The Whole Wide World in my Camera

The world is spinning and so should you. Geniuses? Or just analog lovers who want to have some fun? Whatever they are, the guys over at LSI (Lomographic Society International) are, I think, crazy!

I mean, in this digital age where technology is moving towards perfecting a compact and larger pixel size cameras, who would want an analog plastic camera that has a stem with a string and spins? Huh? Crazy!

My initial reaction when I received the camera is wtf is this? I was silent for five seconds. And then I smiled. And then silent again for ten seconds. I felt uncomfortable. What the hell is this cam? I opened the cam, loaded the film, pulled the ring with a string, let go of the string, and watched in silence as it spun. Is this some sort of a weapon? Did they send this thing to hit me in the face? Indeed it hit. This camera is a killer! My imagination ran wild. Imagine 360 degrees of moments. Woohoooo! Imagine 360 degrees of nothing but analog love.

Because it’s new and uncomfortable for first time users like me – here are some things about the Spinner 360 that calls for patience:

• It’s bulky, but it’s a sure conversational piece, so don’t try to hide it. Let them notice it. You’ll get a good shot (it happened to me).

• If you don’t have a scanner, get one (it’s worth it) and scan the films yourself. Keep in mind that the people around you are not familiar with it so never let them cut your films and scan it by themselves. Because they just can’t do the job. You’ll just be stressed out arguing with them (it happened to me twice).

• It’s a plus if you know a little Photoshop for stitching your scanned images. If you’re a hardcore analog person, loosen up a bit and try to learn a little digital magic. Photoshop is just another tool to help you put together those analog moments.

• Get more film. The Spinner 360 can have 6-8 maximum shots. So be sure to have that extra load. Always.

• This is so new that there’s lots of room for mistakes. So be prepared not to get every roll as perfect as you hope it would be (I have quite a share of blank rolls). Hey, this is analog anyway and mistakes are welcome. It might turn out to be the best shot you take.

But the Spinner 360’s coolness overrules its quirks once you get used to the post processing and when you see the shots. So shoot. Learn. Shoot. Have fun. We are all at level one here.

This is an amazing addition to your analog gadgets. I can’t imagine what those guys over at LSI are having to come up with a camera as awesome as the Spinner 360. They’re awesomely crazy.

But those kind of guys are just what we need to enjoy 360 degrees of fun. We need them to continuously intensify our love for those analog moments. And crazy is synonymous with genius. So I salute you guys for giving us the Spinner 360.

written by boredbone on 2010-06-30 #gear #test #fun #review #boredbone #wide #beta #spin #first-time #spinner-360 #whole-wide-world