The Simple Plastic Camera

 Over the course of a couple of decades of photography, I’ve often extolled the virtues of simple plastic cameras, and with two issues of Monochrome Mania that dealt with medium-format and 35mm simple cameras, I guess I have promoted them as much as anyone can. That doesn’t mean that they are the best cameras, by any stretch of the imagination. But what they do well, is to offer a different image than something from a much better set of optics that are found in your "real cameras."  I’ll never forgo using my Nikons or Spotmatics, Leica M2, or my Yashicamat, Pentax 6x7, etc. in favor of a simple plastic camera. However, that does not mean that I won’t carry one in a camera bag along with the pro gear. Michael Kenna, a fantastic photographer that has mostly used Hasselblads, published a wonderful book of Holga-based photographs which I wrote about several years ago.  It’s often dependent on a situation where one can use a simple plastic camera (toy camera, crappy camera, etc.) in a way that complements your other cameras. In fact, there have been times when a Holga image from my travels captured a place and time far better than any more complex camera could have. Part of that is knowing the best situation for simple cameras, and knowing that the exposure falls within the capabilities of the camera. 

In the past few years, we have been inundated with new plastic 35mm cameras that are reusable, and generally have the same specifications - a 35 mm focal length lens with an aperture of f/8 or f/11, and a single shutter speed of about 1/100 sec.  All have a flash, and that’s pretty much it for control.  We all know that those small acrylic lenses are actually pretty good, because the single-use cameras have been using them for years. I’m not saying they are better than my 35mm f/2 Nikkor, which they are not.  But they have a specific character that I find endearing - sharp at the center, but no so much at the edges.  These cameras also weigh nearly nothing and are compact.  So, adding one of them into your camera bag or jacket pocket isn’t a big deal. 

I recently finished up a roll of film in my Dubble SHOW camera.  It had been bouncing around from bag to bag for over a year, and it had a roll of Fujifilm Superia 200 loaded the whole time.  It’s obvious that I didn’t shoot with it a lot, but when I had the film developed I was surprised at how long it had been loaded with the same roll of film. I had shot the last half of the roll when I was in downtown Asheville, and had already shot the film that was in my Leica M2 and Spotmatic, and rather than reload them, I just shot with the Dubble camera on my way back to my car.  I’d forgotten even what film stock was in it.  I was quite pleased to see the negatives, and the Superia 200 has a very good latitude of exposure.  What pleased me the most though, was that the scanned images had saturated tones and just enough loss of detail, that they demonstrated that sharpness does not matter nearly as much as composition and subject matter.

It’s certainly possible that one could use one of these little plastic cameras for a lot pf photographic projects and come away with some memorable images. Yeah, I know it’s not the camera, but the photographer, but if you work within the parameters of the camera’s best scenario of exposure, you will come away with better images.  A lot of people trying film for the first time will pick one of these simple cameras and then wonder why their photos look like crap.  Most of the time, it’s because they don’t understand exposure or understand light.  These cameras will do fine if in perfect (for them) conditions, and loaded with any film of ISO 200-400.  After all, they are basically nothing more than 35mm box cameras.

But whoa, if these cameras are just cheap little plastic box cameras, why am I recommending one?  As I said in the beginning, put one in your bag with your better gear.  You may find that perfect moment when using one makes sense.  It’s not about the megapixels, it’s not about perfect sharpness and great detail - it’s about emotion, sense of place, and the unsharpness of memory. I’ve used toy cameras for 20+ years, and whether it’s a 35mm Holga, a Vivitar T101, a Reto Ultrawide and Slim, or the latest Kodak/Harman/Ansco/Reto /Dubble 35mm camera, you’ll find that having one (or even two)  in your camera bag will afford you the opportunity to exercise some creativity and even freedom to try something different. If you are curious about what 35mm simple plastic cameras are available, get a copy of Monochrome Mania Number 7 - The Magic and Allure of Toy Cameras, Vol. 2 - 35mm. It’s a steal at $10.

Someone’s going to ask - "How do I know what are the right conditions?"  Learn about exposure as it relates to ISO - film sensitivity to light, aperture, and shutter speed.  If your plastic camera is the Harman simple use camera or the Dubblefilm SHOW - it has a 32mm f/8 lens with a 1/100 sec shutter speed. On a day in full sun with ISO 100 film, it will slightly overexpose the film (should be f/11 or f/16) with that combination.  Overexposing a bit is not a problem with b&w and color negative films.  On on cloudy bright day, it should still be good.  Not so good in shade or overcast conditions, though.  Under overcast conditions, ISO 400 film would be a better choice.  Indoors, you’d need to use the built-in flash for subjects no farther than 12 feet away.   The specifications for the other cameras introduced in the past few years are going to be similar.  In most cases, if you use a 200 ISO black and white or color film, you will be pleased with the results with outdoor photographs on sunny to partly cloudy days.  

I highly recommend David Mihaly’s "The Old Camera Guy" YouTube videos where he uses simple plastic cameras.  They’ll give you a good idea of the type of results you can expect.  Unless your camera has a Bulb mode for long exposures, stay away from any film that has an ISO lower than 100. ISO 200 film is the sweet spot for most of these cameras.

Photography should be fun, and while one should be attentive to the proper techniques for the best results, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to take a chance and let that imprecise 35mm plastic camera do its magic.