looking for a NON Diana!!

baby and crumble

hey all,

ok, I've tried searching around, and I've figured out the OH wants to experiment with lomography and pinhole type stuff- basically going back to ultimate basics.

Now, I can't afford a Diana for Christmas, and tbh I'd almost prefer to get something with a bit more history etc... so going 2nd hand is really not a problem.

The only major concern I have is that it shoots 35mm. Otherwise developing costs etc get prohibitive.

Does anyone have any suggestions of makes & models I could look at? I know that putting in "lomography camera" as a search term gets me all the overpriced stuff that isn't necessarily the best...

Any and all suggestions REALLY welcome.

magicbastarder

i don't know if dev costs are much of an issue; a roll of b&w and dev of same is the same price generally. admittedly, you're paying more per shot, but you're not going to be rattling off pinhole photos at the rate of dozens every hour.

baby and crumble

I mean moreso that 35mm is the standard as opposed to running 120 or something through, which I've seen a few of.

TinyExplosions

If you're in Dublin, it's easy to get 120 developed in Gunns, so I wouldn't write that off totally.

And if you're going 120, you might as well pick up the basic Holga -24 dollars delivered is cheap as chips, and it's got a hot shoe so you can play with various types of flash (I'd get that over the version with the built in flash myself)

jpb1974

Not sure if it meets your requirements on the history front but a 35mm Holga is the obvious choice.

TinyExplosions

Or get a 35mm Holga

Sleepy

If you wanted to go 120 and uber-basic, Box Brownies are quite reasonable on fleabay...

Non 120 - how about some of the early Fed's? They're very manual, gorgeous, have some great history and take cracking pics...

Kintarō Hattori

I got my Yashica 12 for €48 delivered from eBay. It gets lots of interest when I whip it out and for a 43 year old camera everything works apart from the light meter which isn't a big deal really.

I'd also second Sleepys recommendation of the Fed. I have a Fed 5 and love the fact that it's huge and fully manual. It takes great photos and is lots of fun to use.

thefizz

TinyExplosions wrote: »

If you're in Dublin, it's easy to get 120 developed in Gunns, so I wouldn't write that off totally.

And if you're going 120, you might as well pick up the basic Holga -24 dollars delivered is cheap as chips, and it's got a hot shoe so you can play with various types of flash (I'd get that over the version with the built in flash myself)

Grand if the OP lives in the US but if not Gunns have 120 & 35mm Holgas & Dianas.

Scamp-

http://www.matchboxpinhole.com/

You can get the ends of the rolls of film in any place that develops.

Scamp-

Oh just realised that it was meant to be a present!

That would be one very cheapass present.

TinyExplosions

thefizz wrote: »

Grand if the OP lives in the US but if not Gunns have 120 & 35mm Holgas & Dianas.

Yes, but those links include delivery and come in at under 30 quid, gunns are nearer 50

baby and crumble

Cheers guys, some great suggestions here! Might take a wander up to Gunns and have a look, then see what available either there or online.

And as for it being a cheap-ass present; not a problem, we have a general budget, times are hard!

I can actually see me assembling a kit with all the gear to make the matchbox pinhole camera as part of the present... it's a great guide! Thanks!

Kintarō Hattori

zoegh wrote: »

And as for it being a cheap-ass present; not a problem, we have a general budget, times are hard!

I think Scamp- was referring to his suggestion and not your request. :pac:

FUNKYTOWWWN

i got a diana mini for xmas, and it kept on ripping rolls of film and i eventually sent it back. i was unreal disapointed

ellieswellies

+1 on the 35mm holga. Urban Outfitters occasionally have sales on...I saw one here for 20 or 30 bucks the last day (i'm over in the States however).

There are plenty of cheap self-assembly twin lens 35mm cameras like the Recesky Twin lens camera (flickr group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/recesky/pool/ ). You can get them online for fairly cheap, I haven't used one myself but I'm thinking of getting one.

The diana mini isn't all that IMO but I have a medium format Diana and I love it, plus you can run 35mm through it (prepare for unpredictable results...and tape the hell out of it to prevent leaks) and you can get the adaptor for instax film too. Sure the film costs a tiny bit more to get developed, but it's definitely worth it!

Eirebear

This forum is zombie thread-tastic lately.