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The Lomography Diana Instant Square Camera is Their Most Perplexing Camera Yet

Chris Gampat
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06/20/2018
2 Mins read
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Last Updated on 06/20/2018 by Mark Beckenbach

I got to play with the new Lomography Diana Instant Square Camera prototype before launch not too long ago

Today, Lomography is lifting the veil in something they should have done a long time ago (sort of) with the Lomography Diana Instant Square Camera. In my mind, it makes sense, but the implementation also is just a tad perplexing. The Lomography Diana Instant Square Camera of course incorporates the use of square film and gives you aperture control and focusing control over the lens with the Diana camera’s 1/60th shutter speed. Mixed with the ISO 800 film, that’s generally all that you need in some situations. However, this negates Lomo’s claim of it being fully manual; it isn’t. But I really wonder why Lomo just didn’t stick with Mini film in this case.

Fujifilm Instax Mini film covers the entire film plane and it would have eliminated the need for the interchangeable back option that they currently have. With Lomography Diana Instant Square Camera, you’re using Instax Square. Believe it or not, Instax Square is larger than the 6×6 format that the Diana uses. Crazy, right? So by default, you’re going to get vignetting in many situations because the lens and camera format are too small for the film format.

Like all things Lomo, they’re funding it on Kickstarter first. I had the chance to play with a prototype which I’m not allowed to show here simply because it was essentially a Frankenstein camera. I love the fact that you get to change the lenses out and that the camera gives you aperture control, but this is one that I can’t get behind after Lomography launched their fantastic Lomo’Instant Square camera. Granted, that camera has its own issues that may arise in the long term, but it’s a lens that covers the area. Lomography did this with their Glass lens camera when they took the lens from the LCA 120 and put it in front of Instax Mini film.

Here are the tech specs:

  • Film Format: Fujifilm Instax Square Film
  • Film Size: 86 mm x 72 mm
  • Dimensions: (WxHxD) 140 mm x 115 mm x 98 mm
  • Exposure Area: 62 mm x 62 mm
  • Shutter Speed: N (1/60), B (Bulb Mode, Unlimited)
  • Aperture: Manual settings, cloudy (f/11), partlysunny (f/19), sunny (f/32)
  • Film Ejection Mechanism: Motorized
  • Multiple Exposures: Unlimited
  • Flash: Diana F+ Flash (with adapter, included in package),hot shoe (with adapter, included in package)
  • Interchangeable Lens Mount: Diana F+ bayonet mount
  • Focal Length of Kit Lens: 75 mm
  • Zone Focusing Setting (kit lens): 1-2 m / 2-4 m / 4 m-infinity
  • Tripod Mount: Yes
  • Selfie Mirror: Yes
  • Viewfinder: Reverse-Galilean, detachable
  • Battery Supply: 4x AAA batteries – please note thatbatteries are not included
  • Filter Thread Diameter on 75 mm kit lens: 30.5 x 0.75

Here are some of the sample images that I shot.

camera diana f+ fujifilm glass instax instax mini instax square kickstarter lens lenses Lomography Diana Instant Square
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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