Vivitar IC 101 35 mm Panorama Camera Review | Hawaii

 

The Vivitar IC 101 has become one of my favorite 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 get them off eBay for anywhere from $8-40. It's extremely lightweight and doesn't feel super 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 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.

Let me know what you think of this camera below and be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, Cameras & Cats, to learn more about all of my favorite cameras and to see live video footage using this camera! 

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

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. 

Have a magical day! 

 
 
 

Black & White Holga Photos taken in Paris, France

 

I've been lucky enough to visit Paris twice in my life. The first time, I was taking summer classes during my sophomore year of college with my sister. Photography was becoming my new obsession and I had just started using the Holga camera. It's kind of crazy to think that I took the Holga with me and only shot a few rolls being there for a whole month. If I was in Paris now for a whole month, I would probably have a thousand film rolls by the end of that trip! We spent time in almost every park in Paris and we rode bicycles out to Monet's Garden with our cousin Sarah (who was backpacking through Europe). I learned so much from that month in Paris and I have a strange attachment to the photos I took on that first trip, even if they aren't technically the best photos I've ever taken.

The second time I visited Paris was in 2015 with my family but it was only for a few days. I managed to take quite a few rolls of film during that time though. Paris is seriously the most beautiful city I've ever seen and I definitely plan on going back again at some point. And hopefully again and again and again...

I know I say it all the time, but the Holga is truly my favorite camera. I honestly don't know what I would do without it! I feel such a connection to it (which I know is extremely nerdy) and it's taught me so much about film photography. Below are my favorite Holga photos I've taken in Paris so far. If you'd like to purchase a print, you can contact me directly here. <3

Paris 2008

Paris 2015