Film-Camera Reviews

There aren't many "basic" cameras out there for "artsy" photos. This one is not high tech at all, instead its made of plastic and has a plastic lens and manual feed. The color filters make it interesting but I question if it is worth the $70. Fun though, and being a part of the LoMo revolution is cool.

I got this for Christmas and have used it several times. The results have been terrific! With some experimentation, I learned that the red filter is very strong so I use it less than the others, but it has been great for taking pictures at parties and concerts and clubs and bars. Rock and roll photos! I lost my little packet of filters, and the wonderful people at lomo international sent me two replacement packs for free! Customer service is great. I do not like the skin bag, however. It is inconvenient and gets in the way. After having it block the lens on a roll of film, I just ditched it altogether. Otherwise, I recommend this camera fully.

this is the most fabulous invention ever. i had been experimenting quite a bit with colorgels, but to find this put together in a camera is simply fantastique! thanks to the lomo people, thanks, thanks, thanks,
in addition to the colorflash this camera also has different exposure settings, very simple and working really great.
enjoy and splash your world in colors, there are no limits anymore, it is all up to you and what color you want your world and surrounding to be!!!

I bought this camera and it would not load the first two rolls of film (drop and load?). We finally got the third roll to load. That was the ONLY roll of film we got out of this camera. I returned it and was given another one, brand new in the box. The film STILL would not load and even the clerk at the photo store could not understand the problem. I didn't opt for a third S1450. Instead, swapped it out for a different company's camera.

Hi, I'm a lover of picture taking and I ordered this particular camera based photographs one of my friends showed me. They bought this camera and I ended up loving the quality of the pictures. So I got one and have taken tons of rolls and have been very satisfied with all prints (which I develop at my local drug store BTW) :)

My husband has a Samsung that I could not load to save my soul!! I wanted one I could just load and shoot, and thats exactly what I got with this camera! I am glad I did not read the one and only review for this because it was not a fair rating. Sometimes you just get a bummer amongst the pack. I think the buyer should have tried another camera and they probably would have been satisfied. I bought this to take pictures of my very active and adorable granddaughter. I took one whole roll the first day I had this camera and I could not have gotten better results. The zoom is fabulous! I cannot wait until the holidays to capture every little detail of her precious angelic face! An excellent value for the money too!

If I had had the chance to use this camera for a day or two before I bought it, it wouldn't have been "bought". It really is just for snapshots of birthday parties and wading pools. Black and White photos were a disappointment--the color was all off. Enlargements were not sharp and landscapes or distance photos were ill defined. I wouldn't buy it again--which means that I will be buying something else soon, so it was a waste of money.

I'd recommend this camera to everyone. It's simple to use and makes a great entry camera for anyone that has been considering getting a new one. However, it still gives good results so even the demanding photographer can be pleased with what comes out. I've got a decent 35mm setup (body and several lenses, etc) but if I don't want to take it with me, this pocket size wonder is what I pick up.

The camera's layout is good, all the functionality you need, and the ease of use of and APS system camera. The zoom (about 35-80 in 35mm terms) has a good range and even the flash seems strong for such a small body.

It'd make a great gift for anyone.

Fuji did it again...offering it's high-caliber photo technology with the use of APS film. I checked out all major brands, and the reason why I chose Fuji was: Price/value. The Zoom can't be beaten. As for the photo quality, it's fantastic. If you're looking for a fairly priced APS camera with all of the great features such as zoom, this is the one to buy.

This is the kind of camera you may want to take with you instead of a disposable. Pros:It's light, small, a no-brainer inexpensive tool to catch snapshots, and, last but not least, has a wide angle lens with reasonable sharpness for a focus-free camera. Cons: Film loading must be carefully performed away from light to avoid marks on your shots (but that's true for most cameras), and, obviously, image sharpness cannot match an autofocus P&S. Overall, a cute little thing.

fairly easy to use ,it is a pretty good cheap camera,takes good pictures, flash and shutter cover

This camera takes crystal clear photos and is cheap too! The only thing I don't really like, is the manual rewind, but hey, for the price I can live with it!

Just a heads-up to those thinging about these cameras. DON'T USE THEM FOR ANY IMPORTANT PHOTOS! These cameras are used cases with new film added. I don't not recommed them, they are cheap, but be aware. I've had problems with 2 different cameras(I probably wouldn't buy again, but maybe), and wish I'd read a review like this before taking them to Mardi Gras...oh well, who wants to remember a swamp tour in an fan boat anyway.

I purchased for a wedding and these took as good as pictures as the Kodak Wedding pack cameras that we had purchased also. I highly recommend.

