Lomography Fisheye Baby 110 Camera
Railyard district, Santa Fe, NM
I’m a fan of fisheye lenses along with wide angles and panoramic cameras.
During a recent visit with my friend Matt Alexander, the owner of Picture Perfect film processing lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a Lomography partner, he picked up a small, toy-looking camera off his desk and told me I could borrow it for a while since he knew of my fisheye fascination.
The camera was a tiny, colorful Lomography Fisheye Baby 110.
Matt also gave me a roll (or maybe I should say, cassette) of limo color 110 film (ISO 200 color negative) and I was off and running.
Knowing that the small negatives and the inherent distortion of a fisheye lens, combined with a plastic lens, I realized, even before taking and developing the negatives, to temper my expectations of fine detail and low grain.
But with that in mind I also found it really fun to watch peoples’ reactions to the small (it fits in my shirt pocket) and toy-like look, when they found out it actually took photos.
A little tech info
• The lens covers about 170 degrees.
• The camera is capable of double (or more) exposures, so you need to make sure you advance the film. With that in mind, there were a couple of instances where even though I had advanced the film, there was some glitch and the shutter wouldn’t fire, so I needed to advance the film again, but in that case the film actually didn’t advance and when I took the photo it resulted in a double exposure.
• Lomography offers a pretty good variety of 110 films. They load by simply placing the film cassette under a plastic plate, holding the cassette in place. There is a film backing similar to that used with 110 film. If the paper backing isn’t tight against the film, you might encounter some slight light leaks on the edges of the frame, which you can see in a couple of my sample images. The leaks didn’t intrude into the circular image and didn’t bother me. A lot of folks who use Lomography products look forward to unexpected things such as light leaks.
• There are two exposure speeds: a 1/100 second exposure and a long exposure bulb function but no tripod socket, so if you are using the bulb exposure, you need to find some way of stabilizing the camera or enjoy the impressionistic images created by the motion of the camera.
• The camera also features a pc flash synch connection, which is usually found on older, film cameras. There is no hot shoe since the fisheye viewfinders sits where a hot shoe would normally be located, so you need to hold a flash in your hand or find some sort of flash bracket that would attach to the camera. My friend Matt had such a combo and it enabled him to use a pc sync cord with the Lomo Baby, but it took the camera from a fits-in-the-shirt-pocket camera to one much larger and one less playful looking, although admittedly the flash attached to the Lomo Baby certainly had a unique look to it.
• The small size of the camera limits to how it can be held. With a larger camera you can cradle the camera in your hands to reduce camera shake. I found I had to hold the camera with just my fingers and I was always afraid of moving it when I pushed the shutter release.
Some final thoughts
If I was heading out for a shoot knowing I wanted some sharp, higher resolution fisheye pics, this wouldn’t be my choice, I’d go with the Sunex 6.5mm or Meike 6.5mm fisheyes (you can see my discussion of fisheyes here).
But the Lomo Baby is really fun to play around with. It creates images that have a more experimental look to them, and if you are into surprises; flare and occasional light leaks will offer you some of those.
Over the years I’ve done a lot of darkroom work but currently have developing and printing done by Picture Perfect. I usually do my own scans of transparencies and negatives, but for the Baby Fisheye negatives used here Matt did some scans for me.
The Lomography Fisheye Baby 110 is a fun little camera to play around with. Even if you’re lugging a lot of equipment around with you, this will not add much to your load.
I can easily see it used for some creative portraits, landscapes and some alt fashion shoots.
And if you are interested in purchasing one, they cost around $35.00, which seems pretty reasonable for the fun they’ll provide. You can order the camera and 110 film from Picture Perfect and also get the film developed, scanned and printed.
A few samples images from my first roll below
During a recent visit with my friend Matt Alexander, the owner of Picture Perfect film processing lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a Lomography partner, he picked up a small, toy-looking camera off his desk and told me I could borrow it for a while since he knew of my fisheye fascination.
The camera was a tiny, colorful Lomography Fisheye Baby 110.
Matt also gave me a roll (or maybe I should say, cassette) of limo color 110 film (ISO 200 color negative) and I was off and running.
Knowing that the small negatives and the inherent distortion of a fisheye lens, combined with a plastic lens, I realized, even before taking and developing the negatives, to temper my expectations of fine detail and low grain.
But with that in mind I also found it really fun to watch peoples’ reactions to the small (it fits in my shirt pocket) and toy-like look, when they found out it actually took photos.
A little tech info
• The lens covers about 170 degrees.
• The camera is capable of double (or more) exposures, so you need to make sure you advance the film. With that in mind, there were a couple of instances where even though I had advanced the film, there was some glitch and the shutter wouldn’t fire, so I needed to advance the film again, but in that case the film actually didn’t advance and when I took the photo it resulted in a double exposure.
• Lomography offers a pretty good variety of 110 films. They load by simply placing the film cassette under a plastic plate, holding the cassette in place. There is a film backing similar to that used with 110 film. If the paper backing isn’t tight against the film, you might encounter some slight light leaks on the edges of the frame, which you can see in a couple of my sample images. The leaks didn’t intrude into the circular image and didn’t bother me. A lot of folks who use Lomography products look forward to unexpected things such as light leaks.
• There are two exposure speeds: a 1/100 second exposure and a long exposure bulb function but no tripod socket, so if you are using the bulb exposure, you need to find some way of stabilizing the camera or enjoy the impressionistic images created by the motion of the camera.
• The camera also features a pc flash synch connection, which is usually found on older, film cameras. There is no hot shoe since the fisheye viewfinders sits where a hot shoe would normally be located, so you need to hold a flash in your hand or find some sort of flash bracket that would attach to the camera. My friend Matt had such a combo and it enabled him to use a pc sync cord with the Lomo Baby, but it took the camera from a fits-in-the-shirt-pocket camera to one much larger and one less playful looking, although admittedly the flash attached to the Lomo Baby certainly had a unique look to it.
• The small size of the camera limits to how it can be held. With a larger camera you can cradle the camera in your hands to reduce camera shake. I found I had to hold the camera with just my fingers and I was always afraid of moving it when I pushed the shutter release.
Some final thoughts
If I was heading out for a shoot knowing I wanted some sharp, higher resolution fisheye pics, this wouldn’t be my choice, I’d go with the Sunex 6.5mm or Meike 6.5mm fisheyes (you can see my discussion of fisheyes here).
But the Lomo Baby is really fun to play around with. It creates images that have a more experimental look to them, and if you are into surprises; flare and occasional light leaks will offer you some of those.
Over the years I’ve done a lot of darkroom work but currently have developing and printing done by Picture Perfect. I usually do my own scans of transparencies and negatives, but for the Baby Fisheye negatives used here Matt did some scans for me.
The Lomography Fisheye Baby 110 is a fun little camera to play around with. Even if you’re lugging a lot of equipment around with you, this will not add much to your load.
I can easily see it used for some creative portraits, landscapes and some alt fashion shoots.
And if you are interested in purchasing one, they cost around $35.00, which seems pretty reasonable for the fun they’ll provide. You can order the camera and 110 film from Picture Perfect and also get the film developed, scanned and printed.
A few samples images from my first roll below
A mural on the Warehouse 21 building in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with an Anti-ICE message
The double exposure mentioned in the article
Backlit tree in the Devargas Mall parking lot, Santa Fe, NM
Descansos (roadside crosses) on Highway 84 north of Espanola, NM
To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email [email protected]
or use the contact form on the About page
or use the contact form on the About page