Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim look-alikes

They look exactly like the Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim, just in different colors and under a different brand. I wonder if they'll yield the same pictures as the Vivitar. The Popeye Cyan looks really cute but I heard that it's expensive. The Turtle brand must be expensive too (everyone's jumping on the popularity and scarcity of the original UW&S). Anyways, I found a black Vivitar UW&S being sold in Amazon Japan. Bad news is that it cannot be shipped outside of Japan.

I recently bought an Eximus from toy*camera (eBay) and it included an extra winder in the package. I can't compare whether the output is the same with the Vivitar because I don't have one myself. Anyways, I hope it's sturdier than the original. I've been hearing a lot of problems about the fragility of the original Viv's winder.

Special thanks to my Twitter buddy inf3ktion for showing me the Rainbow UW&S.

Pictures courtesy of:
http://fuuvi.shop-pro.jp/?pid=12498987 for the Turtle cam
http://www.popeye.jp/mintcyan.html for the Popeye cam
http://redcamera.co.kr for the Eximus UW&S
http://8storeytree.com for the Rainbow V UW&S

the cost of loving lomography

Lomography (as is any type of photography) is an expensive hobby. As one friend pointed out, both digital and analog photography are expensive any which way you put it. If I can recall how much I spent from last year up to the present I'll probably see how much I could have spent buying other things rather than splurging my money on cameras and films. Anyways, here's the list and the cost of how much I spent:

1. Holga 135BC, black - $40
2. Holga 120CFN, silver - $45 (I bought it twice only to sell it again)
3. Holga 15B flash - $20
4. Fisheye 2 - $65
5. Supersampler black - $50 (and the blue one was around $45)
6. LC-A+RL - $280 (plus $50 shipping and $73 customs tax)
7. el cheapo Actionsampler - $9
8. Mini flash - $15
9. Eximus Ultra Wide & Slim - $24 (plus $10 shipping)
10. Fuji Instax mini close up lens for my LC-A+RL - $21
11. Assorted 120 and 135 films - lost count of how many and how much I spent
12. Developing from film to CD - cheap enough but I also lost count of how many rolls of films I had processed

I don't even want to add it all up =) is it all worth it? To me, yes.

*sold the Holgas and my 120 films, originally had a Colorsplash flash but it was defective so I opted for a refund instead

Fuji Instax Mini close up lens for the LC-A

The close up lens for my LC-A+RL arrived this morning--very happy because it arrived in less than two weeks! First impressions: it's easy to attach onto the camera but it's a bit scary to remove. I feel as if the two hooks anchoring the whole thing to the camera will break the minute I remove them. Oh well... output pics to follow. Am still not halfway through my roll of film yet hehe

5 cameras

I love my lomo cams but I think I'll take a hiatus from buying more new ones =) besides, I can't decide what to buy next anyway

goodies in the mail

I cheerfully greeted the mail man this morning. Why? Because he handed me three of the goodies I'd been waiting for. The first treat was the book I mooched from Australia--I had been looking forward to reading The Reader ever since Kate Winslet won the Oscar for Best Actress. Other treats were the Ultra Wide & Slim camera and Gorillapod (which was an unexpected treat--I wasn't expecting to receive this until next week). Anyways, I'm so excited to test the UW&S later this afternoon--hope to capture a beautiful later...

LC-A close up lens

This is just one of the items I'm already looking forward to receiving in the mail 2 weeks from now. I already got my el cheapo Actionsampler last Thursday and I'm just waiting for my UW&S camera to arrive so I can take test rolls and finally have them all developed at Digiprint. I should have bought this ages ago, but needs came first before wants =)

lomo cameras at Amazon.com

Another place to buy lomo cameras would be Amazon.com. I purchased my second Supersampler from there which cost considerably less than the original price at LSI and I was pleased not to have paid any shipping fee. How? Amazon offers free shipping on items costing $25 or more. However, not all items are eligible in the free super saver shipping and it is best to combine it with items which are also eligible (adding an item which is not eligible will forfeit the free shipping on all items in the same order). For more details, click here. With the prices they're offering for the lomo cameras, I'm sure to buy a new camera from them again soon =)

eBay and LSI

If you're a new to lomography, eBay is the best place to buy cheap plastic cameras. I bought my Holga 135BC from eBay. Other items I bought from eBay include a 15B flash for my 135BC, a mini 120 flash (my most recent acquisition), lots of slide films, and my Holga 120CFN. I am also looking forward to receiving a Gorillapod, an Actionsampler, and an Eximus Ultra Wide and Slim camera in the mail soon.