I used this camera for a vacation and the frist film I put in it the camera broke, I lost some good pictures, so I am not happy one bit. So BEWARE this camera is JUNK>

I bought this inexpensive basic camera for those times when I wanted to take a camera along yet did want to have to be real careful with it-- i.e. no huge monetary loss if something happened. The pictures were so great I bought another as a "client loaner" for my clients (I am an attorney) to ensure taking of evidentiary pictures. The product yields above-average quality pictures and we have used them repeatedly as evidentiary documents. It is also very easy to load. I have no doubt I got my money's worth.

I purchased this film with a new Joycam...my first polaroid experience. The first picture I took didn't want to come out of the camera but after some fussing and attempting to take another picture (in case it hadn't actually taken the first one) it finally came out - with a second, unexposed, print. The exposed print didn't develop correctly and left large areas with mushy grey-purple color instead of picture - a waste of over two dollars total. I was ready to return the whole contraption but decided to try again. That time it worked like a charm so I guess I'm happy...as long as I don't have this problem with every roll...but I haven't gotten that far to be able to know about that yet.

The Polaroid 500 film is extremely easy to load into the camera, and develops quick clear, and surprisingly in focus pictures. Downside- can sell for up to 14.99 or so for a pack of 10. So obviously the twin pack for 13.99 is a huge bargain.

(...).

LOMO cameras are marketed by a company who's primary interest seems to be selling $8 Soviet-era design cameras at boutique prices ($200). Accordingly, the cameras have very little speaking for them technically, and the defects are very cleverly hyped with a strong "revolutionary" slant, as being great new discoveries and strengths.

Their website casts a hip skew on the defects in these cameras, aiming them as a "revolution" in photography. Righhhht.

Among the most egregious re-evaluations from the marketing hype at their website:

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THE LOMO TUNNEL EFFECT
...produces an awesome effect called "Vignetting." Look closely - you'll notice that the corners of your Lomographs are slightly darker and a little softer, in contrast to the lighter and sharper center. This tunnel effect yields a clear and vivid subject, with the corners acting as a natural "frame," directing your attention to the center. You see, lomographs simply have more content!
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Keep in mind, vignetting is a powerful *defect* in the lens design, something Canon, Nikon and the other manufacturers have spent decades of advanced lens design and R&D in trying to eliminate. In Lomo's doublespeak, it's a good thing. (Yes, it can sometimes render interesting photographs, but this breathless hype's almost-mystical description of this effect/lens is misleading at best).

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LOMO WIDE ANGLE
The "all-seeing wide angle view"? It's really only a 32mm focal length. Woo hoo.
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Most SLR lens manufacturers have for decades offered extensive ranges in lenses with this view coverage and wider made to fit their SLR cameras (even old SLR's from the 60s and 70s); for wide coverage, a vintage 70's SLR+wide lens can be had for under $75 if you look right, and it'll be a vastly better machine. Any 1980s Canon, Nikon, or Olympus 35mm film SLR for instance, offers outstanding manufacture, both full manual and electronic controls available, etc...far exceeding the exposure options and build quality of Lomo's flimsy design. Typical 70's and 80's vintage SLR's like these feature supreme exposure and internal mechanisms, and today let you take advantage of low prices for former top-of-the-line professional lenses (e.g. manual focus Canon FD, Nikkor, or Olympus Zuiko SLR lenses).

Overall, the camera purposefully introduces flaws in your photographs that can render some "artsy" feeling shots, but don't be misled by the manufacturer's clever anti-establishmen skew.

If you want to take LOMO looking photos, buy its almost exact copy for much cheaper: the OLYMPUS XA (and XA2) but it is old, so only available on ebay. Good options also include the cheapest models of the "Jazz Jellies" that they sell at drugstores like Walgreens. (for only $10). Same vignetting effects, same purposefully-crappy lenses give blurred shots "artsy" type of feel."

You can even get the "much vaunted LOMO saturation" if you drop in 50 ISO or 100 ISO film. (this last point one is just beyond me. Saturation is mostly a function of the film, not the camera! LOL! Not according to LOMO though...)

If you still think this is a must for you, save your bucks, buy one on ebay for cheap (people tend to tire of these quickly; at least I did), and use it for it's artistic expression and distortions.

Certainly don't buy into all the LOMO company's clever hype without reading around the web for vintage camera offerings matching this camera, and take the Lomo society's skewed reporting with a giant grain of salt.

A simple photography course or some time spent at a website like Phil Green's excellent photo.net will better your education on this, and give you a relatively unbiased perspective with which you can then go back and see this equipment for what it is.

