120 Squares to 35mm Chunks

10 9

After seeing so many amazing photos taken with the Diana and it’s 35mm back, I wanted to try it out for myself!

As many of you probably know by now, my Lomo buddy nigelk is always kind enough to let me borrow his cameras! This time he let me borrow his Diana F+ Hong Meow *. Fortunately, he warned me about some of the things to be careful of when using the Diana+ 35mm Back!

When you change the size of the film you are using from a larger size to a smaller one, it’s obvious that there will be parts of the photo left out if you use the same viewfinder that’s made to show the 120 mm format. To fix that, I’ve used the Diana 38mm Super Wide Lens ** with all of my photos! This gives the photos the appearance of having on a 72mm lens.

For me, switching to the 35mm back is extremely convenient because there aren’t many places in Hawaii that will develop 120 film. Now that it’s in 35mm format, I can shoot more photos and easily get it developed! More over, you can shoot 3 times as many square photos on 35mm film than on 120. Most of the time, 12 exposures just doesn’t cut it…

And of course, the famous sprocket holes! How could we forget about that? My favorite part of the 35mm back is definitely the sprockets. It adds flavor to a could-be boring photo.

And to me, sprockets with black and white film, and the dreamy quality of the Diana F+ lens, it reminds me of an oldies photo!

I’ve only tried two masks and have yet to try the other masks, such as the panoramic mask with sprockets, and panoramic without sprockets. I’ve used the 33×34 and the 24×36. Personally, I didn’t like the 24×36 very much because it looked like a standard image (and as you can see, I love sprockets!)

One of my favorite effects with the 35mm back is exposing the sprockets, using slide film, and cross processing it!!

The Diana+ 35mm Back is simply put, the perfect accessory as long as you have the super wide angle lens. Otherwise, most of your photos will end up looking very close up because 35mm film is much smaller and thus, the view finder shows more than what the film can hold. And with easier to develop film, you still get the dreamy effect of the Diana F+!

You can finally use 35mm film with your Diana F+ camera with the Diana+ 35mm Back! This unique accessory allows you to shoot ALL types of 35mm film, and you can have four different image formats, including panoramas and sprockets! Get your own Diana+ 35mm Back now!

* The Diana F+ Hong Meow was created to commemorate the first stop of the Diana World Tour in Hong Kong. This camera has all the features of the original Diana F+ and is inspired by the Panda, one of Hong Kong’s most beloved symbols. See it with the rest of the Diana Clones here!

** The classic super-wide perspective is a favorite of street photographers and photojournalists the world over. Make your images scream with detail and get the distinct Diana+ look of vignetting and dreaminess with the Diana+ 38mm Super-Wide Angle Lens! Don’t wait – get your own Diana+ lenses in our Shop now.

written by natalieerachel on 2011-07-20 #gear #review #sprockets #accessory #lomography #diana-35mm-back #user-review #requested

9 Likes

chermink, domo-guy, brucelython, luneves, stouf, pssst, jojo8785, marissa & simonh82.

10 Comments

natalieerachel · 2011-06-15 05:49
Waaaaiiiitt noo, I submitted another one that was actually completed -____-"
natalieerachel · 2011-07-20 21:29
Noowwww it's complete :)
marissa · 2011-07-20 21:44
I like your pictures! and share your love for the Diana F+ in combination with the 35mm back.. sprocket holes <3!
nick_a_tron · 2011-07-21 03:17
Nice article, I feel like the 35mm back should come with the super-wide lens as a pack!

Personally I don't bother with the inserts:

1 because it cuts off a fair amount of your photo, which sucks when you find a face cut off like on the fourth photo down, and 2 because even with the largest insert (pano and sprockets) you still loose a mm or two on the top and bottom which though nota huge deal makes the shot seem boxed in a bit, you can crop it out easily enough I guess. I find that the number of shots available without the inserts is still plenty, often more than I am patient for haha.
kakikamera · 2011-07-21 10:19
its mean that, when you use 38 mm wide angle lens, the images will fits absolutely the same from what you see by the viewfinder?
natalieerachel · 2011-07-21 18:30
@kakikamera That's what I thought at first, but it's not. The wide angle lens comes with a separate view finder that you can attach. But it's still wider than how the image turns out with the 35mm back because 35mm is still smaller than 120 however you look at it.
nick_a_tron · 2011-07-22 01:33
It's the best senario available for 35mm back. I like the lit up box on the viewfinder for getting a relative area, I try to make up for the paralax error a little when I use it super close up, but for anything more than a few meters it's pretty spot on.
kakikamera · 2011-07-24 05:26
soon, i'll get one. :)
domo-guy · 2011-07-25 14:34
35mm back + wide angle lens = a whole lot of fun!
boesephus · 2014-03-02 16:08
Your pictures are so pretty!!! Do I need to use the viewfinder adapter when using the 35mm back and super wide angle lens?Thanks!!!