If you have been shooting film for a while, you probably know how quickly a roll can disappear. You see something interesting, take a photo, then suddenly you are down to your last few shots.

This is where a half-frame camera gets interesting.

A half-frame camera takes a photo using half the space of a normal 35mm film frame. So, with a standard 36-exposure roll, you can get around 72 shots instead of 36.

That also means you are roughly spending 50% less on film per photo. Pretty good reason to keep shooting, right? 😋

The Camera

For this review, I tried the Lomo Half-Frame Simple Use Reloadable – LomoChrome Classicolor.

It comes loaded with 40 shots of LomoChrome Classicolor 200, and comes with a 21mm lens, f/9 aperture and built-in flash.

The camera itself is pretty straightforward. There are no complicated settings to worry about, so you can simply point, shoot and move on to the next photo. And once you finish the 40 shots that come with the camera, you can reload it with a standard 35mm film and keep shooting.

My First Impression

The first thing that surprised me about this camera was how solid it felt.

It is small and simple, but it does not feel fragile. The body feels sturdy in my hands, and the controls are straightforward enough that I could pick it up and start shooting without spending too much time figuring things out.

But honestly, my favourite part has to be the shutter.

Kachak.

The shutter click is surprisingly satisfying.

When I was testing the camera, I found myself taking another photo, then another one, simply because I wanted to press the shutter again. It has that nice, mechanical feeling that makes you want to keep shooting.

Another thing I really like is that the camera is reusable.

Once I finish a roll, I can simply load a fresh roll of 35mm film and keep using the same camera. So unlike a disposable camera, I am not throwing the whole thing away after 36 shots.

For roughly the price of a disposable camera, getting a camera that I can reload and use again makes quite a lot of sense.

So, How Do the Photos Turn Out?

The film that came with the camera is Lomography LomoChrome Classicolor, an ISO 200 colour film.

With a simple point-and-shoot camera like this, I found that it works best outdoors, where there is plenty of natural light.

The colours came out warmer than I expected.

There is a nice earthy, golden tone across the photos, especially on skin and warmer colours. The shadows are quite deep, while the highlights still have a soft, slightly creamy look. The grain is also pretty noticeable, which adds more character to the photos instead of making everything look too clean.

I also noticed that the colours can change quite a bit depending on the lighting and surroundings. In warmer light, the photos lean more towards brown, orange and golden tones. In cooler environments, the blue and green tones become much more obvious.

I shot these around 4pm-ish, and it was not even a particularly bright or sunny day. Despite that, I was quite happy with how they turned out. 

I think shooting earlier in the day, especially around 12pm to 2pm when the sunlight is stronger, could give the photos a brighter and more vibrant look.

For a simple half-frame camera with ISO 200 film, I think the results have quite a bit of character.

What About Indoor Photos?

This is where I found the camera has a limitation.

Because the film is ISO 200, it needs a decent amount of light. When shooting indoors, I would recommend using the flash for pretty much every shot.

The good news is that the camera comes with a built-in flash.

The flash works well for subjects that are relatively close to the camera. I found that keeping the subject around 0.5 – 2 metres away gives a better result.

If the subject is much further away, the built-in flash may not have enough power to light them properly, especially in a darker room.

So if you are planning to use this camera indoors, keep your subjects close, turn on the flash and you should be good to go.

And Then There Are the Colour Flash Filters

One of the things I had the most fun playing with was the colour flash filters that come with the camera.

You can put different coloured filters over the flash and change the look of your photos without doing anything complicated.

The red filter gives the flash a strong red glow, which looks pretty dope for portraits shots.

The blue filter gives the photo a cooler tone and can make the overall image feel cleaner and brighter.

There is also a yellow filter, which I unfortunately forgot to try. Sad. 🥲

So I will leave that one for you to try out!

It is a small feature, but it makes the camera much more fun to experiment with. I could simply switch the filter, take another shot and see what happened.

And I think that is what I enjoy most about this camera.

I do not have to think too much about settings. I can just load the film, point, shoot and let the film do its thing.

Final Thoughts

For me, this is a camera that is more about having fun with film than getting technically perfect photos.

The camera comes with a 40-shot roll, so you can start shooting straight out of the box. Once the roll is finished, you can reload it with a standard 35mm film. Since it is a half-frame camera, a regular 36-exposure roll can give you up to 72 shots.

I also really like that I can keep reusing the camera with different films. It means I can try out different films and see how each one changes the look of my photos.

The built-in flash and colour filters also give me more room to play around, especially when shooting at night or indoors.

Overall, I think it is a fun little camera to bring along for photowalks, trips, casual outings, or simply those days when I feel like taking photos without thinking too much.

If you have never tried a half-frame camera before, this could be a pretty fun way to start.

Want to give it a try?

Get yours here, or visit one of our branches to check it out in person.