Diana (camera)

The Diana camera is a plastic-bodied toy camera that uses 120 roll film and 35mm film. The camera has a simple, plastic meniscus lens. Originally marketed as an inexpensive novelty item, the Diana has been used to take soft focus, impressionistic photographs somewhat reminiscent of the Pictorialist Period of artistic photography, branded in contemporary times as Lomography.^[1]

The Diana-style cameras frequently suffer from light leaks, film advance issues and other problems. However, its plastic lens has been celebrated for its typical artistic effects in photographs, normally resulting in a slightly blurred composition that can provide a 'dreamlike' quality to the print.^[2]

The Diana first appeared during the early 1960s as an inexpensive box camera sold by the Great Wall Plastic Factory of Kowloon, Hong Kong.^[3][4][5] Most were exported to the United States and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the Diana was imported by the Power Sales Company of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.^[5][6] During the 1960s, the Power Sales Company sold cases of 144 Diana cameras at about 50 cents U.S. per unit to a variety of retailers and promotional merchandisers.^[5][7]

Most Diana cameras were given away or sold for nominal sums as novelties or prizes at fairs, carnivals, product promotions, raffles, or other events.^[8] For a time, the camera was also regularly advertised for sale in various periodicals through mail order vendors.

However, with the development of inexpensive, higher quality consumer cameras such as the Kodak Instamatic, as well as the declining popularity of roll film, demand for the Diana – even as a novelty gift – gradually disappeared.

Production of the Diana, its clones, close copies, and variants is believed to have stopped in the 1970s, though similar 35mm box cameras were produced for many years thereafter by various companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China for use as promotional items.^[9]

It is currently being sold by Lomography (company) as the "Diana F+" in the original 120 format, as well as "Diana Mini" in 35mm format and the "Diana Baby 110".^[10] The current iteration of the medium-format Diana F+ is actually a system camera with interchangeable lenses, flashes, and film backs. Lomography also makes Diana lens adapters for several major DSLR systems, including the Canon EOS, Nikon F-mount, and Micro Four Thirds.

The Diana is a box camera of simple construction with a mechanical film advance, spring-loaded shutter, and basic plastic viewfinder. It is constructed primarily of phenolic plastics of the type commonly found in toys imported from Asia during the 1960s.

Because of wide variances in production quality, combined with slight gaps in the camera body latching mechanism, Diana cameras are prone to light leaks onto the exposed film; such leaks can be temporarily prevented by sealing the seams with light-proof tape after loading the film.

The design of the Diana incorporates a simple lens that produces an image circle which only marginally covers the diagonal of a film frame. This marginal coverage field often produces images with pronounced vignetting.

The plastic meniscus may cause a low contrast resolution, odd color rendition, chromatic aberration, and blurred images.^[11] The film spool can become loose or out of place when winding the film to the next frame. The basic advance and shutter mechanisms may result in images that are not properly centered or exposed.

In addition to the 'Diana' labeled cameras, there are over 50 similar variants of the basic design, some of which may have been produced by other factories or manufacturers. The camera was sold under a variety of model names, often relabeling an existing product.^[5] In other cases, slight modifications were added. Some variations use slightly different materials, while other models include a 'bulb' setting for time exposures. Other variants incorporate a 6×6cm negative size (like the Diana Deluxe), have provisions for different controls, or separate flash illumination. The 3 aperture version of the classic Diana and Diana clones has apertures of f/11, f/13, and f/19, and it takes 32mm clip-on filters. The Diana Deluxe variant offers f/9, f/16, and f/22 and takes a 46–49mm step-up ring, which is unusual for such a low-end camera.

A twist on the classic 1960s first-version Diana, Diana F+ was produced in 2007 and offers four apertures, including a pinhole. Shutter speed is often variable due to manufacturing defects and can vary from 1/200th to 1/30th of a second.^[11] Due to the Diana's lack of shutter lock, multiple exposures can be achieved by repeatedly releasing the shutter without advancing the film. ^[11] The Diana F+ can be used with the Diana Instant Back+, the Diana 35mm Back+, as well as the splitzer to produce dreamy, radiant, and lo-fi photos.

A digital version of the camera was produced in 2014 by Greg Dash of Cyclops Cameras.^[12] The project was funded through the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, allowing Dash to produce a limited run of 1000 digital Diana cameras (called the 'Rhianna').^[13]

Although several attributes of the Diana are generally thought undesirable in a camera, various photographers and art photography schools have intentionally utilized these characteristics to produce photographs with interesting or artistic effects. The San Francisco Art Institute seems to have been the first school to employ the Diana in its photography program in 1967–68 as a way of stimulating creative vision without undue reliance upon camera features and technology. Later, other schools picked up the idea, including Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.^[14] The use of the Diana in this role achieved a new level of fame when the camera was utilized by American photographer and former Ohio University photography student Nancy Rexroth in an influential 1976 photographic exhibit and book entitled IOWA.^[5]

• Kodak Brownie
• Holga
• Amy Blakemore

• Lomography's official site