Dreamy Diana


As you may know, I bought a Diana F+ a while ago. I had the chance to use it at my sister's 21st, but when I went to get the roll of film developed and put on a disc, the people at the camera place totally stuffed it up and ended up bleaching the film and totally destroying it. I know that's a risk you take with film, and I'm not even sure if the photos I took would be any good, but it was still heartbreaking! I actually was so upset (both with the film incident and with the awful way the people dealt with it) I wrote a rather angry letter to the camera place, which is as yet unanswered! Grr!

Anyway, I'm a bit hesitant to use film again, but I bought a SLR adapter and a Diana wide focus lens to use with my Canon. I gave it a try this morning and I was quite pleased with the result!










So would I recommend this lens? Hmm. I do love the photos, but I found the lens would be better for either portrait shots or wide angle photos, rather than just everyday use. I had to stand quite far back from the subject of the photos, because then lens made everything an EXTREME CLOSE UP. I imagine that it would be great for taking photos while travelling, though - imagine a scenery shot with that Diana effect! I do love the dreamy, soft focus effect, but I think I might try using the normal Diana lens with my SLR next time (or, you know, just my Diana, when I get over my 'film' jitters!).

If you're interested in trying it out, I used a Diana F+ lens adapter for Canons, and a Diana+ 110m soft focus lens.

What do you think? Do you use a Diana (or any other film camera)? Got any tips on where to get it developed in Perth? Please don't say Crystal Pictures in Morley :(

x
QuickEdit
Tara
13 Comments

13 comments:

  1. For any film developing, Churchill Labs in Leederville. Very professional, but not cheap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks grandma! Yes, other readers, please meet my grandma! :D x

      Delete
  2. Love this post, Tara! I use my Diana Mini all the time & then a medium format Holga too sometimes. I really like your photos, they've turned out very sweet. No idea on where to get them printed in Perth, but over here in London I've found that going to expensive, professional printers is a no-no because they like to mess around with the prints a bit! But when I go to cheap, generic places (maybe the equivalent is like Big W or Harvey Norman?) they always do a good job. It suits the style of photography - flawed! (though bleached prints is perhaps a little too far...) Hope that helps just a little xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I thought that Big W or Camera House was the way to go... I think I was just unlucky with this place! After seeing these photos I really am quite excited to use my Diana again. Thanks for your help lovely! xx

      Delete
  3. Oh wow, I LOVE these photos x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I was pretty pleasantly surprised with how they turned out, especially after it took me about an hour to figure out how to put the lens on my SLR, haha x

      Delete
  4. This is great to see. I was curious about this since I read about it recently, but I'm happy to hear your thoughts on it.
    By the way, terribly sad to hear about the film. What an awful feeling! =(

    xo,
    nancy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Nancy! Yep, so many customers at work have been buying lenses & all kinds of fancy attachments recently so I thought I'd give it a go! And thanks for your sympathy about the film... You're a lot more sympathetic than the camera people were! xx

      Delete
  5. hey there
    I have been following your blog for a while but have been to shy to say hello, but I am a fellow Perth girl and I thought it is time I finally introduce myself!
    I love this post, I am having a particularly bad day today and having pretty things to look at has made it a little better, so thank you!
    Love Enid T x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad it helped! Hope you are feeling better soon. It's always so lovely to meet other Perth bloggers :) x

      Delete
  6. Wow these pictures are so great. They're the perfect amount of out of focus to make your vision feel tipsy but not drunk :) I wonder whether it would work well in video mode?

    I get my photos developed at this place on Cambridge Street in Wembley opposite the Cambridge Hotel - the owners are super nice and it's the cheapest place I've found.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha tipsy but not drunk, I love that! I will have to try it in video mode & let you know :) and I will have to make a trek down to Wembley now, cheap + nice people is my fave combo! x

      Delete
  7. These photos are totally dreamy! I love the focus. I've always wondered how the Diana lens would go on a DSLR with those attachments. My boyfriend would probably kill me if I tried it out though, he's very anti-"toy camera". That sucks about your film though!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment! x

I'm a freelance writer who blogs about Perth (my old home), Paris (my new home), fashion, food, and everything else that takes my fancy. Have a look around and enjoy!