I knew that getting my two film cameras would be a lesson in patience – there is no immediate gratification in the film world and I’m very used to my digital cameras.  But these guys are giving me quite the lesson.

Fisheye: I’m loving it. Only one small issue – the flash ready indicator light does not light. The tell-tale high pitch of the flash warming up happens, and the flash usually works.  I may exchange it for one that does work, but it’s not a deal breaker.  No film developed yet, but I started a really cool series of photos with it, and can’t wait to see how it comes out!

Colorsplash:  This guy has been a finicky sonofa….  At first, I didn’t properly load the film. (I read the directions. I’ve loaded film cameras before.)  Took a few shots, and then couldn’t advance any more.  Based on customer service advice*, I scrapped that roll and put a new one in. No problems so far.  However, now it doesn’t seem to flash – even though the flash is set to on, and the indicator light is lit. (Funny, how it’s the reverse of the Fisheye.)

I can’t decide whether to break up with him or replace him.  Maybe I just got a defective one, but I don’t know.  I’d lose a little money on the restocking fee (I used the roll that came in the package, and one of the extra rolls that was in the bundle with it), or I can hope that they get a replacement to me before PDF. Either way, I need to ship him back tomorrow.

* I ordered from lomography.com.  I didn’t really shop around because I thought these were harder to find elsewhere, and the bundles with film (and free shipping) was a great deal.  I now have seen it on amazon, for a little less.  However, given my issues so far with the cameras, I do not regret my decision at ALL to purchase from there. My emails to customer service have been replied to IMMEDIATELY, from the same person, with helpful advice and the alternatives I have for returns/exchanges.  So to anyone considering it, I recommend ordering from the source as you’ll have the most options if something goes wrong.  And while I do have issues with both cameras, these technically fall into the “toy” camera category – and are pretty inexpensive.  They will exchange malfunctioning pieces for up to a year, so while there may be a slightly higher chance of having a problem (I think I’m an exception however), they stand by their product and want to keep you happy.

Now I’m just going to be impatient until I can get the film developed and see how my first experiments turned out! 😀