<![CDATA[Gizmodo: lomography]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: lomography]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/lomography http://gizmodo.com/tag/lomography <![CDATA[Gifts for Aspiring Artsy Photographers]]> Every photographer wants to be artsy, because if their Flickr stream isn't fancy enough to pull in lots of "Oh, you're so talented" comments, what's the point? Here's some gift ideas for aspiring artsy photographers.

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

Crumpler Industry Disgrace neckstrap Fancy cameras, especially German ones, are heavy. Fancy lenses bolted to fancy cameras? It's like lugging around a (fancy) dump truck. Normal camera straps are thin and cut into your neck. Crumpler's Industry Disgrace neckstrap is fat, super padded and breathable. And, they come in patterns. $30-$40. [Link]

Lensbaby optics Crazy lenses for DSLRs, like tilt-shifts and fisheyes, can be ridiculously expensive, way too expensive for a starving artiste who must save their pennies for vintage boots. Enter Lens Baby, which produces cheap, quick and dirty single-effect lenses and adapters for DSLRs. While their quality isn't exactly bulletproof, they do deliver the special effect shots Flickr whores crave. The core lenses do variations on the whole small area of focus, lots of blurriness surrounding it, while the optics system lets you swap out inserts for different effects, like fisheye or pinhole. $95-$300. [Link]

A 50mm prime lens Back in the day, a 50mm prime lens is what photogs cut their teeth on. No zoom, no wide-angle, no image stabilization to fiddle with. Just sharp focus. Meaning it's pure composition on the photographer's part. If you're buying for a DSLR that's not full-frame—basically anything other than Canon 5D Mark II or D700—you're gonna wanna grab a 35mm lens (with the crop factor, it becomes about 50mm, give or take). They get pricier as they get faster, but you can score a cheap 50mm for about a hundred bucks, and a cheap(ish) 35mm for between $200 and $300. $90-$320 [Nikon 50mm, Canon 50mm, Nikon 35mm, Canon 35mm]

Joby GorillaPod A cheap tripod that'll fit in a hipster messenger bag, for long exposure shots. $30-$50 [Link]

Crumpler camera bags Most camera bags aren't very befitting of actually cool photographers. They're boring. Corporate. Ugly. Crumpler's 5 Million Home holds a DSLR, an extra lens and flash and is sunny sky blue. Stepping up a model, the 8 Million Dollar Home has more space for more stuff, if needed. $80-$170. [Link, Link]

Diana F+ CMYK lomo camera Real artsy photographers shoot with cheap lomo film cameras to produce vintage-y lo-fi photos, with crazy saturation, exposures and optical effects, perfect for Vice Magazine. Don't think, just shoot. And the super bright CMYK paint job? You know what it is. $105 [Link]

Leica M9: The ultimate photographer gift. Picking up a Leica camera instantly turns anybody into a Photographer. While holding a Leica, it is impossible not to shoot perfect, artsy photos. Even if you try. The M9 is the latest, most exquisite piece of German photographic craftsmanship yet, with an 18-megapixel, full-frame sensor that delivers the most amazing photos of all time. $7000 and worth every penny. [Link]

Superzoom Cameras: They're not DSLRs, they're not pocketable point-and-shoots, and they're definitely not artsy. They're for tourists, and for the money, you could easily get a way better cheap DSLR or vintage film camera.

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

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<![CDATA[Paul Smith Makes Lomo Camera Fashionable with Fisheye No.2]]> Paul Smith's Fisheye No.2 Lomo camera is a subtle mixture of two things: The 180-degree bug-eye lens creates distorted images that are even more arty than your usual Lomograph. Plus to the dwindling number of wet-chemistry photography fans (including myself) Lomography is something of a fashion-statement all of its own. The camera has bulb setting for long exposures, a multiple-exposure setting, built-in flash and a hotshoe, and is dressed up in trademark Paul Smith stripes. And it's limited edition, so it's going for a fashionably high $150. [PaulSmith via LikeCool]

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<![CDATA[Lubitel 166+ Improves On Classic Lomographer Camera]]> I've never been enough of a photography purist to bemoan the switch to digital, but if you've really missed shooting film on a fully manual machine, the folks at Lomography have released an upgrade to the classic 1970s camera, the Lubitel. Called the Lubitel +166, it keeps its old-fashioned looks but adds a couple of (non-digital) upgrades. Even if you're not a film fanatic, it's a really pretty camera to ogle over.

