Hello there!

Over a year ago I stumbled upon Lomography’s Simple Use Camera which introduced me to a new concept: reusable single-use cameras (I know, sounds like an oxymoron). Being used to fully manual film cameras and extremely modern digital cameras, I fell in love with its simplicity and its “don’t worry about it” approach.

Unfortunately the honey moon phase is wearing out, as its compromises are becoming inconveniences:

  1. The battery compartment design is pure garbage. It’s too tight, I have to force the battery into the compartment and use a flat-headed screwdriver to pull it out. Also the contact pad is hollow and is no longer held in place, it hardly makes contact with the battery any more. Last time I had to use a sharp object to maintain it in place while I inserted the battery.

  2. It is prone to light leaks. They were previously rare and minor, but they were very pronounced on my last roll and totally ruined a some of my pictures.

  3. The loading mechanism is complicated and flimsy. You have to pull on a tiny rewind latch using your nails while winding the smallest crank ever.

  4. It is near impossible to disassemble, making it impossible to fix part of issue 1.

Having said where I’m coming from, I’m looking for a camera that

  • Fixes the issues listed above

  • Is durable or can easily be repaired (I don’t want to throw it in a year)

  • Is ideally under €60 (though I can probably stretch the budget a little bit)

  • Has a unobtrusive look (no bright yellow camera for example)

I already did some research and found the Harman Reusable Camera and Yashica MF-1 but from what I read they share some of the Lomography’s issues (namely light leaks and loading mechanism).

I’m looking forward to your recommendations :D

    • BlackEcoOPA
      link
      19 months ago

      I did not consider this option before, that might be a good option indeed!

      • @CameronDev@programming.dev
        cake
        link
        fedilink
        19 months ago

        The camera is all yours if you want it, it’s basically junk to me. It was my first camera when I was a kid, and I have no desire to buy film anymore