Diana F+: Goddess of the Hunt
written by migueld
on April 4th, 2009
, 4 comments
(9 votes)
I decided to spoil myself and splurge on a Diana+ Deluxe Kit, in part because I’m a lazy shopper but mostly because of the deal that it had each and every accessory produced for the Diana included (along with a snazzy new cable release and collar that wasn’t available yet for mass consumption). It was Christmas after all, happy merry to me!
I just never realized how Diana would change my life.
At first I was hesitant; I was never really one to pay attention to setting the right aperture and the right shutter speed and to focus – chalk it up to being a digital camera idiosyncrasy – all brand-new things as I picked up my first manual camera. It’s simple enough to learn and now it’s practically second nature. In short, Diana taught me to be aware of my surroundings. Do I use the sunny setting or the cloudy setting? N or B? Indoor or outdoor?
The Diana is also optimized to use ISO400 film, but don’t let that stop you from experimenting. Just remember that the f-stops are fairly on the small side; the cloudy setting sits down at about f/9 while the sunny setting goes to f/22. (Partly cloudy clocks in at around f/16.)
And then you realize you can do everything with this camera. Tack on a flash. Swap out the lens. Take pinhole shots. Turn it into a Colorsplash. Use 35mm film. Go wide. Go close. Go closer. Go far. Stay still. Fisheye. Sprockets. Multiple exposures. Split images. Panoramic. It feels overwhelming but that feeling’s really exhilaration because it’s one camera. One. Beautiful. Camera.
An exceptional thing about the Diana is its plastic body. For you travelers out there, this camera is a godsend. A complete camera system under five pounds begs for you to take it around the world. And the best part? You can.
Aptly named, the Diana makes you hunt for the best shots, guiding you along with her fantastic vignetting and dreamy versatility. Capture your memories with her: you’ll never forget them.
Check out the Diana F+ microsite here
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