very early hours of 2010:

‘All good things begin with the letter “P” don’t they?’ I thought. ‘ Photography for a start. Philosophy. Popcorn. Parties. Psychology. Pizza. Pictures. Prehistoric beasts. Planes. Pancakes. And Pinhole Photography, Cameras and Images’ Hooray again!
Pinhole photography, the ‘Holy Grail’ of the photography world, the heaven of the art of painting with light – the bestest of the bestest. And somewhat quite scary, almost unreachable, nerve-racking, beautiful, stunning and just plain awesome. ‘Lisa’, I concluded , ‘you must try pinhole photography as soon as possible!’
After careful pondering of the given situation, I reached the verdict, that indeed 2010 should be the year I jump, feet first, into the wonderful world of pinhole photography.

As you could have probably predicted, I had been observing all these great pinhole photographers from afar, sitting quietly in the corner and wishing I was able to play with those camera as effectively as they do, hoping somehow somewhere someone will invite me into the great club of pinhole picture making. ‘I knew the time had finally come when I ought to use one of these magnificent machines’. Little did I know it would be the 30^th of December 2010 and I would be in Gdańsk, Poland, when I took my first wobbly steps towards this fantastic medium … but hey, better late than never and  “WOW!” doesn’t even cover the emotions! Armed with a Holga WPC, the 6×9 mask inside, a tripod and ten rolls of Fuji NCN400 I was ready to go.

What can I say, apart from “boy, do I love this!”. I never felt quite so happy  and cheerful  as I did that and the following day, walking around carrying a plastic box on a tripod, stopping at random places, receiving weird looks from passers-by and taking pictures.
Yes, the often dreaded ‘what-is-that-weird-person-doing-over-there-with-that-weird-thing’-expression, followed by either the ‘oh-dear-she-has-lost-it’- headshake or the ‘let’s-just-move-on-and-ignore’-wave. Familiar? Hmm, or maybe it is just me… moving on swiftly.

The Holga WPC was just the right camera for the job, with a super-wide view that extends up to 120 degrees! And thanks to the handy guidelines and the spirit level on top of the camera, you even know what you’ll record and can compensate for tilted horizons if you wish to, before you take your picture. The pinhole is 0.3mm which creates an aperture of f135, which essentially means you get infinite depth of field – everything is in focus, if used correctly on a steady tripod or placed on flat ground I should say.
The Holga comes with two masks, a 6×12, for six shots on medium format film and a 6×9, for eight frames per roll, which on the downside can be rather pricy!  On the upside, having negatives which are 60mm by 120mm wide and 60mm by 90mm respectively is something worth spending your hard earned cash on! An almost hypnotic outcome, if you ask me, something so overwhelmingly cool and all without a lens – still trying to get my head around this – but I guess that might also depend a great deal on your subject.

Going back to the roots of photography – waiting for something to happen – learning how to see the world again – no rushing around – enjoying every single second – it all was just pure bliss!
How often do we run around, knowing we are often a few minutes behind our daily schedule, trying to fit extra hours in a day? If you go out to take pinhole pictures, you can appreciate the time you spend taking pictures. I have been engaged with waiting for over a year now, investigating the act, the interval and definition of waiting, and I believe I have found the perfect way of remaining, resting, stopping and pausing:  counting the seconds for an exposure! Now, that is awesome!
New Year celebrations happen to involve counting the seconds until the “Big Moment”, the end of one year, the beginning of another and quite often, the smaller moments seem to go unnoticed. We all wait for the clock to finally strike twelve and the New Year begins, but how often do you celebrate and count the seconds ticking away during any other day?
Ok, maybe your birthday is tomorrow and you just cannot wait to be another year older, or it’s the other way around and you just want to hold on to the last few seconds of a beautiful day…but apart from those occasional moments in one’s life, when does one actually sit down and count time passing? My point exactly, and this is when my new found love for pinhole photography comes in. Only with the appreciation of the time spent, does the art happen or something like that anyway. If you want some advice for the year to come, count some seconds once in a while. It is actually rather calming and beautiful and almost beneficial in the fast-paced landscape of today…so take your time. Or, even better advice: get a pinhole camera and enjoy your seconds!!

