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
