Dhphoto: Recesky DIY TLR Camera vs Gakkenflex vs Blackbird Fly

Recesky DIY TLR Camera vs Gakkenflex vs Blackbird Fly

The Recesky DIY TLR Camera is a 35mm Film Camera, who is made by Recesky, who make art and craft things. This camera uses 35mm Film . it is a TLR (Twin lens reflex camera). It costs around £10-£30, depending where you get it from. You can buy it from Ebay.

TLR Diagram

What is special about this camera is that you get to build it yourself (DIY). It takes around 1 hour to build and doesn't require a Knife to build or glue. but you will need a good set of precision screwdrivers to screw it all together. It comes in a box a little larger than A4 and all the components are protected by Styrofoam.

Camera Information:

Lens : Plastic lens f11
Shutter Speed: 1/150s
Size : 80mm×115mm×70mm
Film type: 35mm film
Focus : Manual

Advantages:

It requires no Batteries
You can focus the camera unlike to more expensive Blackbird Fly Toy Camera
Uses the 35mm film
Great Toy camera effect / Lomo effect
Very cheap to buy

Disadvantages:

No film counter (I just put a Post-it Note on the back with a tally on the back of how many photos taken
No auto wind
Sometimes winding the film the dial doesn't spin, and you don't know how far until the next exposure it is
No flash Hot-shoe
Hard to shoot landscape but that is what you get with all TLR camera's

Recesky Image Results

To get a better idea of the images please visit the

Recesky DIY TLR Camera group,

as there is thousands of images to look at, taken by other people with the Recesky DIY TLR Camera.

Gakkenflex

Some people say that the Recesky DIY TLR Camera is a Gakkenflex clone or Gakkenfake. The Gakkenflex came free in a Japanese magazine the differences are;

The Gakkenflex is thinner than the Recesky
The gakkenflex has the film wind on the other side of the camera body, which affects putting the camera on a tripod.
The Gakkenflex has a sports viewfinder unlike the Recesky.
Apparently it is easier to focus on the Gakenflex.

Gakkenflex, Recesky

Gakkenflex Image Results:

The image results are very similar to each other, but one thing to consider about both camera's is that you have to keep the camera extremely still. as the shutter creates a lot of movement and the images may turn out blurry.

Which should you buy:

They are both very similar camera's but you should go for the recesky, because they don't sell the Gakkenflex camera as it came in a magazine, but there are a couple of them on Ebay.

Blackbird Fly Toy camera

Another camera I will be talking about is the Blackbird Fly Camera, as with the Gakkenflex and the Recesky is a TLR camera, but it costs around £80-£100. and it is all pre made so some of the fun has been taken out of it. it comes in various colours. it is more expensive two but than the other two camera but it comes with a lot more features included;