Customer Reviews

Lomography Diana F+ 35mm Back Door with Four Plastic Frames

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The Diana id a great camera and a lot of fun to use. It truly brings photography back to its basics. The only issue I have is that there is a bit of a learning curve and, while it can be forgiving, having fun with the Diana's more artistic features can lead to a lot of pictures not coming out right or not at all. This can be expensive while getting to know the Diana camera, especially if using 120 film, not to mention the development coast! With the 35mm back you can snap pictures constantly, get to know your camera more and not worry about the higher cost of film and development of 120 film. Once you've mastered the camera a little more you can "graduate" to 120 film and take full advantage of what this dynamic camera has to offer. Plus the 35mm back can add a few extras of it's own. Definitely a great item to add to your Diana kit.

I was uneducated and didn't take the time to think about the logistics of converting a medium format camera to a 35mm.

Before I go further, if you already own the Diana F+ and the wide angle and/or fish eye lens then buying the 35mm back may work for you.

If you don't it will cost you $37 to buy the back and $36 to buy the wide angle lens -- both of which you NEED if want 35mm film to function in your camera the way you expect to.

**** NOTE: you can buy the Diana Mini for $55, which is less and then have that and the Diana F+ at your disposal ****

The reason why you need the wide angle lens is: (1) the standard lens is set up for medium format and 35mm film uses about 1/3 of the space therefore cropping 2/3 of your picture and what you end up with is a "zoomed" in effect. (2) Due to the cropping only the center of the lens is used, which is the clearest part of the lens and the outter soft side of the lens, which produces the vignette is cut off.

In the end you end up with a photo that is cropped with the heads cut off and there is no "dreamy-ness" or "vignetting" because you only used the center of your lens.

It's been a disappointing truth for me to learn. Within 3-5 minutes of research online you will see what I have shared to be true.

I just ordered the Holga 135BC, which appears to create vignettes.

The idea of the film back is great, but had I only known I would have bought both the Diana F+ and Mini and skipped the 35mm back.

Jeremy

i was super excited when i found this on amazon...cause it seemed like everyone else was taxing big time for it. i wanted it because it's easier to develop 35mm then 120mm..not to mention it's easier to find rolls of 35mm. so i received it pretty fast and had my guy put it together so that i wouldn't break anything..they plastic is like every other plastic, pull too tight and it breaks.

i didn't have any issues with the spool stopping or anything like that..i was able to get through the entire roll and still haven't had any issues. the only thing i was told by a photo processor was to stick to 120mm because the pictures would come out better. personally, i like the sprockets..it gives it a good look.

i would def recommend this.

I was excited to receive this, as I don't want to hack my medium format cameras in order to take sprocket hole pictures. I assembled as instructions said then loaded some 24 exp 35mm film and went out to shoot. I got to picture 16 and the take up spool stopped. I double checked to make sure I was on N setting, and that the counter was set to panoramic to match the mask I selected. Everything was fine. But the knob would not move. I wound up trashing a roll because it would not rewind either. So then I added a second roll. This time I got to 18 before it stopped. I rewound the film and put it away. When I got home I tested an old expired roll and watched it to see what was going on. The film was spooling just fine, and then just stopped at about the same place. The film release tends to slip out while it moves so this tells me there is definitely something wrong with that function or the spool itself.

Luckily I had an extra Diana F+ and 35mm back I bought as a backup, so I assembled that one and tried it as well. It did the same thing on a different camera. There are no other reviews like this out there so I don't know if it is me, or if this product can just not handle a full roll of 35mm film on the take up spool. It seems to stick in about the same place. So if you buy, just be aware that you will probably wind up wasting about 6-8 pictures on a 24exp roll. DO NOT USE 36 exp as you will waste even more.

I have sent an email to Lomography to ask about this problem. I think the product is basically junk. But at least the camera works.

Good stuff for diana user.
get to save lotsa money on films and developing.

I am big on photography and got the Diana as a gift. It's a fun camera but finding places to buy and print on 120 film was really difficult for me. That and the 120 film doesn't give you that many exposures. So naturally this was a no brainer. It was worth every penny. It brought that camera to life for me. I take it everywhere now. You can still shoot in square 120 format or choose from 3 others including allowing the film's sprockets to show. And anywhere can develop it. I'd recommend this to everyone.

In the UK this plastic bauble actually retails at £40+. That is such a mindbogglingly inexplicable fact that it should trigger Meldrew type "senior moments" in an average 12 year old. Seriously, there is a chance that the packaging cost more to make than the back itself. I'd be surprised if the production cost, unpacked was above 30 pence/50 cents. Ten pence/ 17 cents is more likely. This type of plastic is very cheap.
I did a quick browse around "another site" and found I could buy SIX different 35mm cameras each with a different focal length lense and still have change out of £41. Only postage raises the cost to that level. In my local "can't metion the name" there are 35mm cameras at (you've guessed it) £1.
Sadly I have to give a star rating. One star is still a massive (some might say infinite) overating.

I got this item to make it easier to find film and get it developed for my Diana f+. The film counter gets stuck and its hard to turn. It doesn't work at all. I want a refund or a replacement.

I wanted to run some 35mm film through the Diana as it is cheaper and I like the exposure on the sprocket holes look. It works great.