ISO Boost Level: Advanced
Give your Diana an ISO Boost. Have you noticed that the Diana loves how those speedy 400 ISO films snatch up the light? That is just fine, but there are many more varieties of 100 ISO on the market. Rather than miss out on all those daring films why not modify your Diana to achieve similar results as a 400 ISO with a 100 ISO film?
Tools of the trade: A small screwdriver, a Stanley knife, your Diana and a lot of patience.
Twist off lens
Remove the 3 screws from the cover and carefully lift off the lens barrel cover.
Note: At this point you have to strip down the inside of your camera. Remember to have somewhere safe to put its bits and pieces – you will have to put them all back together soon!
screw out the lighting gauge
The little arm that guides your icon lighting gauge (1) should screw out easily.
A little more care needs to be taken when you now unscrew the shutter release lever (2) because it is attached to 2 springs.
Next remove the loose wire spring (B) that is attached to the exposure dial. (3)
Unscrew the exposure dial
Now you have taken your camera to pieces... but don't let that worry you, it's done now!
There is a small round hole on one side of the exposure dial. The size of this hole determines how long the exposure time is. Therefore in order to create a longer exposure time we must make the hole bigger!
Get your Stanley knife and, now, this is important, ..Be careful! You will need your fingers to put your Diana back together.
Use a Stanley Knife
You need to use the Stanley Knife to elongate the hole – so it looks less like a perfect circle. Try to carve a bit from the top and the bottom of the circle until it is roughly twice its original size. Don't go too crazy though.
Now comes the tricky bit
You need to put everything back together. Start by screwing in the exposure disc, then re-attach its wire spring.
Screw back the shutter release lever into place. The coil spring (A) should hook back onto the side of the lever. The loose wire spring must also hook onto the under side of the shutter release lever.
The icon light gauge should screw back on over everything.
Check to see that the mechanics are working!
Lastly, re-attach the lens onto the barrel.