My $9 Mini-Diana has arrived, and it’s much more than I expected. I have an original Diana (AKA, BANNER) and, as you know it's as bare-bones as you can get. I was expecting the same with the Mini-Diana – and I’m still surprised.
It’s almost the same size as my SUPERHEADZ Telepathy half-frame, but has a 24mm lens, compared to the 22mm on the Telepathy. (Remember, Olympus only made a 25mm and a 20mm for their Pen cameras.)
The Mini-Diana that I have, like a lot of Mini-Diana cameras, has a different name. Mine is all black and labeled PETITE NOIRE, and its features are decidedly different from the Telepathy or the original Diana & Banner.
To begin, it has TWO formats – 24x24mm and 17x24mm. This is selected with a switch on the back, but can be changed mid-roll – any number of times. Plus, because the shutter release and the film advance are completely un-connected, you can advance the film (or not) as much (or as little) as you want, to achieve multiple-exposures, over-lapping exposures, or panoramic-exposures – or any combinations of these. To make this more feasible, the camera has a tripod socket and a cable release connection – unlike the original Diana. The possibilities are endless, so you better keep good notes.
Also unlike the original Diana, the Mini-Diana has an accessory flash – designed with an odd, two-prong connection. I assume that this was simply less expensive than a standard hot shoe. In any event, it was decided to add a couple of flash accessories – which I was fortunate enough to receive. The first converts the two-prong connection on the camera into a standard hot shot – so that standard flashes can be used on the Mini-Diana. The second is an adapter to allow the Mini-Diana flash to be used on hot shoe cameras.
Why anyone would do this is a puzzle. I tested the Mini-Diana flash. It rated a GN of 28 (ISO 100 in feet) from one AA battery. My comparable – in size anyway – Minolta Auto 118X is GN 56 from two AA batteries. That’s twice as powerful AND adds aperture-priority auto-exposure.
The pictures show the two flashes, and the film plane baffles that pop in from both sides for the 17x24mm setting.
The camera has two f-stop settings – f8 & f11 – and one shutter speed of N (1/60?) and “B”. The lens has four focusing settings. The exposure counter is marked by THREES -- E (Empty), 3, 6, 9, etc. with dots in between. I assume the quality will be similar to that of the Telepathy (some might say horrible, others, GREAT!), and there might be noticeable light fall-off with the 24x24mm setting -- that's pretty wide for a simple lens.
I don’t have time for any testing – this is PLANTING season -- but the shutter and aperture work, as does the flash connection & flash. My PETITE NOIRE also came with the original MINI-DIANA manual with eight languages. It reminds users to use the camera carefully, and don’t FORCE anything – to avoid breakage. But this one appears to work perfectly. Light leaks? That’s yet to be determined, but they can’t be any “worse” than my BANNER.
It’s almost the same size as my SUPERHEADZ Telepathy half-frame, but has a 24mm lens, compared to the 22mm on the Telepathy. (Remember, Olympus only made a 25mm and a 20mm for their Pen cameras.)
The Mini-Diana that I have, like a lot of Mini-Diana cameras, has a different name. Mine is all black and labeled PETITE NOIRE, and its features are decidedly different from the Telepathy or the original Diana & Banner.
To begin, it has TWO formats – 24x24mm and 17x24mm. This is selected with a switch on the back, but can be changed mid-roll – any number of times. Plus, because the shutter release and the film advance are completely un-connected, you can advance the film (or not) as much (or as little) as you want, to achieve multiple-exposures, over-lapping exposures, or panoramic-exposures – or any combinations of these. To make this more feasible, the camera has a tripod socket and a cable release connection – unlike the original Diana. The possibilities are endless, so you better keep good notes.
Also unlike the original Diana, the Mini-Diana has an accessory flash – designed with an odd, two-prong connection. I assume that this was simply less expensive than a standard hot shoe. In any event, it was decided to add a couple of flash accessories – which I was fortunate enough to receive. The first converts the two-prong connection on the camera into a standard hot shot – so that standard flashes can be used on the Mini-Diana. The second is an adapter to allow the Mini-Diana flash to be used on hot shoe cameras.
Why anyone would do this is a puzzle. I tested the Mini-Diana flash. It rated a GN of 28 (ISO 100 in feet) from one AA battery. My comparable – in size anyway – Minolta Auto 118X is GN 56 from two AA batteries. That’s twice as powerful AND adds aperture-priority auto-exposure.
The pictures show the two flashes, and the film plane baffles that pop in from both sides for the 17x24mm setting.
The camera has two f-stop settings – f8 & f11 – and one shutter speed of N (1/60?) and “B”. The lens has four focusing settings. The exposure counter is marked by THREES -- E (Empty), 3, 6, 9, etc. with dots in between. I assume the quality will be similar to that of the Telepathy (some might say horrible, others, GREAT!), and there might be noticeable light fall-off with the 24x24mm setting -- that's pretty wide for a simple lens.
I don’t have time for any testing – this is PLANTING season -- but the shutter and aperture work, as does the flash connection & flash. My PETITE NOIRE also came with the original MINI-DIANA manual with eight languages. It reminds users to use the camera carefully, and don’t FORCE anything – to avoid breakage. But this one appears to work perfectly. Light leaks? That’s yet to be determined, but they can’t be any “worse” than my BANNER.
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