Diana Mini Retro 35mm Camera
By Chris Weiss
With all the current rage swirling around increased megapixels and HD video, it’s easy to forget all about film cameras. It’s even easier to forget about the Diana–a lo-fi plastic camera that came from Hong Kong in the 1960′s. While it wasn’t much of a success then, it was reintroduced in 2007 and has had somewhat of a cult following. Like the music aficiandos who eschew CDs and lossless digital for the rich, authentic experience of vinyl, avant garde and lo fi photographers have taken to the “raw and gritty” photos and simple, retro looks of the Diana.
The Diana Mini is the latest Diana to hit the marketplace. It is a slimmed-down, all-plastic camera capable of packing up to 72 half-frame shots on one 35 mm film. Switch over from retro square to half frame with a simple flick of the switch. It features a wide-angle lens with choice of four separate focal distances. Take long exposures or multiple exposures and “overlap frames endlessly creating multiple-exposure panoramas.” You can add a retro Diana flash with built-in flash plug. The Diana Mini Starter Kit is available in a variety of packages starting at $60–a bit more than the original that sold for around a dollar, but still well under what you probably paid for your last digital. [via Diana Mini]
