Banier Camera Images

Sarah, 1997

Doug, 1997

These photos were taken with a Banier camera.  The Banier is one of the many variations of the Diana camera -- a cheap plastic camera (usually referred to as a toy camera) manufactured in Hong Kong.  My camera has a single shutter speed with three aperture settings and three focus settings.  The Banier uses 120 film, producing negatives that are 4cm x 4cm.  Even at this reduced size (most cameras that use 120 film produce larger negatives) there is significant light "fall-off" in the corners of the images.

Image from "In Praise of Toy Cameras"

Although I have a number of cameras that are much more sophisticated than the Banier, I get a kick out of using it, and I'm pleased with many of the resulting images.

Banier images tend to have a soft-focus, and are often described as having a dream-like quality.  (Some argue that the camera is a cheap toy that is incapable of producing quality photographs.)

By eliminating many of the more technical elements of photography, about all you have left is subject and composition (and even those can be a "crap-shoot" when you are working with a Diana-like camera).

R. Campbell - March 2000