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Diana Cameras
21st November 2008
The Diana camera is a simple, low-quality plastic-bodied box camera. The Diana takes sixteen 4 × 4 cm pictures on 120 film, leaving a large part of the film surface unused. Though often referred to as a toy camera, the term is somewhat misleading, as the Diana is fully capable of taking actual photographs. The term “toy camera” is often used to denote a very simple camera, and includes various basic vintage cameras as well. It is widely considered as an ideological predecessor of the 1980s Holga. Dianas are said to have a 50 % chance of light leaks & other photographic “problems,” which give such “flawed” photos made by the camera an individualistic character.
The Diana was first produced during the early 1960s in Kowloon, Hong Kong, by the “Great Wall Plastic Factory”, and was sold under various labels (often just a different stick-on nametag). Most were given away as novelties or prizes at fairs, carnivals, or other public events. In addition to the ‘Diana’ labelled cameras, there are over fifty similar variants of the basic design, some of which may have been produced by other factories and/or manufacturers. Some variants incorporate a 6 × 6 cm negative size (like the Diana Deluxe), while others have provision for different controls or separate bulb flashes. The 3 aperture version of the classic Diana/Diana clone has apertures of f11 f13 & f19, and it takes 32 mm clip on filters. Shutter speed is usually 1/100th (for a crisp one) to 1/50th (for a slower one). The Diana Deluxe- f9 f16 & f22, and it takes a 46-49 mm step-up ring.

