The original Lubitel was cast in plastic and had a top down viewfinder, enclosed by a pop-up metal hood. Users composed their images by peering down and adjusting the focus knob. The new Lubitel adds the ability to use 35mm, an endless panorama option, and closer and zone focus. The cheapest camera package Lomography is offering includes the camera, 6 rolls of B&W film and 6 rolls of Redscale, and costs $350. [Lomography via Geek Alerts]


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<![CDATA[RedScale Film Shows Analog Photography Is Not Dead Yet, Thankfully]]> Leave it to the crazy Lomography heads to keep the flame of analog photography alive and kicking in this cold digital world of ours, like an '80s top-of-the-charts song always resisting to die: Their new RedScale Negative 100 film gives a vision of the world in intense reds, smooth oranges oranges, and mellow yellows look to all your analog photographs, but also having highlights in other colors, which appear in an unpredictable way.

Of course, you can reproduce this effect in your computer, but like with vinyl albums, it's just not the same. [Lomography]

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<![CDATA[Why I Hate the iPhone Camera (and Loved the Best Rock Concert Ever)]]> There. I said it. I hate it. OK, I don't really hate it. But sometimes I want to smash it against the wall. The last time was in the pit at the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's concert in Madrid. I was there, first row, center of the stage, after waiting a whole night and day outside of the stadium. That night was the most amazing and magical I've experienced in a very long time, and certainly the best rock concert I've ever been to. Only one thing failed: my iPhone's camera.

I was tired, exhausted, and about to fall asleep standing up (there were no seats in the pit). The week had been hell, and I was physically and emotionally destroyed. But then, the band and the Boss took the stage and night and blasted everything away. In a few seconds, as the adrenalin kicked in, the exhaustion disappeared. Then Radio Nowhere came. And Lonesome Day. And the Promised Land. From there, he and his band made every single one of the 60,000 souls in the stadium fly.

Three hours of pure rock, with the Boss giving it all until the end, when he sung a 10-minute version of Twist And Shout, mixed with—get this—La Bamba. Not a single pause. Just music, heart and soul. I just couldn't believe this guy is almost as old as my dad. Forget Mick Jagger. Forget bloody Bono. He is the greatest rock musician alive, a true force of nature.

And I'm not even—or was not, until this day—a fan. The whole thing was totally unexpected for me. At the beginning I thought "this is going to be amazing" and I realized I only had my iPhone, because like every other concert, cameras and camcorders are absolutely prohibited. Especially when you are in the front row and the security guy can shake your hand. Or get your camera away.

During the whole concert, the entire stadium was under his command, jumping, singing, waving, screaming, completely in ecstasy, electrified, everyone sweating under the hot Spanish summer night. He and the band were enjoying the whole thing to no end. You could see them laughing, looking at us with real surprise in their faces, as if they weren't believing that this huge stadium just couldn't stop singing and jumping through every single one of the songs they played.

They were giving all their life away right there, and the public was returning it right back. With interest. Each of us. Mass hysteria. Crowd orgasm. Total love and dedication from Bruce, the band, and the public.

At one point—one of many in which he came to sing even closer to us—the Boss walked to the central platform and took a girl up on the stage. I knew she was the daughter of one of the Spanish fans—who had been following him through the whole tour—because I met her before the concert started. She danced with him for a minute, smiling while the band played. It was just one of the many "I can't believe this is happening" moments of the night.

Right there, in the very first row, in the corner of the central platform, I could see all these moments perfectly, like I'm seeing the screen of my computer right now. We were able to actually shake his hand, as well as the hands of the band—who at the end all came to the center platform. I shouted at him at one point ("Yes! Take us up there!") and he replied looking straight into my eyes, with the biggest smile, pointing at me and saying "Yes, I'm going to take you there!" just before the band exploded with sound.

Another time, I could see him turning to Max Weinberg—at the end of Seven Nights to Rock—and whisper: "Born to Run!" And (boom!) Born to Run started to play a second later. At any time, I could turn around and see the 60,000 people in the Santiago Bernabéu—the name of the Real Madrid football stadium—singing, clapping, taken way by his power. Yes, it was absolutely breathtaking. All of it. From the very beginning I thought: "I have to share this with the people I love. I can't do this justice with my description. I have to take photos."

There was when I started hating the iPhone's camera.

Nothing, I wasn't able to take any of this magic with clarity. I'm not even talking about recording video (don't get me started on that). I'm just talking about making a decent photo with one of the most advanced pieces of technology ever developed. Only one single photo that didn't appear to be taken with a broken Lomo. By a drunk guy. Without a decent sleep in the last three days (OK, forget about the part about the drunk guy.)

