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 

Holga Micro-110 Camera

"Holga Micro-110 Camera"
Finally tested one of Holga's smallest cameras- the Micro 110. Since 110 film is gaining some popularity due to the new films by Lomography.com, now is the chance to give one a try. I picked up the 110 camera from the good people at Four Corners Store The camera literally fits in the palm of your hand. Snap a roll of 110 film onto the back, advance the thumb wheel, and trip the shutter button. That's all there is. I used some expired Walgreens film for this test. You get a lot of grain working with these small negatives, but can be nice in the right situations. Lomography has fresh 110 film in stock and I get my 110 film processed by the good people at Old School Photo Lab

Lomo Fisheye Baby 110 Part 2

"Lomo Fisheye Baby 110"
Some more samples from this new Lomo camera. Shot on Lomo Orca 110 film. See previous post for full camera review. Developed and scanned by the good people at http://www.oldschoolphotolab.com/

Lomo Fisheye Baby 110 Camera Review

Lomo Fisheye Baby 110

Manufacturer: Lomography

Date: 2012

Format: 110 film

Price: $39.00 basic version, $59.00 metal version

Summary: Plastic 110 film fisheye lens camera

Technical Details:

 Aperture F8

 Shutter 1/100 and Bulb

 Lens 13mm diameter

Attributes:

 Blurring

 Lens flare

 Distortion from fisheye

Field Notes:

  The Lomography group is at it again. They are still making new film cameras despite the totally saturated digital market. To top it off, they have brought back an old film format to boot. Their Orca film is the first black and white 110 film to be produced in years. The Fisheye Baby 110 is a fun camera to have on you at all times. It little size makes it truly pocketable. The basic camera comes with a storage back installed. It is basically for looks. It does have a frosted plastic screen, much like a ground glass, that allows you to preview your shot. This can only be done in bulb mode and with no film loaded. To take pictures, you have to take off the storage back and install the film transport back. There is a small slide switch that makes the switch fairly easy. Unless you want to use the camera as a shelf sitter for display, I see no real reason to use the storage back. Once the film transport back is on, you can now load a 110 film cartridge. First rotate the frosted plastic pressure plate clockwise. Slide the 110 film in place, and rotate the plate back to hold the film. Rotate the thumb wheel to advance your film, and its ready to take a photo. The Baby doesn’t have a shutter lock, so it is capable of taking multiple exposures. You have an N (normal) shutter speed of 1/100 of a sec. or bulb mode to select prior to taking a photo. A thumbwheel is how you advance your film and there are no focusing controls. The viewfinder is fairly decent and with most fisheye lenses, the closer you get to your subject, the more distorted they appear. Since the lens is plastic, expect some lens flair when shooting towards the sun. One unique thing about 110 films is that since it’s contained in its own cartridge, you do not have to rewind the film. For my first test of this camera, I used Lomography’s Orca b&w film. Normally 100 films have a frame counter window on the back to let you know what number photo you are on. The first batch of Orca film did not have it. I was told because there was no backing paper on this batch of film and that the open window would cause massive light leaks. If you use the Orca film, best to keep track of what frame you are on. If you don’t want double exposures, I would suggest you always advance the film after each shot so you don’t forget. When done shooting, just take the film out and have the lab develop. Don’t forget, most labs will have to mail this film out. I used the good people at Old School Photo Labs http://www.oldschoolphotolab.com/ This crew knows film and specializes in toy camera stuff. The negatives are super tiny (17mmx13mm) so don’t expect to make huge enlargements. If you want to also save some headaches, have the lab scan your negs for you. You can imagine how much fun it will be scanning these tiny things! Lomography also has another version of this camera called Fisheye Baby 110 Metal. This version offers some metal trim and a pc flash adapter and they just introduce a new 110 color film called Tiger 110.   

C. Gary Moyer