The Debonair is a cheap, plastic camera originally manufactured in the 1980s by a factory in Hong Kong and sold in its original box with instruction manual by the good people at the Film Photography Podcast. I decided to pick up a Debonair camera just after I returned home from Christmas holiday as a little new year present. I’m really good at justifying new camera purchases for myself.
Once I ordered the camera it shipped quickly and arrived at my house within a week. I also received a free roll of expired 120 film with my purchase which I’ve tucked away for a special occasion. The Debonair camera looks like a hybrid between the Lomography Holga and Diana F+ cameras. The lens is almost exactly like that of the Holga. In fact, if you have Holga close-up filters or wide angle adapters, they’ll fit on the Debonair lens. The body of the camera reminds me of a much sturdier Diana F+. There is a lock on the bottom of the camera body and the entire back slides out when loading film. The film spools are held in place by plastic clips at the bottom which are much sturdier than the ones in my Diana F+.
It’s important to note that the Debonair does not shoot square 6×6 images, instead it shoots something closer to 5×6 which I find suits my shooting style. I like to have a little more width for landscape shots and height for portraits. Also important is the lack of tripod mount and bulb mode. If you follow my blog then you know of my penchant for long exposure for which a tripod mount and bulb mode are essential. Oh well, not a big deal really, that’s what my other cameras are for.
I did a little research online to determine the aperture and shutter speed which is supposedly f/8 and 1/100 on ‘sunny.’ Focusing is very similar to the plastic Lomography cameras – one head for 3-4 feet, 3 people for 4-6 feet, mountain for infinity. These are my guesses anyway.
I loaded up a roll of Ilford HP5+ and finished the roll of 16 frames in one day. It was a pleasure shooting this camera, and the quality of the images really surprised me. I wish my overpriced, overhyped Lomography Bel Air could produce results like these, but that’s a matter for a different post. I did notice odd light distribution, where low light areas have deeper shadows creating something like a vignette on that edge of the frame. There was also some light scratching on the negative from the film advancing over the plastic edges. Nothing a little tape can’t fix.
I really like this camera and look forward to more adventures. Mahalo!
Lovely vignetting on these. Great job on your first roll. These plastic cameras are lots of fun. Have a great day.
Great results!! It’s very like mine glass lens Holga. I have looked at this camera, but I already have a couple of both Holgas and Dianas, and then the overseas shipping….. I was tempted though…..
About the Bel Air, have you seen they have come up with glass lenses to it? Perhaps something to try, the camera looks fabolous except from the plastic lens, with it’s diffrent sizes…
Hi Marie, I have seen the glass lenses for the Bel Air, but the camera + glass lenses is more than $500 USD! I could get a lot more camera for that kind of money. I’ll stick with pinhole
By the way, have you tried using your Zero Image yet?
Wow, 500 USD….. I see your point there….
Yes, I have almost finished my first roll. We have had really ugly weather for quite some time now, and my basement renovation steals a lot of time, but I look at this beautiful little camera every day and just can’t wait to use it more…
These turned out beautifully! I really enjoyed your comments, too. I miss the tripod mount and bulb setting too. It’s kind of fun to have a non-square plastic camera though.
Yes, exactly! Thanks for stopping by