Never shot with a toy camera...what should I expect? Tips?

[Focus No. 9]

This is/was my toy camera. was able to run one roll through. rewind, then pulled up on the crank and it snapped out of the plastic. I did manage to pull up the film crank housing which is what I should of done instead of pulling the crank. It has the sun/clouds,scene icons and is a 50mm "new color optical lens" and apertures that coincided with the icons when twisting the ring. Anyway, don't get caught up in it..just enjoy.

[mhcfires]

I have looked at the overpriced Holga and Diana cameras. They are really poorly made. My Brownie Target Six-20 is a much better camera. If you want 6x6 negatives, a Brownie Hawkeye is a great camera, only costs ten to twenty bucks and works like a charm. I paid about fifteen for mine. It takes a 120 spool as long as you have a 620 spool for take up. be sure to ask the lab for your spool back if you have to send out for color processing.

[markbarendt]

I have looked at the overpriced Holga and Diana cameras. They are really poorly made. My Brownie Target Six-20 is a much better camera. If you want 6x6 negatives, a Brownie Hawkeye is a great camera, only costs ten to twenty bucks and works like a charm. I paid about fifteen for mine. It takes a 120 spool as long as you have a 620 spool for take up. be sure to ask the lab for your spool back if you have to send out for color processing.

Much of the joy of the toy cameras is their lack of quality.

[mhcfires]

Much of the joy of the toy cameras is their lack of quality.

Lack of quality would not be such an issue if it weren't for the price. The cheapest Holga is still around $35 for a 6x6 camera of dubious quality. I know that people "prize?" the light leaks and weird happenings on the film as a result of the poor quality of the camera, but why pay so much for such clunky junque? My 100+ year old Kodak Panoram #1 is better built. It has a light leak, I have to keep one joint covered with gaffer's tape, but it is really one cool camera. I'm not trying to start a war, just making a few comments. The best thing about this Holga revolution, if you can call it that, is that people are rediscovering that you can do very creative things with film that you just can't do with a digital camera.

[2F/2F]

They are $35 because people pay $35. If people weren't paying it, they couldn't charge it and have success with the product.

So, wait for a deal and/or get a used one, which is what we all do when some piece of camera equipment is too expensive new.

I agree that they are overpriced. However, that is mainly because I don't think they are a very interesting tool. I can certainly see paying $35 for one of them if I was in in love with the pictures they let me make.

However, I am in the $5 to $10 120 Brownie camp, myself. I very much like the technical qualities of the images that come from these guys.

I also like the images from the BBF very much. As I said earlier, I feel that I got my $80 worth; and I felt that way within a few rolls of shooting with it.