Voltron Camera Review

Voltron Star Shooter Camera

(Article originally appeared in Light Leaks magazine)

Manufacturer: Made in Macau for Impulse LTD.

Date: 1985

Format: 110 film

Price: $50-$75 US

Summary: Plastic construction resembling a robot

Technical Details:

• Single element lens

• Simple thumbwheel film advance

• Flash socket for Magicubes

Attributes:

• No noticeable vignette

• Slight peripheral blurring.

• Relatively sharp lens on center.

• 110 film produces small negatives.

Field Notes:

  Voltron is a giant mecha robot from the 1980s cartoon series: Defender of the Universe. Thanks to the Impulse company, we have todays featured toy camera. What a beauty he his. Able to transform from a cool Japanese anime robot, to a fake 35 mm film shooter. Although the main lens on the front is fake, inside the body of this robot, is a 110 film shooter. Aside from being one of the coolest cameras I have ever come across, it does take pictures fitting of  the toy camera genre. The camera is very easy to use, as you can only push the shutter button, and advance the film using a thumbwheel. It does have a socket for Magicube flashes, but I did not have any to test. Without the flash, indoor shots are pretty much out of range. Getting 110 film is also getting harder to come by. Once a staple for all small instamatics and toy store cameras, it is slowly fading away. I found a supply of drugstore branded film at the local Walgreens. Color 200 ISO was my only choice. Since 110 film makes a negative size of only 13mm x 17mm, enlargments are pretty much out of the question. There is quite a bit of grain on the 4.5 x 3.5 inch prints that came back from the lab. There was no in-house developing available at my lab either. They had to send the film out and it took about 2 weeks to return. In summary, if you can locate one of these at a decent price, they are worth adding to the collection. Even if you don’t shoot with it, it’s a gorgeous shelf sitter and conversation piece for your toyhead friends to envy. * 110 film can now be bought thru www.lomography.com