This is a very unique camera that can revolutionize your idea of what a snapshot is. This camera is easy to use, and with some patience and a still hand, can take unrivaled photos in any situation, even in pitch black!

I highly recommend this camera, although I got mine for $105 on eBay new... you may want to check out a cheaper source such as this.

best of, most beautiful, too much fun to be true, still surprising after many rolls of film (and it is the good surprises you get with the lomo), a true jewel of the old era
anybody who complains about dropping the camera and it not working should get a single use camera, no doubt.
for the ones that like to experiment, investigate, be free and play and get that incredible rush of taking pictures immediately and on the spot 'cause the beauty of a single moment is just simply irresistible, get a lomo and every single cent you spend on it will come back 1000 times.
i own them all, leica, nikon, elph, you name it, my lomo is my best friend. yes, she has her moods and temper, but she also gives you pictures of the sheer impossible.

My review is not a good one. The camera seemed to work find until in the middle of a birthday party it went crazy and the zoom lens froze. It would cost me $20 less than what I paid seven months ago to fix it. Junk now. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Where's my warranty?????

I've had my Pentax Zoom 105-R (no date feature) camera for 8 years. It was a good camera while it lasted. The red eye reduction did not work well though. It has a lot of nifty photo options but I rarely used them.

Without warning and for no apparent reason the auto focus went out. The auto focus of a zoom over approximately 12 feet is useless now. The cost to repair it is [expensive] so I'll buy a new one rather than repair this one. ... I have a Canon with interchangeable lenses that is 18 years old and it takes great photos. (The only reason we got another camera to begin with was for the auto focus feature and the compact size of the Pentax.) With the kind of mileage Canon offers, I'm going back to Canon.

I had experiences with a couple of cameras from different brands such as Nikon, Pentax, Canon and Samsung and frankly I had no big complain about my previous ones. I chose Pentax IQ Zoom 105s, because I was perfectlyl satisfied with a Pentax APS camera that I bought long time ago(I decided to buy new one because APS system is not sometimes convenient) and the price was competitive compare to other that has similar function.
Indeed, it didn't disappoint me, the pictures have been very clear, no blur with very vivid color in both inside and outside.
So far I didn't experience a red eye in the night. Zoom and shutter move smoothly, flash works on time and autoshot works beautifully. The drawback is it is little bigger and sturdier than the comparable ones(you can't put it in your shirt pocket) and the viewer window is little dark(But the pictures were perfectly good).
Overall, I think it is a very cool camera and recommend if interested in.

This camera is terrible. Problem is, I didn't know it until a year after purchasing it. Rarely used at first, then used it on a few trips and events with very disappointing results, after I couldn't return to the store. I figured the first terrible (fuzzy) pictures were my fault for some reason or other, but have come to the conclusion this camera was a waste of $. Also, sometimes the flash just shoots off, even when no flash is selected. Based upon the other reviews Canon should issue a recall for this piece of junk. DO NOT BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just as everyone else stated, this is a great compact, cool looking camera. Pictures have turned out okay. Some were blurry but I suspect it may be the lighting. Outdoor pics were clear as the sky. However, I have a lot of problem with loading and unloading the film. Sometimes the camera would keep rolling sounding like it would load the film but when it stops making noise the cartridge symbol blinks asking you to put in the film. And when it finally loads correctly and finishes rewinding the film, the door gets stuck and would not open. It's quite frustrating. I'm going to get a refund and I suggest not getting this camera at all especially for this price. You should probably go with their digital elph camera instead.

On my last vacation I got so tired of carrying around a large camera that I did not take many photos... However, when the old one played out I seized the opportunity to see what I could find in a smaller version... I fell in love with this little guy right away... However, when I got home, I started reading reviews of older APS cameras and became concerned. So I immediately shot one roll of film.. inside, outside, close, far away and took it to an hour developing center (more and more places are developing it now)... Along with that roll I took two 35mm rolls.. When I received the prints I compared them side by side and saw no difference in the quality of the prints... Also, it was only approximately 2.00 more per roll to develop than the 35mm.

What I love about this camera besides the convenience of the size is that you can take 3 different sizes of pictures with a flip of a switch and the date imprint on the picture.

The only drawbacks that I found was the lack of zoom (but I knew there would be a trade off for the small size) and the fact that I took one early evening photo which did not turn out very well... However, I discovered there is a 1000 speed film for the APS which hopefully will take care of that problem.

Bottom line: a great little everyday camera that is lightweight, easy and fun to use....