nadelewitz wrote:
Not so fast, all you doubters!
Yes, it is a real camera, though not a very good one. There have been numerous cheap plastic camera like this (Holga, Diana....) using 35mm or 120 film. They generally leak light like sieves.
Not what the many "discerning" UHH snobs would consider using.
BUUUUT.....there are organizations devoted to the selling and use of these things. Lomography is one. It's like a cult of users of crappy Chinese/Russian junk cameras.
There are people...artists, students, etc...who love to experiment with and use these because of the weird unpredictable things they can do to an image...light leak effects, distortions and aberrations, etc.
If the shutter works and the lens is reasonably clear, it can produce images.
The one pictured does look to be coated with mold/mildew though, so wash it off.
Not so fast, all you doubters! br br Yes, it is a... (
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It probably has less light leaks than a Holga. Other than that, I can't see spending
much time on it. The OP should head for the nearest thrift store and look for an
old Minolta 35 mm that works. Even A-mount film Maxxums show up sometimes.
Good cameras have been made out of steel, aluminum, wood and yes, even plastic.
Ilford's Harman Titan is a
large format pinhole camera with a plastic body.
It accepts film holders and takes great pinhole images. The 8" x 10" version has
been discontinued, but the 5" x 4" is available. Review:
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/harman-titan-pinhole-5x4-camera-kit-review-18049Plastic deserves it's terrible reputation---but not all plastics are equally bad.
THe very first plastic made from synthetic componets -- Bakelite --- is a remarkably
stable, heat-resistant and durable material--but brittle.
It was used by Kodak for the bodies of a number of box cameras, including the very
popular Brownie Hawkeye (made from 1949 until 1961). This P&S (fixed everything)
camera took 620 film (no longer made), but most can easily be modified for 120.
Format is 2.25" (6 cm) square.
http://www.brownie-camera.com/27.shtmlMy Hawkeye flash model -- which I bought in a thrift store -- is at least 60 years old
and works. All I did was clean the lens and viewfinder, and modify it for 120 film.
The biggest drawback is the 1-element (positive meniscus) lens....made of plastic.
It's not sharp at all, but capable of a decent snapshot of the right subject. I shot one roll
and now the camera is a cool-looking tchotchke. But some people still use them.