My name is Kathy and I have an analog soul

Kathy’s Cameras 02 – Vintage Original Diana Camera

This is the second in my series introducing my collection of film cameras.   This one features the lovely and talented original Diana plastic camera from the 1960s.

This entry was posted on 2011/04/10 by . It was filed under Analog, Art Photography, Black and White Photography, Camera Collecting, Diana Camera, Film Photography, Home Darkroom, Japan Relief Effort, Toy Cameras, Uncategorized and was tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

12 responses

  1. Jim

    Nice! I had a Diana clone (the Lina, I think) in my first collection. I probably paid a quarter for it. Unfortunately, I never ran film through it.

    2011/04/10 at 10:23 am

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    • Analog Soul Photography

      Jim, they’re great cameras to shoot with. I love that they take photography to its most basic level and make you think more about composition than anything else.

      2011/04/10 at 11:02 am

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  2. Arthur Smith

    You have great hands, Kathy. Model’s hands!

    Just got and restored a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye made in March of 1956. Shot my 1st roll this weekend, along side its little brother, the Kodak Brownie Holiday Flash. Bringing them in tomorrow for processing!

    -Arthur

    2011/04/10 at 10:40 am

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  3. Analog Soul Photography

    Arthur, so glad those cameras are getting a whole new life! It’s so much better to get them out and use them than to have them sitting on a shelf or in a box 😉

    2011/04/10 at 11:05 am

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    • Arthur Smith

      Thanks, Kathy- I have always wanted Kodak Brownies in my collection- now I have two of them, and a Koadlite flash that fits both. And, a close up filter for the Hawkeye!

      Did my other comment go completely by?

      A

      2011/04/10 at 11:48 am

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  4. Analog Soul Photography

    Wonderful! I have two Brownie cameras myself…a Starmeter just like I had when I was 7 and recently I picked up a Chiquita (a Brazilian version of a Bullet, I believe). If you would like to browse my collection, I have just about every camera represented here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/framerkat/collections/72157622220537534/

    2011/04/10 at 12:56 pm

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  5. Arthur Smith

    Great! I meant, about your nails?!

    A

    2011/04/10 at 2:53 pm

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  6. Analog Soul Photography

    Oh, sorry, missed that…I have cameras on the brain 😉 Thank you for the compliment!

    2011/04/10 at 5:53 pm

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  7. imogen

    Hi Kathy,

    great video! i’ve just bought my first vintage diana, but don’t have the first clue where to start. i know i need 120 film, but have no idea about speed, different brands etc. any help?!

    2011/05/13 at 3:52 am

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    • Analog Soul Photography

      You know, it’s funny you ask that…I recently ran 100 speed film in mine and it was a bit slow for the old girl. I’ve had better success with 200 or 400 speed. I’m getting ready to order another batch of film from Freestyle photo and am getting their own brand of 120 200 speed this time around.

      Once you get the film, the Diana is so no frills, there’s not much thought in involved with shooting. Just make sure you have your focus, aperture (sunny, cloudy, etc.), and shutter speed (if it has a setting for that).

      2011/05/13 at 8:59 am

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  8. arthurpolaroid

    Maybe I am nuts, but I am actually looking for slower film for my Argus C3 and Matchmatic. The fastest shutter speeds on those cameras is 1/300th.

    A

    2011/05/13 at 9:20 am

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    • Analog Soul Photography

      It’s tough for the Diana to use the slower films because the shutter speed is somewhere around 1/100th or slower and the f stops are around 11 for cloudy, 13, for partly cloudy, and 19 for sunny.

      I had never looked into the shutter speeds much on the MatchMatic, as I haven’t used mine yet, but have just found some information on it and it looks to have the same as the regular C-3. You could certainly run slower film in those cameras since you have more flexibility with both shutter speed and f stops. You can also get some nice short depth of field shots if you need to shoot at f3.5.

      2011/05/13 at 10:08 am

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