What are the specs of disposable cameras?

BetterSense · May 12, 2011

I've been wondering about disposable cameras recently. Does anyone know the configuration of the popular Quicksnap and Kodak one-time-use cameras?

I would like to know the lens focal length, f/stop and shutter speed. I guessing they are around 35mm, f/8, and 1/100th of a second or so. So that means that in the sun, they will be overexposing about 4-5 stops. Does this sound about right?

Does anyone have any preferences? I think that disposable cameras might be good for backpacking. They are extremely light and don't need batteries. Is there such a thing as a 'premium' disposable? Does anyone reuse them?

Rick A · May 12, 2011

I always send disposable cameras with my daughter when she goes to summer camp. I normally get a three pack, she shoots loads of things in the week she's gone. My other daughter likes the waterfroof ones for swimming. I think they make dandy take-alongs for back packing.

bblhed · May 12, 2011

About all I know is that they have 800 speed film in them, even the flash cameras.

If your going hiking you might want to look at a pocket point and shoot 35mm, you can get 4 or 5 rolls of film in the same space a disposable camera takes up. You can get one with zoom, flash, and some other wiz bang features for less than the price of two disposables.

AlbertZeroK · May 12, 2011

There are some good tips on reloading disposable cameras on the internet, but honestly, I'd see about a good holga or something that's ment to be reloaded. As for film, as of right now, I'd really suggest packing in Portra 400, I've done some of my own test shots and you can easily underexpose/overexpose it and still get usable results.

bblhed · May 12, 2011

AlbertZeroK said:
There are some good tips on reloading disposable cameras on the internet, but honestly, I'd see about a good holga or something that's ment to be reloaded. As for film, as of right now, I'd really suggest packing in Portra 400, I've done some of my own test shots and you can easily underexpose/overexpose it and still get usable results.

Good Holga?

AlbertZeroK · May 12, 2011

bblhed said:
Good Holga?

Yeah, you know, one that closes and stays latched without tape!

fstop · May 12, 2011

I had one of those disposable camers, threw it away and the pictures never came back.

LunoLuno · May 12, 2011

This is what they sell in the Japanese market. I've never used the camera itself, but I sometimes pick the film inside and use it; it's much cheaper than buying a 800 speed film.

Kodak Snapkids Flash 800
Film: Kodak Ultramax 800
Lens: f=30mm F10 / 2 elements 2 groups (aspherical)
shutter speed: 1/100s

http://wwwjp.kodak.com/JP/ja/corp/news/0807/220807.shtml

Steve Smith · May 12, 2011

fstop said:
I had one of those disposable camers, threw it away and the pictures never came back.

Really? Our refuse collectors are quite good. They process the film, make prints and deliver them when returning the empty bin.

Steve.

Sirius Glass · May 12, 2011

When I worked at Kodak I found out that usually all the brands costs about the same amount of money but the Kodak disposable cameras had better lenses and hence better optics. I tried several disposables from two or three company taking the same photograph from each and all developed at one place at once. The Kodak disposable cameras did have noticably sharper prints.

Steve

Newt_on_Swings · May 13, 2011

Ive played with many a disposable camera, the capacitors pack quite a shock LOL touching anywhere on the circuit board will send paid down your arm. funny how 1 AA battery can do that.

Photo Engineer · May 13, 2011

Kodak has a patent on a special lens made from plastic that gives exceptional sharpness. Their disposable cameras are reputed to give the best photos. In my experience, using a lot of them, they work out quite well. I've also used Fuji and brand X cameras finding them quite good.

PE

ozphoto · May 13, 2011

I used to take the AAs out of the flash cameras when we processed at our lab, and use them in anything that needed AAs. Usually the flashes were hardly used - about 90% of the shots were in daylight, so I saved $$$ on AAs for my F1 and flash unit (let alone all the remotes floating around!!)

Photo Engineer · May 13, 2011

My camera store takes the AAs out and lets me have them before they ship the camera out. After all, they are mine!

PE

polyglot · May 13, 2011

I used to collect these from the camera stores. I ended up with a 5L bucket full of AA and AAA batteries, not to mention about 7kJ (enough to kill you a few times over) worth of harvested flash capacitors for a coilgun...

Poisson Du Jour · May 13, 2011

They have street-cred. The odd thing is that I can see more disposable cameras in my wanderings about than I do rolls of film! Chemists, post offices, milk bars and even bike shops have them.

On my trip around Australia leaving 31st May there will be packed amongst the photographic heavy-hitters, 5 disposable Fuji cameras (24 exposures each). These will be used for "postcards" for sending to friends back home, developed and printed in whatever town we are stopping in. Image quality is not really an issue (but it is very good indeed), just the romanticism and proven life of film (remember that?).

blockend · May 13, 2011

Depending what film you put in them, it may be cheaper to buy real compact cameras from ebay than use disposables. The market is awash with 80s and 90s film compacts than mostly sell for the starting price of 99p, sometimes a bunch of them. If you want a Holga look smear a little vaseline on the rear element.

BetterSense · May 13, 2011

Honestly I've had more luck with disposable cameras than with cheap point-and-shoots. The point-and-shoots can provide unfocused and/or blurry shots due to too low of a shutter speed, where disposables never do. Also, disposables are ridiculously lightweight.

elekm · May 13, 2011

I think the specs are plastic, cheap and you get what you pay for. They're probably decent but no better or worse than the non-adjustable Instamatics of the 1970s.

I've seen decent photos from them. I wouldn't expect SLR-quality images, but they'll probably suffice. Better than no camera, and if it gets crushed, lost or dropped into a river, no big deal.

moki · May 13, 2011

I regularly use a Rollei Black and White disposable camera. It came loadad with Neopan 400 (which costs as much as the whole camera did) and has a two-element lens of about 30mm and f/11. I reload it regularly with different 400ASA films and use it at parties, on the beach and other places where I don't want to carry heavy and expensive equipment. The negatives were always good enough for 8x10" prints... not professional quality, but really sharp for a lens made from two tiny pieces of plastic.
I think, the Rollei cameras are all the same, only loaded with different film... they come with crossbird (slide film labeled for crossprocessing), redbird (redscale), nightbird (some kind of redscale, but much darker) blackbird (high contrast b&w) or standard black and white. It's aimed at lomographers, but the picture quality is actually too good for that.

Steve Smith · May 13, 2011

How did these things get to be called disposable? They are not disposable as you do not dispose of them when you are finished with them!

Steve.

Ottrdaemmerung · May 13, 2011

You do, if you process them yourself!

fstop · May 13, 2011

Steve Smith said:
How did these things get to be called disposable? They are not disposable as you do not dispose of them when you are finished with them!

Steve.

Probably was degenerated from the "single use" term, lots of things are meant for single use and get disposed of after use.

yeknom02 · May 13, 2011

AlbertZeroK said:
Yeah, you know, one that closes and stays latched without tape!

I consider my Holga one of my best cameras. I shoot black and white nearly exclusively, and the camera has no discernable light leaks or issues with the back falling off. All I've done to it is put a tape flap over the red window to prevent the light from bleeding in.

Sirius Glass · May 13, 2011

Steve Smith said:
How did these things get to be called disposable? They are not disposable as you do not dispose of them when you are finished with them!

Steve.

The photo finishers recycle the bodies back to the film companies.

Steve

What are the specs of disposable cameras?

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