The Diana camera is a plastic-bodied toy camera that originally used 120 roll film. Contemporary variants use 35mm film or 110 format, and digital versions are also available. The camera has a simple, plastic meniscus lens. In contemporary times, the Diana has been revived and marketed by Lomography as a tool for producing soft-focus, impressionistic photographs reminiscent of early 20th-century Pictorialist art photography.[1]
Like other low-cost cameras, the Diana faces limitations such as light leaks and film advance issues. Some of these qualities are used for artistic effect, often to produce a slightly blurred composition that can provide a 'dreamlike' or impressionistic quality.[2]
History
The Great Wall Plastic Factory of Kowloon, Hong Kong, began manufacturing the Diana in the early 1960s, with the majority of production exported to the United States and the United Kingdom.[3][4][5] 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, it was also advertised for sale by mail order in various periodicals.
Demand for the Diana fell with the development of higher quality, yet still inexpensive, consumer cameras such as the KodakInstamatic, which coincided with the decline in popularity of roll film.
The original Diana (120mm format) ceased production by the late 1970s.[citation needed] Manufacturers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China continued to produce structurally similar 35mm box cameras for promotional markets through the 1980s and beyond.[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.
A photograph (Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico) taken with a Diana camera. Seen here are the typical vignetting and blurring effects that are characteristics of a Diana image.
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.[citation needed]
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 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.[citation needed]
The plastic meniscus may cause a low contrast resolution, atypical 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.[citation needed]
Variants
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 46mm–49mm step-up ring, which is unusual for a low-end camera.[citation needed]
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 images with strong vignetting and distinctive low-fidelity effects typical of toy cameras.[citation needed]
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]
Photographers and art schools
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 incorporated the Diana into its photography curriculum beginning in 1967–1968, emphasizing artistic vision over technical camera capabilities. Later, other schools picked up the idea, including Ohio University in Athens County, 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]
↑Hirsch, Robert, Photographic Possibilities: The Expressive Use of Equipment, Ideas, Materials, and Processes, Oxford, UK:Elsevier Press (2009), ISBN978-0-240-81013-3, p.171
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