4 Most Popular Toy Cameras under $200

These days digital cameras/phones have become so ubiquitous with how we shoot quick snaps of our daily lives we are accustomed to the high quality these devices provide. The latest products tout high megapixel ranges, bigger zoom-levels, and so many advanced features that we come to expect more out the pictures we create.

As technology seems to advance the quality of digital photography almost on a monthly basis, you will find an increasing trend towards a more basic , low-tech approach to photography. Almost as a revolt to the ever increasing presence of digital cameras , a class of cameras are taking their stand and attracting a cult following along the way.

The value of Toy Cameras is in direct contrast to their hi-tech counterparts.  To the enthusiast, the attraction is their characteristic flaws…

• The cheaper the camera the better.  Most popular toy cameras are under $100.
  • plastic body, plastic lens
  • almost no controls on the body ( like a view finder or focus control)
• Image “characteristics” are more important that image  “quality”
  • Lens effects like vignetting
  • Light leaks
• Easily modded, hacked, and tuned
  • cheap enough to take apart and put back together again.
  • a strong mod community has tons of ways to trick out your toy camera, and get some great custom effects.

Some of the most popular Toy Cameras out there today have communities online and popular Flickr groups dedicated to them.. Below are some great sites for the overall toy camera enthusiasts.

• www.lomography.com
• http://www.flickr.com/groups/toycameras
• http://www.picturenoise.com/

Listed here are 4 of the most popular cameras today under 200 bucks and some resources for each. Know of anymore? Feel free to leave a comment on your favorite toy camera!

1. Diana Camera – $50

For around $50 you get a plastic lens, two shutter settings, and three aperture settings.

• http://www.dianacamera.com/
• http://www.flickr.com/groups/dianaphotos/

2. Holga – $50

For around $50 you get soft focusing, full double-exposure capability, intense vignetting, and unpredictable light leaks.

• http://www.flickr.com/groups/86881528@N00/
• http://www.holgamods.com
• http://www.davidniles.com/holga/about.html

3. Blackbird Fly – $125

More on the high-price range ( for a toy camera that is), at $125 this 35mm twin reflex camera is a flagship for the Toy Camera community. You get two shooting options f7 at 1/125th and f/11 at 1/125th. – essentially “sunny” and “cloudy”.

• http://blackbirdflycamera.com/
  

4. Golden Half – $50 to $60

With a half-frame camera, one can fit twice as many pictures onto a standard roll of film. For example, 72 exposures on a 36-exposure roll, 48 on a 24-exposure one, and so on. The exposures have a vertical (portrait) orientation as opposed to the horizontal (landscape) orientation of a 35mm SLR or rangefinder.

• http://www.brooklyn5and10.com/The-Golden-Half-Plastic-Camera-superior-optics-p/gh01.htm
• http://www.fourcornerstore.com/collections/golden-half-versions

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2. First exposures from the Golden Half
3. Unpacking the Golden Half
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5. My one shot from the Holga TIM