Diana F+ Dreamer Camera Review and Images

Last updated on 2 May 2021

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Want to get into Lomography? The Diana F+ Dreamer camera might be the one for you!

It’s safe to say that I’ve wanted a Lomography camera for a long while now. Ever since I discovered they excited, I’ve been hooked by the idea! The Diana F+ Dreamer Lomography camera jumped out at me from the shelf when I was in Bristol. Jumped off the shelf, through the checkout and into my life. And I am stoked.

What is Lomography?

Lomography is a type of photography that involves taking almost random photos with not a lot of attention to the technical side of photography. The effect is more ‘vintage’ than your average photo and typically uses a toy camera like the Diana F+ Dreamer. Many apps use a ‘lomo’ effect, and if you think about the early days of Instagram, that’s sort of the style we’re going for.

Why is Lomography popular?

Well, it’s fun, for starters. Lomography photography hit a peak in about 2011, which is why you can now find a plethora of Lomography cameras on the market.

It’s a fun, old-school-esque way to capture moments when you don’t want to be clinging to your smartphone all the time. It also gives you more of a hands-on approach to photography, as Lomography images are captured on film, rather than digitally, which means you need to send your film off to get printed.

How does Lomography work?

Yeah I got nothing.

The Diana F+ Dreamer

If you aren’t familiar with Diana cameras, they began in the 1960s in Hong Kong. They were discontinued in the 1970s and saw a rise in popularity around 2011.

They are a really simple, fun, lightweight camera (made of nearly all plastic) that take Lomography photographs. The Diana camera takes 120mm film, coloured or black and white, and you can take pin-hole shots, double exposure shots, panoramic shots, as well as regular photographs.

As I mentioned before, the images you take are very reminiscent of the original Instagram look.

You can take small squares (4.2×4.2cm) or slightly larger ones (5.2×5.2cm), and although you can only take 12 or 16 (depending on the setting) photos on one film, it gives you a reason to either think about the composition of your photo or simply take photos of whatever and be surprised whey they come back from the developer.

My experience of The Diana F+ Dreamer

I took my Diana camera on trips to Scotland, Paris, and Hong Kong, and I loved capturing some of my time in these places. It was a few weeks after each trip that I managed to send the images off to the developer, get the back and finally see what I had taken. It was a joy being able to re-live those memories, and that’s one of the great things about film photography, especially in an age where everything is instant.

Some of the photos were what I imagined them being when I took them, and others … others were not.

Here are a few snaps from the Scotland trip.

The Diana F+ Dreamer book

When I bought my Diana F+ Dreamer, it came with a book that outlined some of the history behind the camera, as well as images and tidbits of knowledge from Lomography experts.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

“Dive into the Details.

The Diana loves the little things.

It loves breakfast, your dog, your boyfriend or girlfriend, that crazy hat in the window, the unbelievable morning traffic, those gummed-up salt shakers, a blazing afternoon sun, your nose when it’s all close-up and blurry, the shoes that you didn’t buy, and your hamburger-champion uncle.

It’s light-weight plastic body feels good next to yours, and it doesn’t bog you down with a lot of weight. Diana’s true soul is that of a lithe, athletic huntress. With a stealthy gait, she quietly stalks her prey and waits for the precise moment to strike. She’s happy with big game of small game, so its doesn’t matter if you shoot a dramatic life-changing event of a nonsensical, pants-free dance around the room.” p.12-13

If that doesn’t get you excited about starting to use it, I don’t know what will.

“The real spice of life is waiting right there for you to capture it, and it’s passing you by every second…” p.13

What do you think of the Diana F+ Dreamer Lomography camera? Gonna give it a go?

 

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Disclaimer: This review was not sponsored. It’s simply a reflection of The Diana F+ Dreamer and my thoughts about it.