Toy Camera Love - Recently Updated Pages

Film Sizes

dexposures — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:55:11 CDT

Some of the film size options you have for your ever-growing collection of toy cameras...

35mm
110
120 (medium format)
126
127 ("vest pocket")
620
sheet film (large format)
Polaroid instant film

To see some of the effects you can get with different kinds of film, check out the How To Choose Film For Your Toy Camera page.

Know of a film size that's not listed? Add it to the list!

LOMO

dexposures — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:54:17 CDT

Some of the cameras from LOMO

Cameras

dexposures — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:53:21 CDT

Check out some of the cameras that fall into the Toy Camera world. And add your own!

Lubitel
Polaroid

Do you have (or just deeply lust after) a camera that's not in the list? Add it!

Toy Camera Love Wiki

dexposures — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:52:57 CDT

Diana. Holga. Leaky Piece of Crap...

By whatever name you choose to call it, a toy camera is a special thing. A close companion. Always there for you and always ready to take a slightly out-of-focus photo that's streaked with light leaks and strange color anomalies.

It's a love that can not be denied.

So end the cycle of denial. Don't be ashamed of that crappy hunk of plastic. Dust it off, put a strap on it and sling it around your neck. Load some film into it and go out and take pictures. And share them!

Come out of the closet, woshippers of plastic lenses and warped film backs. Play in the sun (play on this wiki!)...and don't forget your camera.

Take the poll!	What's tagged with "toycamera" at flickr?

So, what's a "toy camera" anyway?
Let's start here: if it's made of plastic, feels kind of flimsy, and delivers unreliable results...it's probably a toy camera. A toy camera is any one of a number of inexpensive cameras that are insanely fun to shoot with as long as you have a healthy appreciation for the unpredictable. Because of the offset of the viewfinder to lens, you're never quite sure what you've got in the frame...and that's part of what you'll love. Most of the cameras that are considered to fall in this category are film cameras (What? Film? People still use that?? Um, yes. Sometimes.), but given the boom of digital photography and some of the cheap options out there, it's safe to say that there are digi-cams that fit into this category as well. If you are a control freak, toy cameras are probably not for you. Some qualities you might possess if you enjoy toy camera photography: You like a little bit of chaos in your world You enjoy poking around in thrift and junk stores Swap meets and flea markets sound like a great place to spend a few hours on the weekend Quirky photographs make you laugh You like to pick out animals, fairies, and "spirits" in the funny light streaks and shadows in photographs You think photography is more like fun than work You hold fast to the belief that film is not dead You have a healthy sense of adventure

Holga

dexposures — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:25:46 CDT

Oh, Holga. Darling, Holga.

By any other name, would a camera leak light so sweet? I think not.

What you see there on the rightis your standard, plain Jane, absolutely no frills (as if Holgas really have "frills") Holga 120s. It takes 120 film and (oh wait, here's a "frill"!) has an insert that will let you choose between a 6x6 or 6x4.5 negative.

That's centimetres, folks! 6cm by 6cm of lovely photographic goodness on a negative. You haven't experienced film until you've experienced it at that size, I tell you what. The "serious" photographers out there will be quick to tell you that it's called "medium format". And it is. But we toy camera freaks just call it yummy, don't we?

And for so long (too long, I say!) that kind of goodness was only available to those "serious" photographers, because it came with a "serious" pricetag. If you were lucky enough to uncover a hidden treasure like an old box camera from your grandmother's attic, you could partake of the lovely. But otherwise, you had to be willing to shell out the big bucks.

And then, along came Holga. She's deceptively inexpensive.

I say deceptive because she's something of a gateway drug.

The Holga is still being produced in China, where she began her manufacturing life in 1982. Originally, she was meant to be a mass-market camera for Chinese working class people. The plastic lens and random light leaks made her an appealing camera to creative types, and the camera started being exported to the West.

How to choose film for your toy camera

dexposures — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:24:11 CDT