Diana F+ Instant Camera: Great Pictures in an Instant

Lomography has announced that shipping of the Lomo’Instant will begin in December, but if you want to use a lomographic instant camera with an interchangeable lens system, among other possibilities immediately, you should try the Diana F+ Instant Camera!

The Diana F+ in itself is already a great and versatile camera that takes lovely photos. But as an instant camera, it raises the bar higher.

The Diana F+ Instant Camera has everything that a Diana lover with an interest in instant photography could ever need. It produces the characteristic soft-focused pictures with vignetting, but compared to its sisters, the instant camera doesn’t use medium format film; instead, it uses the Instax Mini instant film by Fujifilm.

This is made possible by the Diana Instant Back+ that comes with the Diana F+ Instant Camera (but can also be purchased separately). With this, you can take 10 pictures with one pack of Fuji Instax Mini film that turn into direct positives in an instant!

The Diana F+ Instant Camera is fitted with an interchangeable 55mm wide angle lens. You may opt for a close-up lens for portraits and close-up shots. You can even remove the lens altogether and take impressive pinhole photos (f/125) on instant film.

Taking long exposures is possible with the help of the tripod mount and the camera’s Bulb mode. Besides this, the Diana F+ Instant Camera has a shutter speed of 1/60. It has three aperture f-stops: sunny f/22, partly cloudy f/16, and cloudy f/11), but this isn’t really applicable when using the Instant Back. The Instax Mini film has a speed of 800 ISO. An internal lens used with the instant back needs some light, but you still have to use the film as a 400 ISO one. The Diana F+ is built for 200 ISO as the standard film; this means that you have to set the aperture one stop lower when you shoot. On sunny days there is a good chance of overexposing the film even when shooting indoors, so you should be careful when using the Diana Flash+ or any other flash.

Once the shot is taken, you have to push the button on the back of the Instant Back so the picture is ejected and development begins. The ejection and shutter buttons are not connected to one another, so you can easily take double and multiple exposures. The batteries used for the Instant Back+ are relatively expensive, so make sure to turn it on only when ejecting the pictures.

Oh, and always make sure to remove the lens cap before shooting!

If you ever lust for taking photos with a roll of film, just use the Diana F+ Standard Back included in the set so you can use the camera as a regular Diana F+. Of course, you can use the other backs and accessories made for the Diana F+ as well.

If you’re already a happy owner of a Diana F+, you can get the set of accessories which includes the 55mm Wide Angle and Close-Up Lens, Diana Instant Back+, and Diana Flash+. Just visit the Online Shop to check it out!

written by dopa on 2014-09-02 #gear #review #translation #fuji-instax #lomography-diana-f #lomography-diana-f-instant-camera #lomography-diana-f-instant-back
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