One camera that we have been really looking forward to getting our hands on is the Vilia. Much like its cousin the Smena Smymbol, the Vilia has a cult following due to it’s contrasty triplet 40mm lens and rugged construction. A leaf-shutter f4- f16 with the typical icons to use for exposure, the Vilia shoots much like the Smena.
Not since the arrival of the Blackbird, Fly has their been so much anticipation for the release of a Toy Camera. We receive emails daily asking about the Digital Harinezumi, and finally I can give you all of the details. But first, there is that question you all have been asking: Can you have a digital Toy Camera?
Reinventing an existing product is difficult, but SuperHeadz has done it again. They reinvented the Twin Lens Reflex with the Blackbird Fly- and have now tasked their design team with a 35mm back for the Holga Camera. You expect nothing but the best quality and most innovative products from the team at PowerShovel, but this accessory exceeded even my hopes with what they could do for those who want to shoot 35mm film in a Holga camera.
If you follow Four Corners Dark, you know that one of our all time favorite camera’s is the LC-A -RL. I think I once said that ‘I would buy two just so I could shoot with one in each hand.’ The optics of the Russian lens are worth the extra few bucks, and the auto exposure and ISO setting assure a good exposure almost all of the time. We had been on the fence about the wide angle lens, though- mostly due to it’s $150.oo price tag, but when looking at other super wides like the Bessa.. it’s cheaper to buy the lens then a second camera just for the times you want to shoot super wide.
So how did the Bell and Howell Coke Can Pinhole Cam work out? Very well indeed. Click ahead for the full gallery of Pinhole images…
How do make a pinhole camera out of this collection of parts? Guest Editor Sean Stimac is about to show you how. His step by step instructions are not only easy to follow, but include photos of each step of the process. Check out his blog as well for some more great DIY tips and tricks.
A package arrived from the Rainbow Camera Company this week all the way from Taiwan. We have been awaiting the new group of Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim clones, and they sent two along, but that was not the most interesting thing in the box…
If you shoot with a Holga, you’ve seen this happen: the bottom right corner seems to step and repeat itself a bit where it blends into the vignette. I personally don’t have an issue with this at all, its just part of what makes a Holga a Holga. But recently someone insinuated that I had ‘faked’ the Holga look in Photoshop, and the proof was the step and repeat in the corner.
While quite durable, Holga’s don’t last forever, so about once a year I rotate new ones into the group. This year when picking up a few new 120n’s, the seller happened to also have a WOCA, so I added that to the order as well. I have never reviewed the Holga, because if you’ve ended up here, you probably already know quite a bit about it. If you are new to the Holga, you may not know that it has a twin. But not an identical one. We’ve received more then a few emails here asking what the difference is, so I loaded one up to find out…
I grew up during the end of the cold war. In the 80’s we were all afraid that Russia was going to nuke us, invade us and take our women. We had visions of dark wood paneled board rooms with vodka drinking Comrades formulating elaborate plans to take over the Western world with their missiles and tanks. Turns out we were a little off, and they were actually broke, none of that stuff worked, and they eventually just gave up on it and splintered into a few little states. They tried for 10 years to break Afghanistan’s will and we did it in time for tea. The U.S.S.R. as we knew it was over. But what happened to all those cameras?
I have to admit that even I was surprised at the amount of positive emails and comments about the 110 cameras we’ve reviewed this week. It’s great to hear that so many people want to see this film medium stick around. I even saw a few rows of Ikimono’s at Urban Outfitter’s while the Wife and I had a shopping trip this weekend. More and more labs are willing to process it, and I have an inbox full of Photographers who are going to shoot some 110 this weekend. But there was one question that came up several times throughout the discussions. Just how good can a little 110 negative be? A few of you caught on when I mentioned that I was testing three 110 cameras. What wast the third?
One of the most requested reviews at FourCornersDark is for the Demekin Fisheye, a little black 110 camera with a really big lens on the front if it. If there was ever a way to simply attach a big lens right to a roll of film, the guys at Powershovel have done it. The Demekin Fisheye brings you super wide angle photography with a super minimalist camera. And while the design may seem basic, the results are just what you’d expect: super wide angle fun.
This review is a bit overdue. The nice folks at Superheadz sent a big box of goodies for us to test, and we got right to it. Then I tried to get the 110 processed, and that is where the frustration began. I was going to send it out to one of the pro labs that I use, but I really wanted to see the images right away, and one of our readers suggested I try Walmart. I had never actually been to a Walmart, so I found the closest one online, called them and they assured me if I dropped it off on Sunday, I’d have it back by Wednesday. I could deal with that, so off I dropped it off and waited for a phone call. And waited. 19 days later it arrived. Was it worth the wait? Will I ever shoot 110 again? Yes, and yes.
Remember back in the 90’s when ‘pano’ cams were all the rage? Me neither, but they did have a bunch of them. Back then some labs would even print you a 4×10 pano print from your 35 or APS negative. But was it actually a pano?
I was not the kid who built models when he was young, I didn’t have the patience for it. Why buy a box of plastic pieces that make a toy car, when you can just buy a toy car? I did have a few years of model rocket flying, due solely to the fact that the event included fire and sometimes an explosion. So when the folks from Noted sent me a Sharan SQ-35 Pinhole camera kit, I knew I would need a second set of hands.
