Ilford disposable camera, any experiences?

Hi all,

So I have 4--yes 4--weddings I will be attending this year. Two of them have requested me to do some photography (not the main photographer, but do some BW work--they know where the good stuff is), and I was thinking it'd be interesting to hand out a bunch of the new Ilford HP5 cameras to folks and then do the development and printing myself. I was wondering if anyone has got their hands on em yet? They seem to be sold out everywhere.

Likewise, and maybe you could clarify for us Simon, but I was hoping to get some info regarding f/stop and shutter speed due to the fact that these will be indoor/dark spaces and I could adjust development for it.

Thanks!

Very likely, these are similar (possibly the same) cameras that are made on some assembly line in China alongside others destined for pharmacies and grocery stores. At the end of the line, they are loaded with HP5, rather than Kodak 400 or some other film.

Rollei had a very similar camera a few years back, right down to the transparent front with the Rollei-branded cardboard image underneath.

I think the lenses on these are generally OK. There is a built-in flash powered by a single AA battery. When the flash is fired, it blinds both the subject AND the photographer. I've used one of these and then took it apart later. For fun.

Here's the Rollei-branded disposable that is loaded with Retro 400 b/w film.




And here are some samples from the Rollei camera on the Lomography site. I would expect the Ilford camera to perform similarly, possibly identically.

I think the Ilford camera could be fun although image quality should lean more toward Lomo than Leica.

As an alternative, could you scoop up some point-and-shoot from thrift stores, eBay, etc and load them with your own film to hand out to people? They're normally pretty cheap and you get to pick the film.

That'd be an interesting idea I haven't considered. Thanks and welcome to APUG!

When I was at Kodak, the Kodak disposable cameras' lenses were the sharpest of all the brands.