Diana Mini ironically captured on instagram. In classic Blue black
The Diana Mini has been one of Lomography Society International (LSI) best-selling products and is a gorgeous re-imaging of their simple 120 film Diana F+ in mini form taking 35mm film. But like its big brother, it is a camera of 2 halves good and bad. But do those halves balance out in this toy class manual shooter ?
The 1970’s were the heyday of the fixed lens compact rangefinder. Truth be told there can be little to pick from these beauties with the Konica C35 series leading the pack. The Ricoh 500RF and its posher brother the 500G manage to stand out from the crowd as they offer some of the best user control of exposure in the class. Continue reading Ricoh 500RF Review : The Control Freak’s Compact Rangefinder→
The 1970s were the heyday of consumer compact rangefinder. Many models such as the Konica C35 or the Olympus 35 RC are rightly hailed as classics but that means other models are often overlooked that were rivals at the time. The good news is that you can get crackers like the 35EE for a song.
Sadly last week my Boots Pacemaker 35 died. This basic camera is actually a re branded Franka 125 made by the long gone West Germany company in the 1960’s. But was it retro fun or rightly dated ?
This absolute corker from Japan IMHO is one of the best point and shooter ever to be based on a rangefinder. Its crisp, accurate lens and exposure deliver like no other rangefinder based P&S.
You’ve probably never heard of Truprint FG+ film. This once freebie given away in the UK by the postal photolab company Truprint is an absolute corker and in my opinion produces a vividness bordering on what you tend to get with Cross processing slide film. Continue reading Truprint FG+ : Expired vividness→
This little plastic corker was one of the best selling classic soviet Cameras of all time. But why does a plasticky unmetered camera with 1950’s mechanics still deserve a loyal following. The answer is its simplicity and its killer lens. Continue reading Smena 8m Review : Good clean plastic Fun→
Soviet cameras frequently are accused of being copies of Western & Japanese models. Whatever you think they do it pretty well and Ukrainian FED are no exception. The company is still best known for it’s Leica-like rangefinders and lens. However the FED Mikron 2 (ФЭД Микрон 2) is a compact rangefinder along the lines of the Konica C35. Continue reading FED Mikron 2 : Come in Comrade we’ve been expecting you→
This 50’s rarity is arguable one of the first metered 35mm point and shooters (P&S) on the market and whilst basic and bulky had much in the ways of the compact P&S like the Olympus Trip 35 that followed it a decade plus later. And you know something, it still works and takes pretty good shots. Continue reading The Fujica 35 Automagic Review : Futuristic 50’s Automagic→
Shooting Film on the cheap on the Border in Credit Crunch Britain