Design Practice 2: Diana F+

Diana camera

Diana

Maker	Great Wall Plastic Factory, Lomographische AG
Type	Box camera
Image sensor type	Film
Image sensor size	originally 40 mm × 40 mm
Recording medium	120 film, 35mm
F-numbers	f/11, f/13, f/19

Diana camera branded Conforama.

The Diana camera is a plastic-bodied box camera using 120 rollfilm and 35 mm film. The camera has a simple plastic meniscus lens. Originally marketed as an inexpensive novelty gift item, the Diana has been used to specifically take soft focus, impressionistic photographs somewhat reminiscent of the Pictorialist Period of artistic photography, but using contemporary themes and concepts, known as lomography.

The Diana frequently suffers from light leaks, film advance issues, and other problems. However, its low-quality plastic lens has been celebrated for its artistic effects in photographs, normally resulting in a slightly blurred composition that can provide a 'dreamlike' quality to the print.

History

The Diana first appeared during the early 1960s as an inexpensive box camera sold by the Great Wall Plastic Factory of Kowloon, Hong Kong. Most were exported to the United States and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the Diana was imported by the Power Sales Company of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. During the 1960s, Power Sales Company wholesaled the Diana by the case – 144 cameras – at about 50 cents U.S. per unit to a variety of retailers and promotional merchandisers.

Most Diana cameras were given away or sold for nominal sums as novelties or prizes at fairs, carnivals, product promotions, raffles, or other events. For a time, the camera was also regularly advertised for sale in various periodicals through mail order vendors. However, with the development of inexpensive, higher quality consumer cameras such as the Kodak Instamatic, together with the declining popularity of rollfilm, demand for the Diana – even as a novelty gift – gradually disappeared. Production of the Diana, its clones, close copies, and variants is believed to have stopped in the 1970s, though similar 35 mm box cameras were produced for many years thereafter by various companies in Hong Kong and Taiwan for use as promotional items.

It is currently marketed as the “Diana+” in the original 120 format as well as 35mm by Lomographische AG.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_camera

• PROS
  Dreamy images. Includes flash. Pinhole capability.
• CONSNot for those who seek sharp images.
• BOTTOM LINE
  Lomography's Diana F+ is the classic toy camera, with a plastic lens that captures soft images with dark corners, and it uses 120 roll film—but that's all part of its charm.

BY JIM FISHER

The Lomography Diana F+ ($89 direct) is the classic toy camera. It's shoddily constructed from flimsy-feeling material, uses a plastic lens that is anything but sharp, and is prone to light leaks—but that's all part of its charm. If you're a fan of the Instagram look, and are willing to put the extra time and money in to shoot with film, the Diana F+ is an appealing camera. But it's definitely not for those who value image sharpness above all.

The camera is washed in a black and teal color scheme, with a teal flash. It measures about 3.75 by 5 by 3 inches and is quite light, thanks to its plasticky build. The lens is a 75mm focal length with three aperture settings—they're labeled sunny, partly sunny, and cloudy, but in reality they are f/11, f/16, and f/22. There's also an f/150 pinhole setting; to utilize that you'll need to remove the lens by twisting it off. The standard shutter speed is 1/60 of a second, but there's also a bulb setting that will keep the shutter open for as long as you hold the lever release down, and a shutter lock that can be used for very long exposures—the type you'll need to capture pinhole imagery. The removable lens also lets you replace it with a fisheye, wide-angle, or telephoto optic—each of which sells for around $30. The film advances via a manual dial, and if you'd like to take a double exposure, you can simply fire the shutter again without winding.

The Diana F+ includes a detachable flash, which makes it useable as an indoor camera—it's relatively slow aperture will make most indoor use difficult, even with very fast film. If you use color negative or black and white film, you'll have some room to guess exposures based on the aperture logos—ISO 400 speed is an appropriate estimate for the settings, as it generally has a good amount of wiggle room with the exposure. If you're planning on shooting with slide film you'll have to be a bit more cautious, and a light meter is recommended there—for best results, take a reading first and then load the appropriate film speed based on the conditions you're under.

There's an optical viewfinder to frame photos, but it's not the most accurate at closer distances. It shows the square aspect ratio of which the camera is capable. If you shoot photos without the included exposure mask you end up with shots that fill a 6-by-6-centimeter frame, but show heavy darkening around the edges. There's a mask included that reduces the photo size, but eliminates the vignette—personally, my preference is to shoot the whole frame. Chances are you'll be scanning negatives or prints for online sharing, and you can always crop photos at that stage in the game.

If you're looking to get into the hipster-throwback photo scene, there isn't a more classic toy camera than the Diana F+ with which to get started. Its plastic lens captures dreamy images, and it's actually a pretty versatile toy camera thanks to its pinhole capability, interchangeable lens functionality, and the included detachable flash. Medium format film is readily available online, and while most drug stores won't process it onsite, they will send it out. If you want to scan your negatives for online sharing you can do so at home with a flatbed scanner with support for transparencies. The big negatives offer a lot of resolution, so you'll be able to pull more detail out of them when compared with 35mm film. Sure, you can use a smartphone with Instagram or Hipstamatic and add some blur filters to the edges of your image, and you'll have the versatility of being able to change from color to black-and-white with a tap on your phone's screen, but sacrificing that convenience makes it possible to capture surreal images on actual film—a tactile feeling that can't be matched by phone cameras and software filters.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412412,00.asp

I looked more into the Diana F camera as a focus due to it's popularity. I found a review on using the camera to get an opinion of someone actually using it.