Cool Hunting

Fans of Lomography will be excited to hear about the Diana+, a faithful reproduction of the plastic 120 camera made by the Great Wall Plastics Factory in the 1960s. At the time they were originally produced, the Diana was priced at only about $1 but still failed to be a mainstream commercial success and was often a free-with-purchase giveaway. With time the camera gained a cult following and became an artistic tool of avant-garde and lo-fi photographers.

To create the reproduction, Lomo started with an original 1960s Diana camera dismantling it piece by piece and taking care to reconstruct every quirk and "imperfection." The plastic lens creates dreamy, color-drenched and sometimes blurry images (examples at right and after the jump) —crafting them becomes an exercise in relinquishing control with each click of the shutter yielding unique and unpredictable results. The Diana+ features include: two shutter speeds “N" for normal daytime snapshots or “B” for unlimited indoor and nighttime exposures, two image sizes 12 full-frame shots (5.2x5.2cm) or 16 smaller square images in the classic Diana format (4.2x4.2cm), multiple and partial exposures, a pinhole function, an endless panorama function, a shutter lock and tripod thread and a two-year warranty.

The Diana+ is available online from Lomo for $50 and for $75 with 20 rolls of Afga portrait 160 or Afga Optima 100 film.

Also on Cool Hunting: Lomography Sidekick Bag,Colette Fisheye,Color Flash Holga and Lomo Printshop.