Lomography’s New Half Frame Camera

credits: Lomography

Lomography has announced the Simple Use Reloadable Film Camera Half Frame, a new version of its 35mm film camera that is designed to make shooting film a little more affordable. Instead of exposing a full 35 × 24mm frame with each shot, the new camera captures a vertically oriented 17 × 24mm half-frame image. The main benefit being that you can squeeze twice as many photos out of a single roll of film. The camera comes preloaded with enough film for 40 half-frame shots, but once it is reloaded with a standard 36-exposure roll, it can capture up to 72 photos. With the cost of film, development, and scanning still adding up, that is a nice way to get more out of every roll.

The camera also has a different look compared to Lomography’s standard Simple Use Reloadable Film Camera. It has a taller body, a larger shutter button, a raised central viewfinder, and a chunkier top dial while keeping the built-in Xenon flash. The flash works with interchangeable gel filters and takes around 15 seconds to recharge. The camera itself features a fixed 21mm f/9 lens with a focusing range from 0.6m to infinity, a fixed 1/120-second shutter speed, and power supplied by a single AAA battery.

The Simple Use Reloadable Film Camera Half Frame is available in two versions. The standard model costs $29.90 and comes preloaded with a 40-shot roll of Lomography Lady Grey ISO 400 black-and-white film. A second version, priced at $34.90, comes loaded with 40 half-frame shots of LomoChrome Color ’92 Sun-kissed ISO 400 film and also includes the interchangeable flash gel filters. Like the original Simple Use camera, it can be reloaded with any standard 35mm film.