This little DIY camera is a pain but well worth the trouble!
I was super excited when the package from Hong Kong appeared at my door. I ripped open the box plastered with customs stickers and pulled out my gem, the Superheadz Playmodel DIY 35MM Camera.
Photo by bass_clarinet_2000
This little cutie pie, which I got off of eBay, is a do it yourself camera that comes with directions and all the snap on parts you need. However, it took me almost two hours to put it together between reading the small print and the constant missing parts. The parts were there. I just kept forgetting to put them on and moved on.
Everything about this little lovely camera is engulfed in the plastic ideal. Except for a few springs, every little plastic piece called out to me. I wanted this camera to be put together. It wanted to be put together. It said, “Use me. I need to take pictures!”
So, I eventually did. Since there is no hot shoe on this little guy, I have to take pictures out doors. The 28mm plastic lens captures a nice amount. However, my pictures were underexposed. Easy problem to fix since I only used iso 100 on my first roll. The effects are still visible. Around the edge of the picture there is some vignetting and some distorting, making this camera a fun little piece of plastic magic that I am proud to carry around in my bag.
Pros:
1) Unpredictable vignetting and distortion
2) Fun to learn the inner workings of a camera
3) Easy to find on eBay
4) Comes with all the necessary parts AND tools to put together
5) Comes with directions in English
6) Light and Compact
Cons:
1) Can take a long time to put together
2) Underexposed iso 100 film
3)No Hot Shoe
2 comments
yarglags
I'd love to have a go at building one of these but I have just bought 5 cameras on ebay. I'll have to wait till the heat dies down. Nice work.
bass_clarinet_2000
It's worth it. I noticed that with a higher speed film, the pictures look better but they still have that distortion that I like.