Lomography Diana Mini & Flash Camera - Black/Blue

As we opened this camera, we found a warranty slip that says ''Warranty is only valid in Japan.'' Which means we do not get the warranty from lomography. It would of been nice if they told me before hand although they said if the camera is faulty in 6 months they would give us a new one.

*Update*
Just tested the camera and found out that the Bulb-shutter mode does not work. shutter does not open as long as I hold(same as N-shutter mode).
Have to contact seller and organise a replacement.

I love my Diana Mini, she is adorable, and i always get lots of compliments when i take her out! The film does last forever, when its in half frame mode and some times i feel a little impatient, but it's extra exciting when i eventually go to get it developed and there's all sorts on it.

One draw back is that there isn't lots of accesories available to buy for it, like there is for the larger Diana, but then the accesories are all really expensive anyway, so i'm not sure i'd buy them if they were available. I've had some fun inventing and making my own accessories instead.

I also have had lots of fun with Diana Mini's multi-exposure capability.

I have found the Lomography company to be very kind and helpful, as i recently lost my lens cap and was devestated, but i contacted the Lomography website and they sent me a new one for free! even though it's my own fault for losing it! I will have to try and look after this one.

I recently brought this camera after seeing them for sale in Urban Outfitters. I came back home and did a little research before deciding which one to purchase. I eventually settled on the Diana Mini with flash, and much as i do really enjoy using her, and think she is the cutest little thing, there are some things that i wish i had taken in to account prior to purchasing...

For example, a lot of the images that i saw when researching had a lot of light leaks and distort colours on them. From what i have seen since researching this further, i am pretty confident that these were taken on the full size diana. The colour distortions and leaks are achieved by pulling the films, or cross processing (developing a C11 films in 35mm chemicals) .. It is not possible to cross process 35mm films (which is what the mini takes). In addition, the mini does not allow light leaks in the way that Diana does, therefore making it pretty difficult to achieve those kind of effects!

The accessories for the mini are ridiculously expensive - i was looking at purchasing the leather case from the Lomography website, but was shocked to see that it was going to cost me more than the camera did! I did a lot of searching online, and didnt find anything suitable, so unfortunately, it has just been slung in my camera bags with the others.

The flash comes with a packet of different colour filters that you can slip behind the bulb on the flash. It would be great if there was some way to attach them to the camera or something, as i live in fear that they will get lost.

The final thing is that my diana doesnt seem to like Kodak film.. she is fine with all others that i have tried (including some expired ones from ebay) but for some reason, it will wind on so far, and then get jammed, causing the sprockets to tear.

Aside from all this, the diana mini is a beautiful, quirky little camera, who will give you many hours of joy. The strange design make her irresistible to toddlers. I have managed to take so many snaps of my niece that would have taken forever to achieve with a digital camera. I guess the other great thing is that it takes the picture instantly - no messing around waiting for zoom to focus, etc. I've had a lot of fun playing around with the dog and motion shots!

But, far and away, my absolute favourite thing about the Mini is the pure childlike excitement of waiting for the prints to come back from the developers! After researching online, i found a company that do cheap mailorder development, and put the images on to cd at no extra cost. However, it is maybe a 3 day turn around, which leads to the excited drive home from work to see if the postie has been, followed by the pure joy of flicking through the just developed images! Priceless!!

This is just my opinion on the Diana Mini - i know there are a lot of people out there that are massive fans, and then those that would rather download an app for their phone!!