Sure, there was some clear pics here and there, but whatever was OK'ish, it was also completely crazy and badly framed. Some of them look nice—as you can see here, in the gallery of untouched images—but most of them need cropping and heavy Photoshop treatment.

I know most cellphone cameras are exactly the same. They behave poorly under low light conditions, they are slow, and have bad interfaces. And yes, I have to admit I like the iPhone's camera blurriness and unwanted "special effects" sometimes. I even try to get similar effects with my DSLR. But that's optional. This time I only wanted one thing: to be able to frame a good photo. Without having to hold the iPhone in a weird position. Without trying to find the stupid software interface button and not miss the shot (which I did, plenty of times).

That's what I want. I don't want more resolution, and I don't want a stupid zoom. I would be happy (HAPPY) with good lenses and a better, speedier, more luminous sensor. And of course, the physical button. In fact, scrap the rest. Just give me the physical button. As much as I love virtual interfaces—because they open the door to multi-functional devices at a low cost, with great power and flexibility—I'm afraid that there are still times when the only way to go is a physical button. Photography is one of them.

And since we are at it, here's a note for the Nokias, Sony Ericssons, Samsungs, and LGs of this world: stop doing the silly marketdrone "More megapixels!" and "Bigger optical zooms!" race. Educate the users. Don't dazzle them with higher numbers. Give us all more quality, more light, and more speed. That's what really counts to catch the special, truly ephemeral, completely unexpected moments you want to save forever. Because when I think about it, even while I will always keep this concert in my—blurry as the iPhone's camera—memory, there would never be another one like it.

That's exactly what cellphone cameras are for. To capture the unexpected, to take decent pictures of the special moments in your life, because we can't go around life with a camera in our pocket at all times. That's what I want in an cellphone and, especially, in the iPhone. A camera to be able to take any moment we want, fast, and with good quality, under most circumstances. And Señor Jobs, no matter what, please give us the physical button on the iPhone 3G 2.0.

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<![CDATA[The White Stripes Get Into the Camera Business]]> The White Stripes, a.k.a Meg and Jack White, have branched out from the music business to try their hand at the world of Lomography cameras. The result is a pair of branded, limited edition retro Holga and Diana semi-replica cameras that come complete with a cool look and a bunch of extras for photography lovers.

The "Jack" Holga comes complete with a fish-eye lens, a photo book entitled "The World Through a Plastic Lens," three glass lens filters, a custom Peppermint Lens filter, a roll of medium format 120 film, and opaque tape. The "Meg" Diana includes: a 'Nobody Knows How to Talk to Children" ringflash, a Diana Vignettes photo book, a removable lens for pinhole images, and a custom Peppermint Lens filter. If you are a vintage camera lover with a taste for unique imagery, these cameras may be of some interest—but you had better hurry. Only 3000 copies of each camera were produced. Available for $180 each. [Whiite Stripes via Crave]

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<![CDATA[Lomography Ringflash for Four Colors in One Frame]]> This Lomography Ringflash attaches to the outside of your lens, and its four lighting elements each deliver a different color to your subject. You can use it as a single color ring flash, too, but its makers encourage you to get up close to your subject and flash a picture that has four different kinds of lighting in the same frame. Powered by two AA batteries, it fires via an external hot shoe or its own built-in slave trigger. Might be fun for some trippy looking effects. But that's not all it can do.

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The Ringflash was originally invented for tight close-ups of bugs, small objects and still life scenes, because when you get that close, conventional flash heads tend to unevenly light the scene. But this Ringflash lets you use its multi-color ring for multi-colored shadows, use a solid colored gel rings, gel filters and lots of other techniques. The downside is that you must use this Ringflash with special Lomographic cameras, but you can also get those at reasonable prices. It's unclear if you can adapt this Ringflash unit for typical DSLRs.

What the heck is Lomography, anyway? it's almost a way of life for a lot of photographers, and it started with a certain kind of camera that originated in Russia, and eventually turned into a free-form way of taking pictures, often involving fisheye lenses. In fact, the Lomographic Society has its own list of ten rules that it suggests you follow:

1. Take your LOMO everywhere you go and whenever you go.

2. Use it any time —day or night.

3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but a part of it.

4. Shoot from the hip.

5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible.

6. Don't think.

7. Be fast.

8. You don't have to know beforehand what you've captured on film.

9. You don't have to know afterwards, either.

10. Don't worry about the rules.

[Product Page]

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