LSI is also a nice place to buy lomo cameras because they offer warranty. Another thing I like about LSI is that you can use the piggy points (you receive these through submitting pictures and winning awards in their site) to buy items in their shop. The only thing I don't like about LSI is their a pricey shipping rate--using either DHL (Austria-based orders) or Fedex (for Lomo Asia). It would have been better if they offered other more economical options instead. The prices of the cameras are bit more expensive than in eBay, but rest assured that these cameras are new and have either a one or two year international warranty on them.

Will be posting which lomo cam sellers I recommend on eBay here soon as well as experiences I've dealt with some of the sellers there. Other recommendations are most welcome so that we may all share good (and hopefully not bad) experiences about where to buy lomo cameras =)

lomo cams and books

I received the mini flash I ordered for my Fisheye 2 camera earlier than expected today. After that Colorsplash flash flop (I returned the CS flash I bought back to Vienna, Austria) I opted to buy a generic flash for my Fisheye 2 camera instead. I'm also waiting for my el cheapo Actionsampler and Ultra Wide and Slim camera in post arriving in the coming weeks.

BookMooch has been one of my favorite sites ever since my friend introduced it to me. Who doesn't want to receive free books in the mail? And I get to send out the books I no longer want to read for books that I want to read and I haven't read yet. I'm looking forward to receiving The Venetian's Wife by Nick Bantock and The Reader by Bernard Schlink soon.

Got my Supersampler loaded with a Velvia, my LC-A+RL with a CT Precisa, and my FE2 with a negative. Am just waiting for the Actionsampler and UW&S to arrive so that I'll have enough rolls to have developed at Digiprint (it's cheaper in 5s). Hope to shoot a few tomorrow. It's been a few days since I last shot anything new and I'm itching to take my cameras out again =) hope to post new pictures soon.

review: Holga 135BC

*reposted from my beta.lomography review

This was my first lomo camera. It wasn't as expensive when I first bought it on eBay a little more than a year ago.


This lomo camera is wonderful to use. It's small enough to put in your bag and it's light because it's made of plastic. If you're a new to lomography, this is one of the camera's I'd recommend that you start with. This is also for those who prefer using 35mm film rather than the 120 medium format ones. It's inexpensive, easy to use, and the vignettes it produces are awesome.

One of the few cons this camera is that you can't use a Colorsplash flash on it. That particular flash interferes with the wind knob so you have to find an alternative flash--like the 15B which was tall enough not to hit it.


Another thing you have to remember when using this camera is to focus and aim higher at your subject. What you see in the viewfinder may not be the same shot that you'd get on film. Also, if you ever want to use the bulb mode of this camera, I'd suggest you mount it on a tripod and use a cable release for it.

lomography, a year after

A year ago, I discovered the fascinating world of lomography while browsing through The Dark Room section of the BNC forum. It was there that I first saw one of my friends pictures taken using film and my curiosity got the better of me then. I looked it up online and eventually learned about the local lomographic community here: Lomomanila.


Just recently, I have bid farewell to the cameras I have grown fond of but eventually had to let go because I wanted an LC-A. Though I didn't originally plan on buying the +RL (Russian lens) version, I wanted the feel of the original LC-A without the hassle of worrying whether the camera I had bought would eventually have a sticky shutter. Hence my choice of the RL in the end.

I regretted selling my black rubber Supersampler so I ended up buying another one to replace the one I missed the most. Now I am happy using 3 cameras from the original 5. Anyways, will post pictures, digital and analog here soon. I just have to figure out which ones I'll want to post first from my photos =)

privacy policy

This site records information on its visitors location, IP address, pages viewed, returning visits, etc. This information is used solely to monitor returning and unique visitors, most specifically confirmed stalkers.

full circle

After originally starting with a supposedly photo blog, I changed themes and made it to a book review blog (which didn't last long) last year. Then I took a hiatus from blogging for more than 3 months and found myself itching to blog again--though I had to think about what I want to blog about this time. I think I'll stick to a mixed bag theme for now =)