My Experience with Lomography Simple Use Cameras

If you've ever shopped at Urban Outfitters and looked around the camera section, chances are you've seen these kinds of cameras and thought what exactly are they? They look similar to the disposable cameras you would find at a drugstore, or at Target and Walmart. But they're different because of a couple of features.

What is the difference between Lomography Simple Use Cameras and Other Disposable Cameras?

The biggest difference is they're reloadable cameras. Each camera comes preloaded with 1 roll of Lomography 400 ISO film. The film stock varies depending on the camera type you buy. After you finish a roll, you can reload it with any kind of film stock.

Taken from Lomography website

Another difference is each camera comes with flash color gels. You can use one or multiple to get moody shots.

The Simple Use Cameras are fun and easy to use. Just point and shoot at your subject and bring it with you anywhere. Since they are plastic cameras, the quality of the images won’t be super sharp. But you’ll get that grainy, vintage colors and textures.

The Different Types of Lomography Simple Use Cameras

There are 4 kinds of Lomography Simple Use Cameras and each carry a different film stock. I’ve tried the Color Negative and the Lomography Purple.

My Review

It was my first time using Lomography’s film stock so I didn’t know what to expect when I was out taking pictures. However I found the Lomochrome Purple stock the most interesting to work with. I’ve never used a color film stock that has vibrant colors. The pink, red, and purple tones give off a psychedelic vibe. It’s a fun stock to use if you’re looking to try something completely different from other film stocks, but I wouldn’t use the Lomochrome Purple stock regularly for my everyday shoots. I would recommend the film stock itself if you want to experiment with colors.

As for the Color Negative camera, the photos had more grain than what I expected, but there’s a nice saturation that complements the tones. However, I found that the Color Negative has a better focus in the center of the images. Then the edges soften and defracts, making the rest of the image blurry. It’s best to shoot from a closer range of less than 3 feet to get a higher quality image.

Final Thoughts

Overall I would recommend trying out any of these cameras, especially if it’s your first time shooting with a film camera. The Lomography Simple Use Cameras are a great introduction to film photography where you don’t have to worry about any manual settings and you can just focus on taking pictures. It’s also an environmentally friendly camera since you can reload the camera instead of tossing it out like a single-use disposable camera. Have fun shooting!