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THE TECHLomography La Sardina • Price: $65 for camera alone, $115 for

camera kit with accessory flash and coloured filters. Choice of ‘sardine can’ labelling themes.

• Type: 35mm compact film camera• Lens: 22mm f8.0 collapsible• Focus: Fixed, 60cm to infinity• Aperture range: f8.0 only• Shutter speeds: 1/100 second and ‘B’• Metering: None built-in• Image sizes: 24 x 36mm• Film transport: Manual via advance

knob• Features: Multiple exposure facility,

cable release socket, film ID window, tripod socket, flash contacts for dedicated flash unit

• Dimensions (whd): 115 x 80 x 60mm with lens extended

• Weight: 160g (without film or lens cap)• Power: No batteries required• Contact: Lomography Australia, • Tel: 02 9967 5955

Web: www.lomography.com.au

SHooTINg FISH

When we first received the press release about the Lomography Society’s latest wacky camera-making

venture, we had visions of real sardine cans being recycled into basic snappers. They’d probably smell a bit fishy, but you’d get a slim alloy bodyshell with nicely rounded corners and a ring-pull film back. Neat!

Perhaps this is indeed how the idea for the 35mm format La Sardina was born, but there’d be quite a few problems to overcome… starting with how to uncurl the peel-off lid to make a light-tight chamber. Consequently, the La Sardina’s body looks like a sardine can and is pretty similar in

Pull to startBoth the flash unit and the camera are manufactured in China and look very well made indeed. They’re both predominantly plastic, but pretty heavy-duty ,with all the key fixings being via small chromed screws. All the controls look pretty durable too, including the film transport knobs — reassuring, because they’re going to get quite a bit of usage. In keeping with the can theme, the camera back detaches completely and film loading simply involves inserting the cassette, securing it by pushing the rewind knob back in and then threading the leader onto the take-up spool. There’s an ID window set into the back and an auto-resetting frame counter.

The shutter and frame advance interlock, but recocking can be done independently to

dimensions, but you’ll be glad to know it’s purpose-built and hasn’t been scavenged from a rubbish tip.

Why use a sardine can as inspiration? Well, the answer may lie in the vast variety of brands and label art that’s available around the world, which is right up the Lomography Society’s alley. Checked out how many variations in colour schemes there are for the Diana, Diana Mini and Holga recently? In Lomo-speak they’re called “clones” and the plan for La Sardina is to have lots of them, which instantly makes them collectible as well as increasing the appeal. To kick off there are four options called ‘Marathon’, ‘Sea Pride’, ‘El Capitán’ and ‘Fischer’s Fritze’.

The second pair of these four come in a kit with a dedicated flash unit which screws into the side of the camera and syncs via a pair of pins. The flash — called Fritz The Blitz — has the same colour scheme as the camera and, says the Lomo Society, is the most powerful accessory unit it has ever offered. It’s powered by a single CR123-type lithium battery and has three power settings (full, half and one-eighth) plus it’s supplied with a set of coloured clip-on filters (blue, yellow and pink) and a white diffuser panel.

Ten rules forLomography is a community, as well as a shop and a magazine. The Lomography International Society offers 10 rules that define its fun-first philosophy:

• Takeyourcameraeverywhereyougo

• Useitanytime—dayandnight• Lomographyisnotan

interferenceinyourlife,butpartofit

• Trytheshotfromthehip• Approachtheobjectsofyour

Lomographicdesireascloseaspossible

• Don'tthink(WilliamFirebrace)• Befast• Youdon'thavetoknow

beforehandwhatyoucapturedonfilm

• Afterwardseither• Don'tworryaboutanyrules

A camera that looks like a sardine can? It’s an idea that only one company would possibly consider. Paul Burrows applies his best fish eyes to the latest wonder from Lomography.

allow for multiple exposures. The switch for this is really the only control on the La Sardina, and has two other settings marked ‘N’ and ‘B’ which select the shutter speeds… well, one speed (1/100 second) and ‘bulb’ for longer exposures using the cable release socket.

La Sardina very much follows Lomography’s keep-it-very-simple philosophy, so the lens has a single aperture of f8.0 and exposure ‘control’ is down to using different speed films or relying on the latitude of colour negative stocks. This is also where having the flash is handy, so it’s probably well worth the extra investment of $50, especially as its output is adjustable. The Can CanThe lens has a focal length of 22mm so it’s an ultra-wide, with an angle-of-view of 88 degrees. It’s collapsible in design, so the camera can be made a bit slimmer for carrying around.

On the extended section of barrel is marked the advice ‘Only shoot if you can

Price, Lots of fishy fun, Surprisingly good results

At this price, what’s to complain about?

Lomography La Sardina $65-$115

see me!’, but this may be of limited value because if you can’t see it, you’re not going to know, are you?

The front section of the lens adjusts the focus and there are two settings, one for close-ups (60cm to a metre) and one for the rest (one metre and beyond). The optical viewfinder provides an idea of framing, but that’s it, although with such a short focal length framing isn’t really all that difficult, and there’s also a lot of depth-of-field to play with in terms of the focus.

As with any simple single-setting camera, La Sardina is at its happiest working within a prescribed set of conditions as far as the lighting and the subject distance is concerned, but the whole Lomo thing is about ‘suck it and see’, so you probably shouldn’t worry too much about anything except making sure the lens is properly extended and locked in place (otherwise the film gate will be at an angle). The plastic lens is actually reasonably sharp, with only a small amount of fall-off towards the corners, and it doesn’t vignette nearly as much as the lenses on the Dianas or the Lomographers’ original LC-A... which you may see as a plus or a minus depending on how much you want to cast precision to the four winds. One thing we found out by accident is that the metal ring surrounding the lens is

magnetised, presumably in preparation for accepting easy-fit accessories.

Verdict One thing is certain, your La Sardina will be a talking point wherever

you take it, especially the bright red-and-yellow ‘El Capitán’ which was our test sample. It really does look like a converted sardine can, so be prepared to deal with curious onlookers — perhaps a great opening for grabbing some portraits. Of course, as with all things Lomo, you aren’t meant to take it too seriously and the whole objective is to have some fun with carefree snapping. But as it happens, La Sardina is actually quite a good little camera given the lens’s wide angle-of-view and the fact that f8 at 1/100 second works pretty well with ISO 100 speed in bright conditions, and ISO 400 when it’s cloudy or dull. Our only gripe is that there isn’t any way of attaching a strap (even a bit of fishing line), but no doubt there’ll be a solution somewhere down the track. Perhaps a nice big ring-pull would work. Paul Burrows

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