My Cameras: Diana Mini

This post is first in a series about the cameras I use for my new film photography hobby.

Diana Mini

Every camera tells a story.

One cold and rainy day in Kyoto, Japan, my girlfriend and I stopped in at BIC Camera near Kyoto Station.

There, in a low bottom shelf, nearly hidden amongst the electronic gadgets and camera gear, we found a pair of cheap plastic toy cameras, marked down on clearance. We bought the pair; mine, a white plastic Diana Mini, and hers a La Sardenia toy camera.

This Diana Mini camera is cheap, light, tiny, simple, and very cool! There are only two settings; "sunny" and "cloudy", and you can never be sure exactly what you are going to get. The unpredictability is what makes it so much fun.
 

The coolest thing though, is the switch that can switch the setting from half-frame to square images. With square, you get that classic 120 look, and with half-frame, you can get 72 shots out of a standard roll of film!

Here, I'll share some of my favorite shots from this camera!

First, a few in half-frame format.


Koh Samet, Thailand:

Vientiane, Laos:

This photo was shot at Himeji Castle in Himeji, Japan. One frame was shot half-frame, and the other was shot square. This wasn't on purpose, and it caused some double-exposure. This accident turned out to be one of my very favorite photos I've ever taken.

This photo was shot in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and is one of my favorite square-format shots. I feel that it really captures the spirit of that city.