Sun, Aug 5 2012 | 21 Comments

Back to photography’s roots: The La Sardina

By: Ashley Bei


(Photos by author)

Shaped slightly larger than a can of sardines, Lomography’s latest offering, the La Sardina, feels sturdy and alluringly simplistic in your hands.

Design

Staying true to Lomography’s branding, this camera comes in a multitude of delightfully vibrant colours and bold patterns (check them out here), but the specs remain the same.

 Only a handful of the La Sardina collection

Forget the standard DSLR that weighs your bag down like a ton of concrete. Summer calls for effortless style, and it’s way more chic to be seen with a lightweight, cheerful accessory, instead of a drab black brick.

With an ultra wide-angle lens (22mm) for encapsulating scenery, and a fixed aperture of f8.0, the La Sardina ensures you’ll capture every last detail in your surroundings. Unlike a fisheye camera however, it will not warp the perspective of the photo.

Close up of the La Sardina

Should you desire, Lomography gives you the option of also purchasing a ‘Fritz the Blitz’ flash in a matching color to your camera, ensuring you never miss a shot due to gloomy skies or underlit rooms. Unlike previous models, the ‘Fritz the Blitz’ flash has 3 different power settings to be tweaked in accordance with distance from subject, allowing users to adjust the light intensity, preventing overexposure and overblown highlights.

Controls

If any of you are apprehensive regarding using a film camera, fret not! This camera has an elementary learning curve. Forget about tweaking a barrage of settings. All you have to do with the La Sardina is: frame the shot, click the shutter and wind the spool.

With just a flick of a switch to “MX” mode, you can create artsy multiple exposure shots. A multiple exposure shot involves overlaying objects and produces a lo-fi surreal image all Lomography users are hopelessly enamoured with.

Lomography Singapore’s friendly store manager, Hakimbo, advises beginners to limit the number of exposures to 3, or you’ll end up with a chaotic amalgam of dissected objects (unless of course, that’s what you hope to achieve).

Focusing is done via adjusting the lens element. For a macro shot, twist the lens element to the fly symbol. Like most film cameras, the viewfinder doesn’t indicate focus, so you might want to cross your fingers and hope for the best.

But if you prefer tack sharp photos 100% of the time to the dreamy and radiant vibes many have come to associate Lomography with, this probably isn’t the camera for you. We at UrbanWire, on the other hand, love the end result of psychedelic images produced with one simple click of the shutter.

Image Quality

As expected, the La Sardina matches up to the Lomography brand heritage of grainy, raw images so reminiscent of an age of film. For such a wide-angle (22mm) lens, the images do not undergo much distortion. Hakimbo tells UrbanWire this is where the La Sardina differs from traditional fisheye cameras already offered by Lomography. If you are looking for an alternative to the wide bulging effects of a fisheye lens, do consider this.

A fixed shutter speed of 1/100 paired with the fixed exposure of f8 means this camera should be used in bright daylight, if you don’t intend to pack a flash in your bag. Overall, the La Sardina produced soft images squeezing in lots of details (like a tin of sardines, literally).

Conclusion

In a increasingly digital world, where a trip to any camera store warrants gargantuan megapixel counts being shoved in any consumer’s face, a week with this uncomplicated and “no frills” camera was indeed, a liberating experience.

More often than not, we scramble to get noise-free images, correct lighting and colour balance and amidst all that hastiness, we forget to revel in the process of creating art. The La Sardina changes that, tying in perfectly with Lomography’s motto of “Don’t think, just shoot”.

UrbanWire doubts they mean to use film blindly and burn a hole in your wallet. Rather, it’s a gentle reminder to even the most seasoned photographer: catch your breath and really, enjoy all that you’re taking in with your brand new La Sardina.

[Images courtesy of Lomography]

—

Get your La Sardina online here or try it out physically at:

Lomography Gallery Store Singapore

Location: 295, South Bridge Road
#01-01
(S) 058838

Opening Hours: Mon – Sun, 12:00 – 21:00

Tags: , , , , ,

About Ashley Bei

Perpetually weighed down by a multitude of 'to-do's stemming from lists she likes to create, Ashley can barely find the time to breathe. In her minimal pockets of free time, she can be found floating between lusting for sleep, traveling the world (only 180 countries left to go), indulging in good food/music/massages, and developing her rapidly blooming love for photography and cooking in a transition to becoming a 'Domestic Goddess'. The ardent fan of Murakami much prefers conversations pertaining to ideas rather than people. If the former editor of UrbanWire isn't giving in to guilty pleasures like Doritos or Keeping Up With The Kardashians within her fluffy abode, she's probably hiding from the light and musing at @ashleux.
View all articles by Ashley Bei
Email |Website

21 Comments

  • Virginia
    March 17, 2013 | Permalink |

    If some one needs expert view regarding blogging and site-building afterward i advise him/her to go to see this web
    site, Keep up the good job.