Pinhole cameras record the world in such a lovely way, there is almost nothing I don’t like about them. Well ok, apart from the fact, that those lens-less machines need steady ground under their feet. A fact that is obvious, but not always achievable. If you, for example, find yourself on a somewhat wind-exposed bridge and all you have is a small tripod, you have to make a decision: blurred image or no image? Granted, you should be more prepared, after all, you’re not out point-and-shooting your surroundings, you are actually taking pinhole pictures, but hey, that is life and sums up my experience in Poland. I did take a tripod with me, but it wasn’t one of the steadiest ones (GorrillaPod SLR), and unfortunately, I also forgot to pack my light meter… Doh! So instead of mounting my Holga on a sturdy tripod, composing my shot, knowing how long I’ll leave the shutter open in order to get a wished-for result and actually achieving all this, I pointed the camera at the scenery and counted my seconds, depending on the shot between seven and fifteen seconds, usually in my head, but on occasion even out loud… a scene for some weird looks again….
Watch out for snow and bright scenes as the extra light can throw your exposure off, another obvious point to be honest, but worth mentioning. Most of my white-stuff-depicting images are very over-exposed, but the use of a light meter can cure this in an instant. Note to self: Never go out shooting again without the little gadget.
Same goes for the opposite end of the stick: if you find yourself in dark areas or you’re taking pictures at night, you want to adjust the exposure time accordingly and leave the shutter open for longer. I haven’t taken any night shots yet, but definitely will give them a go, who knows, I might produce some of my best photos.

This is not to say that I don’t like any of my photos from Gdańsk. They might not be the sharpest or perfectly exposed ones, but nevertheless I took them without a lens just by counting some seconds. In my book, this is awesome!!
Plastic camera medium format pinhole photography (phew, long name) is very low budget (compared to the professional kit available) but captures huge amounts of detail and whilst it follows the fundamental manual basics of camera and photographic technology, there is in fact only one variable – time. Hence, this way of photographing might be technically orientated, due to the light situations, but I believe that it is also very unique to the camera (especially when using a Holga), the user and the moment in time. As with almost everything in life, you have to find the right balance for you and your camera. There is no real right or wrong when it comes to experience. There is a huge difference between a seven-second picture at midday and at dusk, between a ten-second shot and a thirty-second exposure. In order to find your feet, you always have the option to sacrifices a roll or two for test purposes and shoot the same subject with varying exposure times. Working out the way the camera suits you and your photography comes naturally once you start playing with it and you’ll reach the point in time when you don’t want to leave the house without a pinhole camera!

Before I forget, I would like to say a huge “Danke” to the great people I was with that and the following day. They waited very patiently in the frosty wind and snow, on bridges and in dark streets, hungry and cold, while I was having the time of my life -so “Thank you”!

Oh, and what about the actual location?  I should add that Gdańsk is one beautiful city with incredible architecture and impressive sights, lovely people and definitely worth a visit. My favorite moment was when a whole huge flock of pigeons lifted up in the air and flew in formation through all the tiny side alleys and tall buildings. The sound of the wings in the air was just incredible, and I stood there in admiration, unable to move, just enjoying the moment. Unfortunately, the whole thing happened far too quickly to get my Holga out in time… shame really, would have loved to share this with you, maybe another time. I can, however, show you some results of my trip, my first baby steps with a pinhole camera, but please be gentle, I’m still exploring.
To be honest, I’m not sure why I didn’t try pinhole photography much, much sooner?!There was so much fun and excitement involved, I hardly can wait to go back out there and shoot more! Let’s talk cross-processing, expired films, sprockets, different developing chemicals, redscale, multi-exposure ….the possibilities are endless!

Well, except for the fact that I once again ran out of medium format film… again?!….

Interested in getting a Holga WPC? Get it here!

Published in 2009 by Focal Press, at 259 pages long, this book is absolutely bursting with information. Even just taking a quick flip through the pages and seeing the over 300 images by more than 100 artists, it is almost daunting to think that the entire book is written solely on the topic of pinhole photography. But Renner does skimp on anything. Looking at the Table of Contents (there is a preview of the first few pages, including the T.O.C here), it is very easy to see why such length was required for the topic. Within its pages, the book holds everything from the history and ideology of pinhole photography, to basic and advanced how-to’s for creating your own pinhole cameras. It also explains at length everything a person could want to know about pinhole theory, apertures, filtering, exposures, developing, alternate film planes, digital application, even solar and lunar imaging – and more!

