CameraLuv | Camera-Inspired Prints, Hand-Painted Art, Inspirations on all things Camera and Photography

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and the camera kids at Lomography have released a new batch of cameras for the animal-loving camera-lover in you.

From the Roarrr series:
The teal Diana F+ Zebra
The pink Diana Mini & Flash – Leopard
the green Fisheye No. 2 – Python

The Snakeskin Sardinas:
The orange La Sardina – Orinoco Ochre
The blue La Sardina – Sapphire Serpent

Photographer and author Michelle Bates first discovered the Holga camera back in 1991 and has been playing with them ever since. She’s an advocate for analog toy cameras and claims they are:

“the Antidote to the tyranny of Technology.”

This clip from TEDx explores her work and some of her toy camera contemporaries who are using Holgas to capture amazing images from around the world.

Via @holgajen

This year we’re excited to find and show off a wide array of fun products for camera lovers of all kinds in our five part 2011 Holiday Gift Guide.

PART 1 is all about cameras and specifically, fun ones under $400. Whether it’s a gift for yourself, a family member or your significant other, we hope you find something you could all enjoy. Our cheapest stocking stuffer cameras came in at just $9 and the recently released 8GB version of the light field camera by Lytro topped our list at $399. Happy Shooting!

DIY Twin Lens Camera Kit – $20

Build your own twin-lens camera on the cheap!

“Golden Half” Half-frame camera – $50

Get twice the pictures with this fun half-frame camera.

Holga 135 Camera - $40

For those that want a Holga, but don’t want to mess with the 120 film. This Holga’s ready for action with all types of 35mm film.

DIY 35mm Camera Kit – $12

This camera takes you back to your model building days. Build your own 35mm camera in no time.

Micro 110 Holga in Colors – $9

This Micro 110 camera is available in several colors including black, green, grey and purple. It’d make a great little stocking stuffer for the Holga loving film buff  in your life.

La Sardina Mobius – $69 & La Sardina – Domino – $69

These new patterned cameras from Lomography’s La Sardina Series would be a sure hit for the design-minded in your life.

Lomo Kinoscope Package – $99

One of the newest offerings from Lomo, the LomoKino,  lets you hand crank your own video using all of your favorite 35mm film types. You can even watch your mini movies on the included viewer scope.

Sprocket Rocket Green – $89, Sprocket Rocket Yellow - $89,  Sprocket Rocket Blue - $89, Sprocket Rocket Orange – $89

For those who love full-framed shots where the areas around the sprockets are even exposed, the Sprocket Rocket is for you. It’s super fun to use and comes in some crazy colors. It’s also available in white and black for you boring types.

Lytro Light Field Camera 8GB -Graphite/Electric Blue – $399

The Lytro light field camera was one of the most anticipated releases of 2011. It gives you the ability to focus after you shoot. Who wouldn’t want to try that?

This new and improved GoPro Hero 2 is probably the best HD camera out there for the dare-devil types. Strap it to your surfboard for a surf session or attach it to your helmet for your next base jump. You’ll be able to show your skill … or stupidity in Full-HD glory.

GoPro Hero 2 – 1080p HD Camera – Surf Edition -$299
Includes waterproof case, surfboard mounts, FCS plug mounts and a float.

GoPro Hero 2 – 1080p HD Camera – Outdoor Edtion – $299
Includes waterproof case helmet strap, head strap, adhesive mounts and 3-way pivot arm.

Lomography’s Diana Deluxe Kit – $249
This complete set of Diana goodies, from lenses to flashes and frames is for those who want it all.

Let us know what additional cameras you’d add to your own Holiday Wishlist by commenting below:

Photographer Jason Hull has creatively repurposed non-working vintage cameras of the 50s-60s into nightlights for his house. We’re pretty sure we want some. (When they’re available online, we’ll let you know too.)

via PetaPixel

Lomography finally puts their photos on the move with their new retro-inspired crank-driven LomoKino-Super 35 Movie Maker camera. By using any of your favorite 35mm films you can create roughly 45 seconds of footage with 144 or so little images (24mm x 8.5mm). Then all you LomoMovie makers need to do is load it up into their new LomoKinoScope, point it at a light source and enjoy the fruits of your directorial labor. Lomography is also allowing people to upload and share their movies online.

Here’s one of the first released silent short films using the LomoKino, Ghost of the Beach by Satomi Sugiyama.

Tech Details:

Retail Price: $79 for the Lomokino, $99 for the Lomokino + lomokinoscope
Film type: all kind of 135 roll film
Lens: 25mm
Exposure area: 24mm x 8.5mm: 144 images/film
Continuous Aperture: f/5.6 – f/11
Shutter: 1/100
Hand-cranked: approx. 3-4 fps, 36-48 sec. movie per roll
Focusing: (normal) 1m~infinity,(press button for) 0.6m close up
Tripod mount: yes
Website: www.microsites.lomography.com/lomokino


Update: If you’ve been wondering how it works, our friend @xo_azuree found the Lomokino production notes.

Polaroid’s new camera is here. The Z340, features an onboard Zink 3″x4″ printer, an LCD viewfinder, and a 14- megapixel sensor. It can print also print pictures in around 30 seconds, giving you a smudge-proof and water-proof print. One cool thing about it being digital is that you can choose what you print without wasting paper on a bad picture.

One drawback may be the price, which is $299.

Available now at Polaroid.com

via techradar

This week, Lytro finally unveiled to the world their light field camera, a revolutionary camera/software system that captures the entire light field, not just a single plane of light like your SLR. The revolutionary thing about this camera is their “living pictures” capability which allows the photographer and the viewer the ability to change the focus of the photo after the fact. Since you’re capturing all the light, there isn’t the shutter delay or auto-focus problems so you can instantly capture the picture you want and worry about the focus later. This is something I’d definitely like to play with.

Here’s a video explaining a little bit about how you interact with the photo experience:

Here’s a cross-section of the technology (slightly larger than true size). Alot of people have wondered what resolution this camera is capable of and it’s a little vague, (measured in millions of light rays), but Petapixel has estimated the size of the sensor to be similar to that of the fujifilm X10 camera.

There are two basic models of the camera the 16GB version (red) $499 and the 8GB version (blue, grey) $399. While this is a consumer version of the camera, features like this may be something we see in all kinds of cameras in the future. The Lytro is set to ship in early 2012.

Here’s a hands on look:

Via @laughingsquid and @petapixel

Here’s a glimpse at Paris-based designer Charlie Nghiem’s Rotor Digital Camera concept which features a column of rotor dials you use to control the camera instead of actual buttons. The major downsides of a design like this could be the accidental change of mode if you have large fingers or the accidental pocket mode change you’ve likely experienced on so many point-and-shoot cameras.(You pull the camera out to quickly get a shot and after the moment is gone you’ve realized you were shooting in the wrong mode.) Regardless, it’s nice to see some fun design out there on the interwebs.

Via Designboom + laughingsquid

After messing around at his desk with some extra memory cards, Photographer David Dvir found himself with an idea to create probably the most elaborate photography-gear-infused Rube Goldberg machine ever. Reminds me a bit of that Honda Cog commercial from a few years back, but it’s still awesome!

Here’s a look at what it took David and the 2dPhotography crew to put it all together.

Found via 3exposure.com & @photogearlust