I was introduced to the Golden Half 135mm camera last year by my friend Jen Sosa. Immediately, I had to have the camera. It’s a half frame toy camera, all plastic, in the same vein as the Holga but it takes 35mm film instead of 120. The coolest part of the camera is the natural diptych created by the half frame. They had me at diptych.
There’s not much to the camera, it’s quite small, fits in your pocket. Load the film, adjust the settings, Sunny (F/11), Cloudy (F/8.5) and Flash (there’s hot shoe on the camera). A roll of 24 exposure film will give you 48 frames and 36 will yield 72 frames. The camera barely comes with any directions, it’s quite user friendly: just go out and shoot.
I initially thought it would take forever to finish a roll, but since the camera is small enough to take everywhere, it felt like I finished in no time at all.
Here are some favorites from my first roll, shot with Fuji Superia 1600. The faster speed film the better with this camera, imo. I plan on shooting with a roll of B&W next.
Also, check out more images from the Golden Half at these other sites.