🎧 [Listen to this article as a podcast](https://open.spotify.com/episode/15DV7GPgIdf0acTQqJioWo?si=7oQBPBKNTwCureJPI0xfUw) I've done a fair bit of photography in my time. Specifically analog photography. There were two events that really pulled me into the world of photography when I was younger. One was about more "traditional" photography. I won't cover that today. But the second one was - I became friends with someone through [Myspace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace) who loved [Lomography](https://www.lomography.com/) cameras. Lomography are a very popular artistic and creative venture in the photography world. They produce cameras that fill niches - they are all designed to provoke fun and capture without getting in the way of it, but also capture it in a quirky and creative way. So you have these cameras with a rip cord that you yank and it captures a [360 degree panorama](https://shop.lomography.com/uk/spinner-360), and tiny little cameras that shoot micro film and [look like something from a spy movie](https://shop.lomography.com/uk/lomomatic-110-film-camera-flash-bellagio-edition). This person I was friends with, she was called Kate (I don't know what she does today, perhaps she still does photography) but at the time she really influenced me because she showed me a camera she had called a [Diana](https://shop.lomography.com/uk/diana-f-glass-lens-set) that Lomography had made. Her enthusiasm and the creative world she showed me kick started my journey into analog film photography. What I want to talk about in this article is three of my personal _toy cameras_ and why I love them. ## Toy cameras? They're called toy cameras for a reason. They're clunky and plastic and look like toys. They can take a lot of abuse - you can throw them around without damaging them. And they are cheap. The key thing that makes them unique is their flaws. It is almost as if Lomography said "we're not going to make the best cameras in the world" - which has a cost benefit because it is cheaper to make - and "we're going embrace their imperfections". And this pairs really well with the imperfect nature of film photography. The quality isn't _crap_ - they do occasionally get light leaks - and I've used toy cameras that have stiff shutters and stuff, but that is all part of the experience of using them. ## Diana Mini  This is probably my favourite toy camera. It is based on an original camera made in the 1960's. The original was manufactured in Hong Kong and it was called the Diana. It cost about $1USD to make at the time. It is completely plastic - the lens, the mechanism. It requires no batteries. It is pretty shit really, the quality. But that was it's charm. It produces this really deep vignette in the corner of the images which is really stylish.  Because it was so cheap to manufacture they made tons of these and gave them away in cereal boxes, magazines, fair ground prizes, etc. And there were hundreds of clones - identical shape and parts, just with a different colour top (the grey blue is the original). Now, the original actually took 120mm film - medium format. 35mm is the most popular, the most "classic" looking film, but this was older film. You can get a much higher quality image from 120 because the cell was bigger. This was a funny juxtaposition given how shitty the camera was. It has a plastic lens with only two aperture settings: cloudy and sunny, and two shutter speeds: "normal" and "bulb". But the images produced had this dream, soft focus, a shallow depth look to them that captured the hearts of creatives. The version I have is the _mini_ - which takes 35mm film. It is small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. The images are square - so the sides are cut off and black on a 35mm film cell. It can also shoot half frame, though I rarely do that.  The shutter noise is so tactile and clunky - it feels very fun to use. It also feels really basic and toy-like. I carry it around with me a lot and I never use the view finder - although it does have one on top of the lens. It can do double exposures with the bulb setting, but the mechanism itself is so shaky it is really hard to use the bulb setting to take double exposures.  It is a lovely little camera and I've had mine for years - chucked around in bags and boxes, and it hasn't had a fault or needed fixing ever really. ## Simple use Reloadable  This is meant to be Lomography's attempt at copying a disposable camera. Except it isn't a disposable - it can be reloaded. It looks and feels and has the same quality as a disposable camera though. It has a flash and a 28mm lens. When I got mine it had a roll of Lomography [CN 400](https://shop.lomography.com/uk/lomography-color-negative-35-mm-iso-400) in it and it is designed to be used with film of that sensitivity. It is the best film to use - I've tried other films and they never work quite as well. Like other disposables and point-n-shoot cameras the best thing to do with it is always use the flash not matter how sunny it is.  You can get great nostalgic, stylish photos from it. The way I use this is I often take it out with me to events or evenings with my friends. I'd say my generation is arguably the last generation that remembers disposable cameras being a thing you have around - you buy a bunch for holidays, or you see them at weddings and birthday parties. So most of my friends know how to use it - and as I hand it around and tell people to "remember the flash!" because modern digital cameras compensate for that, and even my generation forget to use the flash. But when you do use it...  The wide lens is also great for street photography too, and I often keep it on me when I have one of my more expensive cameras - having two cameras on you at once helps you stretch your creative opportunities.   It also has colour gels - bits of plastic that can cover the flash and paint the image with colour. It isn't great, I'll be honest - I've never had a good photo using the gels, but it is cool idea. ## SuperSampler  I know I got the Diana mini really early on, but this camera - the Lomography [SuperSampler](https://shop.lomography.com/uk/supersampler-black-panther), was the first one I remember buying. I've always felt the most personal creative potential from this camera. I think Lomography makes so many different cameras that each person will have one that "speaks" to them - and for me it is this one. Even though I've not had as much success with it as I like.  I basically only ever take rubbish photos with it, or incredible ones. There is never an inbetween. The way it works is - it is the same form factor and size as a disposable but the main difference is it has _four lenses_ and it takes one shot on each lens every 0.5 seconds (I think). So it can capture movement over a two second window - evenly spaced out, and slightly off centre from each other photo.  In portrait you get a frame which is almost like a panoramic. And it is really designed to capture movement - kinetic moments, in a "single" frame. Things that are moving like birds or bicycles are really good for this. Because it is plastic and robust you can also press the shutter and throw it in the air and get really crazy compositions, or press the shutter and spin the camera or move towards a stationary subject.  Of all the cameras I have this is the hardest to describe but the easiest to explain just by showing the photos it produces. The one I own now is the second one I have owned. The first one I bought way back in 2005-06 had this rubberised cover that broke down and went all oily. The new one I have is just plain black plastic and should in theory last forever. The coolest thing about it really is this rip cord it uses instead of a winder. It really emphasises the "action" and kinetic style of the thing. It is so satisfying to pull the rip cord to load it. I think the rip cord also winds up a spring used for the shutter. When you press the shutter the spring unwinds and triggers each shutter. It does always sound like it barely gets to the last shot - and despite sounding like it isn't working - it always has worked perfectly fine and the build quality is actually brilliant.  Film wise I find it has always worked well with everything from 100 ISO and even 800 ISO film - so long as the subject is sunny (it has no flash so you need it to be sunny to work). ## Creative imperfection With all these toy cameras - you don't really care about the specs, the shutter speeds, the lens aperture. It is all about being creative and embracing the imperfections you find in creative spaces. Rather than aiming for perfection - you're embracing random chance and capturing imperfection, and that is what makes memories feel more real. It feels so good to find lucky accidents in photos from these cameras. One of my favourite things about photography is weird stuff like this. Even though I have fancy expensive top quality gear, I still get this urge to take a cheap shitty camera with me whenever I go out. It is such an interesting and creative part of photography that quite frankly I don't see enough of - I see way more people pursuing perfection with digital (and even analog) and I wish more people who pick up a toy camera and go wild with it. --- Thanks for reading this article, if you'd like to get in touch you can reach me through: - [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/paulwrites.software) - [Email](mailto:[email protected]) - [GitHub](https://github.com/phalt) Paul