11 Beloved Toy Cameras

For some, it marked their first foray into the wonderful world of analog photography. Others consider it a trusty, go-to camera despite having a massive camera collection which sometimes includes some of the best gear there is. Whatever the case may be, toy cameras will always hold a special place in the hearts (and shelves) of analog photographers everywhere, quirks and all.

Holga

The Holga is, hands down, among the most iconic and well-loved toy cameras ever, with its lo-fi appeal, vignetting, and, yes, even the light leaks. Unfortunately, none of these cameras will be produced in the future — but we're sure avid fans will continue to keep the memory of the Holga alive and kicking!

Diana F+

In just a short span of time, the Diana F+ was able to gain popularity not only within the Lomography community but also outside of it. The Diana F+ is a reproduction of the cult classic Diana camera but marked with improvements. Like the Holga, its appeal lies on the dreamy, soft-focus photographs that it produces.

Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim

Sleek and compact, the Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim boasts of photographs with beautiful colors, vignetting, and light leaks, all in a superb wide format. Needless to say, it's also a favorite of many toy camera aficionados all over the world.

Golden Half Camera

Dedicated toy cameras that shoot half-frame photographs are quite rare, and perhaps the most popular one is the Golden Half Camera. The quality of the shots that it produces is so good, you might even mistake them for outputs of mainstream half-frame cameras.

Blackbird Fly

The Blackbird Fly is arguably one of the more unique toy cameras in the market: it's a TLR, uses 35mm film, and shoots in three formats! Its settings are easy to tinker with even for a beginner, while the photos are of good quality.

Supersampler, Actionsampler, Oktomat, and Pop 9

Allow us to dub these four, Lomography's multi-lens mavens. All of them take multiple pictures sequentially in a single frame, with the main difference between them being the number of photos: both the Supersampler and Actionsampler takes 4 shots, vertically and horizontally, respectively; the Oktomat takes eight, and the Pop 9 takes nine.

Fisheye One and Fisheye No. 2

Ah, the famous Fisheye with its 170-degree barrel distortion! People might claim, "there's an app for that," but even they would have to admit that nothing beats the real deal. The Fisheye One and Fisheye No. 2 are essentially the same, but the latter boasts of more features such as the "B" setting, a multiple exposure switch, a detachable fisheye viewfinder, and a standard hot-shoe.

Need a new point-and-shoot camera? Drop by our online shop or one of our worldwide gallery stores to see our exciting selection of cameras!

2015-12-09 #gear #gallery #review #toy-cameras #list