Wednesday, August 03, 2011

more mods

I spent some time this morning trolling the web for details of the history of simple cameras. I did turn up some interesting bits about that, but I also happened on some amazing stuff about modifying a couple of my favorite Vivitar plastic cameras, the Ultra Wide and Slim and the PN2011.

 

The articles by the acclaimed technical writer, Nano_Burger, are on the Instructables.com site. If you click on the above photos you will be magically transported to the associated articles.

I have to admit, while admiring the level of craftsmanship displayed by Nano_Burger, it is pretty unlikely that I will actually choose to hack my Vivitars. The truth is that I'm a pretty clumsy craftsman, and I fear I would damage my beloved but flimsy plastic cameras. I also tend to enjoy working with the challenge of simplicity which the plastic cameras provide.

Some of my favorites from the VUWS are contained in a Flickr-based slideshow:

4 comments:

Norman Montifar said...

I should use my Ultra Wide and Slim again. The problem with too many cameras in the collection is that often a few of them gets stuck in the shelve or closet.

Mike said...

My feelings exactly. The VUWS always performs beyond expectations.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike, I recently grabbed a Vivitar T 201 at a Value Village and love it! Here's some samples.

http://www.ecstatic-photography.com/p/film-lomography.html

Simon

Mike said...

Your T201 examples look pretty nice. I see it appears to have a 28mm lens. I wonder if it is a two-element like the PN2011 and the VUWS.