Sound like too much information? It’s not! The book is written in terms that anyone can relate to and understand and it is broken up piece by piece into a search-friendly format, so you don’t need to read it cover to cover to find what you are looking for if you are in a pinch.

While I was certainly captivated by the history section of the book, I personally found a lot of helpful information in the how-to chapters (5, 6 & 7) of the book. I am new to pinhole photography and had at least a dozen questions about making my own camera and found answers to literally every single one within those pages. If you are looking for an in-depth explanation of pinhole photography, a detailed show-and-tell of how to create your own pinhole camera, or would like to advance your pinhole photography to the next level, this book is an incredible resource and certainly one every photographer should have.

The book can be purchased from Pinhole Resource or directly from Focal Press.

To view some of the work of author Eric Renner, you can find more via his personal web site at www.ericrennerphoto.com

I would like to personally thank Eric Renner and Nancy Spencer for sending us a copy of Pinhole Photography – I have enjoyed this book immensely so far and will continue to do so as I am continually learning something new from it each time I turn the page.

- Sheena
www.sheenairenephoto.com

So, now I have got this off my chest, let’s get this review of ‘analogue-lifestyle-and-something-satisfyingly-different-to-what-I-just-mentioned’ going.

A kind-of review

When it comes to 35mm single lens reflex cameras – and I am sure I’m not the only one – I have always known which side I stand, which camp I am in, which manufacturer I wish to support…basically which camera/s I can’t stop thinking about.
I have always been a Pentax girl. The first SLR I ever had was a Pentax. The SLR I learned the basics of film photography with, was a Pentax. My first DSLR was a Pentax.   My current SLR and DSLR are both, yes you would have guessed right, a Pentax. One day I will own a Pentax 110 kit and most likely a Pentax 654 or 67, be it analogue or digital, or even both. Well, let’s just say, that I have always been a Pentax girl.

But behold, one fortunate moment in time and two very lucky clicks during a visit to an online auction house and [drum roll please!] I am the proud owner of a Canon EOS 500 and a Diana F+ 55mm wide lens.

Awesome right?! The perfect marriage of plastic lens goodness and professional flair, of distorted beauty and obsessive camera control – please allow me to introduce the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ of the photography worlds (in no specific order of course).

And thanks to my ‘humble’ on-going addiction to the wonderful world of analogue photography, I had just the right ‘wedding band’ on my desk: a Diana F+ Lens Adaptor – the Canon version to be precise.

Oh, how exciting and what was my next step I hear you ask? Well, the sensible approach would be to sit down and read some manuals and instruction on what precious gear I have acquired, make some phone calls and more to the point, read up on how to use it all, but guess what? Sensible?!  Yeah, hmm, well, rather unlikely. I wanted to go out and burn some film! Shoot my heart out and do it as quickly as possible!

If you were expecting to read a full review on the Canon, the lens or even both, I have to disappoint you and would suggest consulting your local library or exploring the Internet further. However, if you can get as excited as me about playing with new kit before referring to any manuals, come along, read on, enjoy the view and be prepared to be amazed by a little plastic lens!

So, the next day, a very foggy frosty day in early December, I took the ‘newlywed happy couple’ on a honeymoon journey through the English countryside. Several rolls of colour film, ISO 200, in my pocket, the camera set to aperture priority, a huge smile on my face and fields and fields of foggy landscapes. With the sun low in the sky, transforming the world with its harsh light into a fairy-tale landscape and the fog so thick that you could cut it with a knife I was happily wandering through a day made from and for dreams.

You might wonder and ask why I decided to head out for a test on such a foggy ‘dream-like’ day, considering the beauty of a Diana lens is creating such dream-like scenes by default and indeed I thought about it myself, but without knowing where the boundaries are, you can’t successfully push them and experience the greatness and joy of experiments.  And boy, did I have fun that day!

The first thing you’ll notice when using an SLR body over the actual Diana is, that you can compose and ‘see’ your image through the viewfinder (Doh! I know, I am using an SLR after all) But still, a bit of a shock to the system, at least for me, as I really like the uncertainty and guesswork you usually have with cameras like the Diana. But here, what you see is what you get, more or less that is. Actually seeing the distortions and im/perfections before you have taken your picture is quite something, I have to say.

