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 

World Toy Camera Day 2013

"WTCD 2013"
October 19th 2013 was once again World Toy Camera Day. The day originated quite a few years ago by Becky Romotowski. This image was shot on some expired film with my Lomo Sprocket Rocket Camera.

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day 2013

 

"Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day"
April 28th 2013 was this years worldwide pinhole photography day. Got out to shoot a roll of film thru my Holga 135PC camera.

Debonair camera samples

"Debonair Samples"
Some sample shots using the newly acquired Debonair camera.

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/

10 Pin

"10 Pin" 
From the archives. Shot with my modified Dacora Arrow camera

Plastic Fantastic III Show

I have the following picture in the upcoming Plastic Fantastic III Show at the Lightbox Photographic Gallery. Show opens on June 9th in Astoria Oregon. Show info will be posted here soon http://lightbox-photographic.com/shows/plastic_fantastic_iii

Little Lady Liberty

"Little Lady Liberty"
Shot on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day. Holga 120 WPC camera with the 6x12 mask.

World Pinhole Day: Workshop and Photo Walk at B&H Photo NYC

          April 29^th is known around the photography world as Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day  http://www.pinholeday.org/  Anyone, anywhere in the world, who makes a pinhole photograph on the last Sunday in April, can scan it and upload it to this website where it will become part of the annual Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day celebration's online gallery.

          This year, I signed up for a pinhole photo workshop and photo walk at B&H Photo in NYC. The guest speaker and pinhole photography expert was Tom Persinger of F295 fame http://www.f295.org/2012/  The workshop also had a representative from Ilford film who makes the Harman Titan camera http://www.ilfordphoto.com/products/product.asp?n=75   The agenda included a history of pinhole cameras, basic principles, camera types, pinhole photography works by noted photographers, and finished up with some info for the upcoming F295 Symposium http://www.f295.org/2012/

          Tom is definitely a pinhole and alternative photography expert. I found his talk informative and inspiring. One of his quotes from the workshop was during the talk on camera construction. He offered this advice- Once you make your first pinhole camera, any item you look at afterward you wonder if you can make a camera out of it! How true.

          The B&H staff was very helpful also. They had free film from Ilford, numerous cameras to check out, and an Ilford rep that was on hand to demo and answer questions on their newest camera the Haman Titan. The event organizer, Deborah Gilbert kept things running smoothly along with the help of Chris Gampat and Event Space manager David Brommer.

          The talk concluded with everyone preparing their cameras for the photo walk segment of the day. Was a very nice group and even Len Speier was in the house http://www.lenspeier.com/newyork/index.php 

          Next stop was Bryant Park where everyone set up their tripods and started taking pinhole photos. A lot of advice was shared and great tips. There were a lot of cameras available to test out along with some instant films. All in all it was a very informative and rewarding day. I highly recommend checking out some of the photo talks at B&H Event Space. They are free and they offer a whole range of topics. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/EventSpace.jsp

          I thought I would also share this little guide I wrote- Tips for Attending a Photo Seminar.

1.   Silence your cell phone!

2.   Be on time. Arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow getting settled and find a seat.

3.   Bring a notepad. The instructor will give out plenty of info, websites, and names you will want to remember.

4.   Ask permission if you want to record or take photos during the event. Chances are it will be OK, but be courteous.

5.   Do a little research on your presenter prior to the event. Great to be familiar with their work and background.

6.   Be quiet. Save networking with other attendees to before and after the presentation.

7.   Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Just follow the presenter’s protocol. Some will want to wait till the end of a talk so they can get thru their material. Others will answer on the fly.

8.   Make sure you read if there are any special instructions on your reservation. I.e. - bring film, tripod, etc.

9.   If you can’t make your reservation, please cancel to allow somebody else the opportunity to sit in.

10. If your event includes a photo walk, dress accordingly and bring all of your equipment that you may need.

11. Bring along a business card or even something less formal to exchange with other guests. Great time for networking.

12.  Be sure to thank your presenter. He has taken his time to share some great insight and info for you.

      Lastly, don’t forget to fill out a comments card if available. This helps for future talks.

T-Rex Revisited

"T-Rex Revisited"
One of my favorite statues at Seaside Heights boardwalk. SHot this time with a flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye camera. 

Flipped Lens Brownie- Seaside Heights-III

"Flipped Lens Brownie"
Another installment of the Brownie Hawkeye camera.

Flipped Lens Brownie- Seaside Heights II

"Flipped Lens Brownie"
More pics taken with the flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye camera.

Flipped Lens Brownie- Seaside Heights

"Seaside Heights"
More flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye action at Seaside Heights NJ.

Brownie Clownie

"Brownie Clownie"
Flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye camera. Ilford XP2 Super 400 film.

Flipped Lens Brownie Hawkeye Part 2

" Brownie Hawkeye"
Some more images shot with a flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye camera. I also used a No. 13 Kodak Portrait lens on the last shot.

Flipped Lens Brownie Hawkeye

"Flipped Lens Brownie Hawkeye"
A few test shots with my newly modified Hawkeye camera. Added some Zebra color and flipped the lens to get the blurred effect. Here is a link on how to flip your own lens- http://blog.expiredfilm.com/2010/03/10/how-to-flip-a-brownie-hawkeye-flash-lens/ If you would like to buy your own customized Brownie, Randy from Holga Mods does some very sweet mods- http://www.hawkeyemods.com/

Holga 120 Pan Review

Holga 120 Pan (Panoramic)

Manufacturer: Universal Electronics Industries
Date: 2010
Format: 120 film
Price: $89.99 US
Summary: Plastic wide angle panoramic camera

Technical Details:
 Close to 180° view angle
 90mm Lens
 6x12 sized negs
 Plastic build

Attributes:
 Subtle vignette and edge blur
 Wide angle view
 Big negatives

Field Notes:
  The Holga factory continues to keep churning out plastic goodies and this one is super. Super wide that is! The Holga 120 pan camera boasts an incredible almost 180° view. Following along the lines of their 120 WPC pinhole camera, this model adds a shutter and lens assembly to the mix. The camera features a pretty decent viewfinder, dual hot shoes, and a tripod mount. It has your typical Holga zone focusing and usual cloudy/sunny aperture switch. A nice touch is a spirit (bubble) level that allows you to make sure your camera is level when using a tripod. The camera back suggests ISO 400 speed film for best effects but the manual does say 100 speed is OK with sunny days. Just remember your fixed shutter speed is about 1/100 second unless of course using the bulb shutter mode. Loading your film is just like any 120 Holga camera. Make sure you leave the film selector switch on the camera back set at 12. When advancing your film after each shot, you have to advance to an odd number. This will keep your exposures from overlapping due to its panoramic format. Shooting with the 120 Pan was fun. It really is like any other Holga except for the fact of its size. You need to make sure you hold its larger body steady when hand holding. If you decide to use a tripod, they do recommend the Holga Shutter Release Set (SRS-120). For this test I loaded the camera with some expired Fuji NPS 160. The results were favorable to my lighting conditions at the time, but in the future I would probably use 400 speed film as I do most of the time with Holgas. Since your shooting panos, remember you only get 6 pictures with a roll of 120 film. The format is 6x12 and that makes for some great sized negs! If your into wide pano style photography, then I would definitely recommend getting one. Cant wait to get this baby down to the shore! I bought this unit from the good people at  http://www.holgadirect.com/

Nativity Scene

"Nativity Scene"
Shot with the Great Wall DF2 camera.