CampSnap Pro has a 37mm threaded mount around its lens which lets you attach filters for a unique look. Typically, I just want whatever comes out of the camera (I’m not really into tweaking my pics after the fact with Photoshop) so attaching physical filters and choosing between vintage and black and white digital filters on the camera itself is right up my alley.
I picked up a CampSnap on a whim and thought it would be a cool toy, but it quickly became part of my everyday bag. It’s fun. You shoot without worrying about perfection. Like film, you get to be pleasantly surprised later when you review the pics at home. You live in suspense until then, wondering if you got the shot.
The filters are fun, too. Some of them even look sorta halfway like the film photos I remember from my childhood.
I can’t believe how good these turned out. Of all the film + camera combos I shot this summer, Kodak Tri-X in the Ektar half frame are my favorite.
Is black and white just magic or something? I put b/w through my Canon AT-1 and didn’t get anything like this (granted, the film was expired…) but seriously, whatever this camera + film combo is doing, it’s working for me. Ordinary moments became bold and dramatic!
Old camera, new film stock.
My black and white test roll was a success so it was time to feed the AT-1 some color film. I popped in another one of my Portra 160s and explored the 800 sq ft radius around my home in search of subjects.
A roll of Portra 160 didn’t last long in my Canon AT-1.
Continuing my mission of feeding my Kodak Ektar H35 with a varied diet of film stocks, I put a roll of Portra 160 through it this summer because I have a 5-pack of Portra 160 and was feeling like I could handle the risk of them all being duds.
The results are far better than that, though. The scans show bold reds and rosy skin tones, beautiful scenery and skies, and greenish shadows. Like all film stocks in the Ektar H35, the best results came from shooting in bright daylight.
Disposable cameras are bulkier than your phone, cost more to develop than an ordinary roll of film, and don’t even have the decency to let you know your finger is in the shot. They also cost a fair amount of money (the cost of the camera+film upfront, and then the cost to develop is more than a regular roll of film would’ve been).
Despite all these drawbacks, the humble disposable camera still has its place: the shots bear an uncanny resemblance to the photos of my own 80s/90s childhood, and the camera itself is rugged and less precious than any of my film cameras so I didn’t feel bad about taking it to a theme park.