The lens itself is can  be used across a range of cameras, from the medium format goddess Diana to any Canon or Nikon SLR body, depending on which adaptor you have.  Obviously, a 35mm frame is lesser than a 120 one and so the end-picture will be a smaller more  magnified image than you would get using the 55mm lens on a Diana. But that’s another story for another time, and I’m sure I’ll sit down one day and write it down.

But back to my dreamy landscapes. I’ve always liked the way my Diana showed me the world and now I have the option of creating those visions in perfect little frames, on film that is readily available almost anywhere. Perfect. And more exciting still, all this with an SLR that almost shouts “control freak” with its several complete automatic exposure modes, shutter and aperture priorities, manual modes … Impressive, right? I thought so too.

Even though Diana lenses usually prefer the bright sunlight to work their magic, I love the results! I just wish I had taken more film with me. By the time I made it home again to pick up some more, darkness had set and the land was hugged by the dark night… oh, erm, sorry, wandering of topic….
My point is: If you have the chance to shoot with a Diana lens, no matter what camera body is attached to the little gem, take it! And make the most of it, but I am sure you know that anyway! But be warned, addictions may develop!

A kind-of conclusion

Will I be converted to Canon? Probably not, but that is not saying that I won’t carry my Canon everywhere I shall go from now on – because, indeed, I will!
How could I say ‘no’ to this perfect recipe for fun? I have just too many unanswered and unasked questions about different films, techniques, processes and locations to just file my experience under ‘been there- done that – got the t-shirt’.
I even have the opportunity to shoot more and different amazing pictures by getting my hands on the Close-Up Lens and mounting it to my 55mm lens and all the other little beauties, aka the 38mm Diana F+ Super Wide Lens, the 20mm Diana F+ Fisheye Lens and the 110mm Diana F+ Telephoto Lens. And if I should seek some medium format love, I can just introduce the lenses to my Diana and snap away. Let me just say, the Diana is here to stay!

And this is where the story ends, for now anyway. They lived happily ever after and I have found and made room for a new love in my life!

The small print or underlying fabric

First of all, I want to point out, that other cameras are indeed available and possibly even better or worse in any thinkable way – these words are merely reflecting my current state of mind regarding ‘camera porn’ and preferences. Feel free to challenge any opinion given.

Secondly, any addictions and/or addictive behavioural patterns that may develop after reading this, heading out and using the mentioned photo gear are most likely the result of the awesomeness of Diana lenses – embrace the sensations!

Furthermore, I would like to take this moment to apologize to anyone I may have offended by suggesting that Canon cameras are control freaks, Pentax cameras are the future and Diana’s are the bestest and greatest cameras in the world – you know the truth anyway!

And finally: Thanks for reading!

After seeing some very grainy, black and white images taken with a Fisher Price toy camera I was inspired and consequently headed straight for eBay. A few days later my new (well, used), very funky looking toy camera arrived. With a stash of 35mm films, I took it to a friend’s house to test it out. I felt instantly like I was 5 years old again, and loved every minute.

In the comfort of your own home, or your friend’s, these cameras are great. Yet in public the sight of a 20-something year old wandering round with a bright red and yellow plastic camera round her neck can cause people to stare. I imagine I look quite strange trying to peer through the children’s viewfinder too, which was very much designed for small eyes!

The binocular style viewfinders mean that taking a portrait image proves very difficult. Don’t get me wrong, it makes the photo taking experience even more fun, but it feels awkward and unnatural to turn the camera onto its side for a vertical shot. However, it isn’t impossible.

As with most things made for small hands, certain tasks can be quite fiddly. Something that may seem impossible at the time is getting the film in and then out again, once it has been exposed. There is a yellow key on the strap, which opens up the back, but only when another button is pressed at the same time.  It’s not the easiest of tasks, so an adult with a good sense of coordination is definitely needed.

With a 35mm focal length, fixed f/6.8 aperture, and built in flash (which requires two AA batteries) this is a genuine, fun, basic camera.  It takes pretty sharp images from the middle of the frame out and mostly when used with the flash gives the dark corners often associated with toy cameras. It guarantees a fun reaction from friends or passers by who will all want to have a closer look, maybe hold it and maybe even take a photo themselves.

These cameras are very bulky and will not slip into a handbag easily. I have a separate camera bag full of bulky toy cameras to rummage through as and when I need to…but I wouldn’t change that for anything.