FILM:

Purchase FP100c Film on eBay

Purchase FP-100c film on Amazon

If you found this post helpful in any way, I’d love it if you considered signing up for my Patreon! For as little as $1 a month, you’ll get early access to all of my YouTube videos, plus tons of photos that I don’t post anywhere else. Depending on which tier you choose, you could also receive seasonal prints and/or discounts! I always use all of the proceeds towards cameras, film & processing.

If you have any questions, I’m always happy to help! You can contact me here, or leave a comment below! Thanks so much for stopping by! You can also check out my B&H Photo storefront & Amazon Storefront for more camera/film recommendations. :) Have a magical day!

I’ve included a few of my favorite images I’ve taken over the years with this camera - from Paris to Poland to Hawaii and all over the US. Feel free to ask any questions you have about this camera in the comments below. Have a magical day!

<3 Myles Katherine

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Updated June 24, 2026

The Vivitar IC 101 has become one of my favorite vintage point and shoot 35 mm cameras. Before using it, I had never experimented with the panoramic frame before (other than with an iPhone, obviously). I'm honestly not even sure where this camera came from. One day it magically appeared in one of my drawers and it took me years to even get around to trying it out. You can find them on eBay for anywhere from $8-40, so they are super affordable. It's extremely lightweight and doesn't feel very sturdy, but it's really fun and easy to take photos with. I especially had fun taking vertical shots with it, which you can see at the very end of the post. I always love cameras that are tiny and don’t weigh a thing because I travel so often. It hardly took up any space at all in my camera bag, which is a major plus for me!

It’s a perfect camera to start your film photography journey with because it won’t break the bank and it’s incredibly basic. There aren’t any crazy settings or buttons. You literally just look through the viewfinder, press the shutter button and then wind to the next frame! The most difficult part is probably loading and unloading the film, but a tip I always like to tell beginners is to check the winding knob on the top left of the camera. If it’s moving when you’re advancing to the next frame, then the film is working it’s way through the camera and you should be good to go. If you’ve just picked up this camera and you’re wondering if it works, just open up the back of the camera and snap the shutter button while through the middle of the camera. As long as the shutter is firing and you see light flicker through the lens, then everything should be working just fine. Cameras like this aren’t very complicated, so there usually isn’t anything wrong with it if you find it out in the wild. It isn’t a “fancy” camera by any means. You’ll find the images to be soft and that the lens needs a lot of light. I wouldn’t recommend shooting with this camera indoors. A 400 ISO film is probably your best bet, because it will be a nice balance between capturing light and having minimal grain. I highly recommend trying Lomography Color Negative 400 or Kodak Portra 400. If you’re looking for more 35 mm film recommendations, you can read more about my favorite black and white film stocks here or my favorite color 35 mm film stocks here!

I just used this camera for the first time last April, when Chris and I went to Hawaii to get married. We spent 7 days on Maui with our immediate families and then 3 days on Lanai for our honeymoon. The entire time I was using this camera, I wasn't even sure if it was taking photos.! It seemed too easy to just press the shutter release and wind to the next frame over and over again. At some point I even accidentally took a few double exposures. The shutter button got stuck a few times so I would rewind the film a little bit and try again, which resulted in the overlapping images.

At the end of the roll when it's time to rewind, you simply press the film release button on the bottom of the camera and slowly and gently wind the film until it's finished. It's actually pretty difficult to rewind the film with this camera and I've heard stories of people splitting their film, but I just made sure to take it slow and not force it. So far I have not split a roll, so yay!

I've included a few sample photos and double exposures below. As you will notice, the images are not very sharp. The camera definitely doesn't have the greatest lens on it, but I really enjoy the vintage vibe that the images produce. The panoramic frame is also really beautiful to look at and I'm so happy that I ended up taking this camera with me on such a special trip. I'll definitely be treasuring these photos forever.

I also have a full YouTube video about the Vivitar IC101 so make sure to give it a watch here! And don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel, Cameras & Cats, to learn more about all of my favorite cameras!

WHERE TO BUY THE VIVITAR IC101 CAMERA:

eBay

Etsy

FILM RECOMMENDATIONS:

Lomography 100 35mm film

Kodak Portra 160 35mm

Fujifilm 400 Color Negative 35 mm

Kodak UltraMax 400 35mm

If you found this post helpful or inspiring, I’d love it if you considered signing up for my Patreon! For as little as $1 a month, you’ll get early access to all of my YouTube videos, plus tons of photos that I don’t post anywhere else. Depending on which tier you choose, you could also receive seasonal prints and/or discounts! I always use all of the proceeds towards cameras, film & processing.

<3 Myles Katherine

(click to enlarge images)