Tag Archives: Chinese

The $17 No brand Children Camera – Crap but not a scam

I’ve been a fool once more . I was trying out the new kid on the Ali Express/wish block, Temu. I got a discount that let me buy this Kids camera for less than £9. And crap it might be but it’s a whole lot better than the Vlogging camera from Ali Express and the 4K crap from Wish.

Continue reading The $17 No brand Children Camera – Crap but not a scam

The Lone Star – The Urban Outfitters VF201 Review

We live in an era of film resurgence. With new models appearing it seems every month from Revo’s Plastic Shooters to Nons’s Instax SLRs. But guess what for a few years a major fashion retailer has been selling a new Autofocus 35mm compact for the measly sum of $28USD.

Except that’s not quite true. Someone is telling Porkies about the VF201.

Continue reading The Lone Star – The Urban Outfitters VF201 Review

Protax FHD (aka D7100, 7200 & D7300) – Scam or Not

Cluttering the pages of Wish, AliExpress and even the like of eBay and Amazon – Protax cameras pop up offering killer 33MP resolutions and a 3 lens kit all for somewhere between £140 -300 GBP. Most of us look and go scamera, but is it fair to label the camera itself as this ? Or are they as awful as we think ? As ever the truth is not so clear…

Continue reading Protax FHD (aka D7100, 7200 & D7300) – Scam or Not

Lo-Fi Goes Fiscal – The Protax Z 855 Review

The Protax Z 855 sounds like a claim form for the HMRC/IRS that you supplement this year’s tax return with. But in reality it’s one of the weirdest named and designed toy class cameras I’ve ever used with a fixed focus zoom lens and fisher price digital looks. But just how bad is it? You might be surprised.

Continue reading Lo-Fi Goes Fiscal – The Protax Z 855 Review

The 21st Century Scamera – the Unamed Supposedly 16MP Camera review

The Lockdown has made work for idle hands and unfortunately I decided to buy new camera. Now I’m no stranger to cheesy lo-fi Cameras but this frankly was one of the worst cameras I’ve ever used. Not that it’s the worse optically or feature wise. This is just a scam and not a good one at that.

Continue reading The 21st Century Scamera – the Unamed Supposedly 16MP Camera review

Credit Crunch ? – Barclaycard Camera Review

I’ve a bit of a soft spot for the old Barclaycard Visa Camera despite it being pretty basic and prone to breaking. However I’ve been long aware there is another Barclaycard film camera. So when I came across a couple of these for peanuts I couldn’t resist. Continue reading Credit Crunch ? – Barclaycard Camera Review

Plastic Shoot out – Holga 135BC Versus Roniflex X3000

I’d recently mused about the alternatives to a Holga 135 series camera given the high cost. Just after that a newer color optical lens camera arrived and I managed to get a working 135BC.

Roniflex X3000 camera
Roniflex X3000 camera a Fixed focus plastic lensed 35mm camera


But which camera rode high if any and which one ended sadly up in the Bin ? Continue reading Plastic Shoot out – Holga 135BC Versus Roniflex X3000

Holga 135 TIM : Nice But Dim

I was quite entranced by the Holga 120N and with prices rising I thought I’d try this little plastic Half frame 35mm  camera that also offers 3D stereo shooting

Holga 135 TIM. Half frame #35mm #film camera. Cute or Creepy ? You decide
Holga 135 TIM. Half frame 35mm film camera. Cute or Creepy ? You decide

That said it isn’t a camera without issues. Continue reading Holga 135 TIM : Nice But Dim

Holga 120N Review : End of a (Plastic) Era

Late in 2015 Holga production ceased. A sad fate for an iconic plastic camera that helped drive the Lo-Fi photography movement and remains much beloved today. Luckily you can still buy ’em brand new.

Holga 120N
Holga120N, a film camera captured ironically by instagram

But how does the 120N (the closest to the original 80’s Holga) fare today and compared to the obvious rival product from Lomography,  the Diana F+.

Continue reading Holga 120N Review : End of a (Plastic) Era

Halina Silhouette Zoom – Poundland Challenge Camera No 13

This camera arrived in a Poundland Camera Challenge in a joblot for 99p from eBay along with the Pentax Espio AF Zoom. At first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking that this Haking produced number was in the same Zoom AF compact class as the Pentax. But whilst it’s a modern and still made compact zoom, it is weirdly fixed focus !!

Halina Silhouette Zoom
Halina Silhouette Zoom. A compact 35mm zoom camera with fixed focus

Continue reading Halina Silhouette Zoom – Poundland Challenge Camera No 13