$100 toy?

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pcfranchina

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Ok fine I have a bit of GAS. I am thinking of getting a P&S or a modern Polaroid. Any ideas? I am hoping for something quick and easy. I was thinking of a LOMO but figured I would have more fun with a Polaroid, which can get expensive.... Any ideas on something cheap and fun. Figured it would be fun to take some weird artistic shots of my newborn. Setting my limit to $100. Would a stylus epic be too boring?

Any assitance would be appreciated?
 
my 2 cents

my 2 cents

olympus stylus epic... still floating about new in a few photo stores for about $100. TOTALLY shirt pocketable and quite capable machines. i'd second the t4/t5 recommendation but they're a little more $
 
How about a Holga? Or a cheap TLR (Lubitel, Seagull, etc.)? Not really P&S cameras though. Just toy cameras, sorta. If you want to go 35mm...maybe a Smena 8M. An Argus A or Argus AF or a Argus C3 would be a really neat and nostalgic toy. A Canon Demi half-frame camera might be neat. Polaroid SX-70 would be neat.
 
i got a older polaroid camera on ebay for like 12 bucks...
worked perfectly came in original bag and everything...
 
pesphoto said:
Olympus Xa...all the way...
Click to expand...

Absolutely. The XA is what got me off digital and back to film. It's that fun. And, it actually has a real lens and takes great photos.

Of course, if you really want that lomo look, you can always just take your XA photos and crank the saturation and contrast in photoshop. :D
 
I've got a half-frame FSU Chaika.II (like Clintock's avatar?) on the way. Planning on trying some P&S Holga-type shooting with it. Of course, it's coming from Siberia, soooo -- maybe by Spring thaw....? :( I've no experience with 'em, can't vouch for their reliability, etc. and I've seen only a few pics taken by one. But they don't cost squat and at 70 shots a roll, one can do aLOT of pointin' n' shootin' !!
 
Why don't you get two secondhand Stylus Epics? Put some Superia 400 in one and BW 100 film in the other. Add a mini tripod and the tiny remote control and you'll have everything you need in your coat pockets.
 
The Lomo look is obtained mostly through cross-processing. That is a factor of film development and not camera choice.
 
I'd say go with a lubitel 2. I got a really good copy and it's so much fun. You can even synch it to a flash!
 
Been into cameras for 6 years, bought a Chaika II three years ago to satisfy my curiosity about manual exposure, scale focusing and half-frames. $9! Like many here, after years of auto focus, auto exposure, etc, I thought if people took photos for a hundred years without these aids, so can I. I learned to estimate exposures outdoors (Sunny-16). I keep a laminated exposure guide in my wallet for indoor shooting. Although I now have learned how to use flash guide numbers (Easy!) And from this site I just found, tested and am preparing to use a interoccular rangefinder guide-scale to use my own two eyes as a rangefinder! Perhaps I can print a card with the exposure guide on one side, and the focusing guide on the other.

At first I had my loal 1-hour lab print as is (two prints per 4x6) Now I just get the film, scan, photoshop and print. Thanks in part to RFForum, I've learned to develop my own B/W Film.

The Chaika II takes pretty decent photos for what it is. The bottom line is fun! Sure a full-auto digital pocket-wonder is easier and more reliable, but my Chaika II is more fun, more rewarding and stimulates my brain!

-Bob G
 
$100 pawn shop prize

$100 pawn shop prize

I recommend a Yashica Lynx 14.

Big and heavy;built like a Abrams tank. Dazzingly sharp 45mm F;1.4 lens.

I load it with 800iso film and take it to plays,concerts,jazz clubs,etc.

BIG FUN!:D

Yours colloidially,

Mikey GaGa
 
I'm in the same boat. I've also been wanting a half frame, so I thought I'd hit two birds with one stone. Leaning towards an FSU half-frame, I still haven't fully decided between a Chaika II and an Agat 18. Sample pics around the web are so varied, I couldn't form an opinion on either. With your budget, you can get both!:D
 
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I have both the agat 18 and obviously the chaika II. The chaika I got was pretty beat and bent so by far it's best use so far has been a teaching aid for my son. It's his camera now. Despite being dropped often, and bumping around in the bottom of toy bins, it still works! I never tried film in it.
The Agat 18 is total fun- the exposure icons are quite useful, and the little thing really works. Hmm
The catch is that fun old cameras often need repair or battery mods etc, but newer cameras tend to be auto-everything zoom with sadly slow lenses..
The XA2 is a great alternative to the way way over rated and over valued lomo lca..
Xa2 and 3 are new enough to not leak light and use normal batteries, but old enough to be cheap. Like the lomo, the xa2 will stay open and try to get the shot even if it's too dark, making the blendy camera movement thing happen.
The minox 35 cameras will do that too- 100 dollars will get a good working minox..
On most minox and the xa3 there is a 2x exposure value button for backlit situations.
That and manual focus are about it for control, save for lying to the iso dial.

I think on the stylus epic there is very little control except for flash modes- I bought one for my mom and she promplty lost it. The finder on the epic is the weak link- the xa2 finder is huge and wonderfully bright, the minox is not too bad...
 
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