Lomography Diana+ - Staff Review
written by shhquiet
on September 27th, 2008
, 49 submissions
, 2 comments
(2 votes)
By mid-1970s, the more convenient 35mm instamatic cameras stole the spotlight, making Diana and its clones as mere giveaways and thrift-shop staples. The popularity in Asia was wearing off – just as Western artists and photographers were starting to notice the creative potential that the Diana can churn out. What can you expect from a cheap, plastic camera? Unexpected light leaks, blur, and vignetting – the “faults” that made this camera more endearing. Demands for the camera skyrocketed, as well as its price – this rare plastic camera went from $1.00 at the thrift-shop to over a hundred dollars on e-bay!
Back in the Lomographic Headquarters in Vienna, everyone was enamoured with the Diana upon its arrival. It is indeed a classic beauty – and so is the quality of the photos that it’s capable of. Leaky and blurry, the images were like stills from a dream! Definitely the kind of stuff that Lomographers and analog fans will go gaga about. From that moment, the Lomographic Society was met with a challenge – of keeping a steady supply available for the community, without having to shell out a huge price for this rare gem. Luckily, they were very familiar with plastic camera design and production, so they were able to pull apart the pieces and rebuild it from the ground up. They agreed to retain all the excellent features of the Diana, and throw in enhancements. That’s when the Diana+ was born.
The PLUS was also manufactured in China, the home of the original Diana. Re-cast in a duplication of the original mold, painted with that nice shade of blue, and the lens designed to give quirky, lo-fi images, the Diana+ perfectly resembled the original. Of course, it wouldn’t be called a “Plus” without these added features – a pinhole function, and the ability to take panoramic images.
How is the pinhole feature possible? Simply twist off the lens, and you have your Diana+ pinhole-ready. Like the original, it uses 120 format film, with choices of 12 or 16 shots, but the PLUS enables you to take endless Panorama formats. There are two shutter speeds – ‘N’ for daytime, ‘B’ for nighttime/long exposures. You can also take multiple exposures with it – to advance the film or not, the choice is yours.
Boasting classic good looks, and equipped with features to explore creative possibilities – that’s what you get with the Diana+.
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