5 cameras you’d need to prise out of my cold dead hands
What film cameras could you not be parted from. It’s a question myself and some other film bloggers have asked ourselves recently. So here’s my list of five cameras you’d need to prise out of my lifeless hands. And there’s a few surprises in here with everything from technical production, to simplicity to in production today cameras.
The old Glaswegian saying is very apt here. All (aw) fur coat.. was originally a dig at the folk in Edinburgh, they look fancy but they’re just as plain underneath. And the Lomomatic 110, the second camera released by Lomography this year suffers from that. Good looking and it might be one of the best spec’ed 110 camera this century but it’s woeful optics let it down.
It’s rare for me to be so critical of a camera . But given not surprisingly old 110 cameras are quite available still for peanuts, there are plenty of better fish to fry. And given the Skina is by far the worst 110 I’ve ever used, trust me save your pennies..
The Lomourette isn’t technically fully launched yet but you can already get your hands on Lomography’s replacement for the Diana Mini. But it’s the same camera with less features
“That looks a Diana mini” you might be tempted to say. And you’re right. Lomography’s latest camera is a tweaked Diana Mini shooting half frame images. But you’d struggle to know the Lomourette existed. And why the name change? Let’s open up the box and explore.
The Escura Snaps 35 Half is Escura’s half frame modified version of their Dubblefilm Show clone the Escura Snaps 35 camera. Mine arrived from Hong Kong decorated with Chibi of One Piece. That’s the manga series that has recently been launched as alive action series on Netflix. Whilst other designs are available are they all Pirates ahoy or sunk at sea ?
The Kodak i60 actually tries to be a bit different to all the Dubblefilm show clones and similar plastic fantastic 35mm cameras with flash. It has a novel pop up manual flash and an attempt at retro styling But is it flash or just needing to pop off ? Let’s find out
As Mariah is being put back into cryo sleep the cave and the staff party hangover still hurts, let’s have a light hearted look back at the last 12 months in photography land and the gear I’ve tried
As ever we’ll start with the news, discuss what I though was good (and bad) this year and then my predictions
To many the Hasselblad Xpan is a legendary 35mm that offers a massive 65mmx24mm frame. But these days selling for over a grand you’ll not likely see me picking one. But turns out there is a lo-fi equivalent that actually shots not just wider but taller frames. And if it dies it wont be a 3-4 grand brick sitting on on you shelf. Meet the Lomography Sprocket Rocket.
Escura are a name that have kicked around for a while. This HK & Thai based company are best known for their Kickstarters. A retro instax and the Hasselback – the long delayed Instax back. But they make other cameras and faster that you can say Dubblefilm Show clone, I ordered the Escura Snaps 35, a delightfully shabby chic styled erm….. Dubblefilm clone.