  • hot girlshot girlhot models girlshot russian
    March 18, 2013 | Permalink |

    It is best to talk to all women, even if you are interested.
    You can use letters to spell out the name of someone. ” Try one thing like, “The manner you
    do your hair extremely highlights your beauty”.

  • Mitchell
    March 21, 2013 | Permalink |

    Hiya! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My blog looks weird when browsing from my iphone. I’m trying
    to find a theme or plugin that might be able to correct
    this problem. If you have any recommendations, please share.
    Thanks!

  • bancuri
    March 27, 2013 | Permalink |

    Hi there, I found your web site by the use of Google even
    as looking for a comparable topic, your web site got here up,
    it seems to be great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
    Hello there, just became aware of your weblog thru Google, and located that it is truly informative. I am gonna be careful for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future.
    Lots of folks can be benefited from your writing.
    Cheers!

  • GS test demo
    April 1, 2013 | Permalink |

    Back to photography’s roots: The La Sardina – The UrbanWir

  • buy ativan
    April 3, 2013 | Permalink |

    Do you have a spam problem on this website; I also
    am a blogger, and I was curious about your situation;
    many of us have developed some nice procedures and we
    are looking to exchange solutions with other folks, be
    sure to shoot me an e-mail if interested.

  • Paulina
    April 11, 2013 | Permalink |

    This site really has all the information I needed about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.

  • buy adipex
    April 15, 2013 | Permalink |

    Asking questions are truly pleasant thing if you are not
    understanding something totally, except this article gives pleasant understanding
    even.

  • Garcinia Cambogia Weight Loss
    April 18, 2013 | Permalink |

    Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your
    content seem to be running off the screen in Internet explorer.
    I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know.
    The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue resolved soon.
    Thanks

  • viagra
    April 18, 2013 | Permalink |

    Your current report provides confirmed necessary to me personally.
    It’s quite helpful and you’re simply obviously extremely well-informed in this region. You have got popped our face to various views on this specific subject along with intriguing and reliable content material.

  • 9:38 AM
    April 20, 2013 | Permalink |

    Great site you have here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I honestly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!

  • a max auto insurance richardson tx
    April 21, 2013 | Permalink |

    Hey! I just want to give an enormous thumbs
    up for the good information you’ve got right here on this post.

    I might be coming back to your weblog for more soon.

  • Shannon
    May 3, 2013 | Permalink |

    Hmm is anyone else having problems with the pictures
    on this blog loading? I’m trying to figure out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog.
    Any feed-back would be greatly appreciated.

  • http://my.opera.com/Nila8500ueizqfe/about
    May 3, 2013 | Permalink |

    Great blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
    I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
    Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress
    or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m totally confused .. Any recommendations? Kudos!

  • doudoune abercrombie
    May 5, 2013 | Permalink |

    Undeniably believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the net the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people think about worries that they plainly don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks

  • garcinia cambogia dr oz
    May 5, 2013 | Permalink |

    It’s truly a great and helpful piece of info. I’m satisfied that you simply
    shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this.
    Thanks for sharing.

  • Please click the Next internet page
    May 14, 2013 | Permalink |

    I was suggested this web site via my cousin. I’m not certain whether or not this post is written through him as no one else realize such particular approximately my problem. You are amazing! Thanks!

  • nike air max billig
    May 17, 2013 | Permalink |

    Hello, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of
    spam feedback? If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can advise?
    I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any support is very much appreciated.

  • https://puregce.com
    May 18, 2013 | Permalink |

    Your style is really unique compared to other folks I have read stuff from.
    Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this site.

  • oxnard virtual offices
    May 19, 2013 | Permalink |

    Hurrah, that’s what I was seeking for, what a data! present here at this web site, thanks admin of this web page.

  • argan oil
    May 19, 2013 | Permalink |

    Here are seven reasons why you should be obsessed with organic Argan oil.
    I am always advocating to drink more orange juice and eat fewer pastries around my home.
    It can even discard acne blemishes and some minor scar tissue that is definitely
    invulnerable to any other products currently available.

Leave a comment

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Your email is never shared. Required fields are marked *