Well, this is going to sound crazy, but I turned my Fujifilm X100V into a disposable film camera. No, I didn’t disassemble my digital camera, rip out the sensor, and adapt a film spool. Instead, I configured my X100V to capture pictures that appear as though they were captured with a cheap throwaway film camera. Why? I’ve done crazier things before, including distressing a camera, so it shouldn’t be too shocking that I’d do this—perhaps it was just a matter of time.
The inspiration for this project has been building for awhile. I have a picture displayed on my dresser that’s over 20 years old—it’s my wife and I, captured sometime shortly after we got married. A friend took the picture with a disposable camera. I can tell that it was a Fujifilm QuickSnap camera by the color palette, which is clearly Fujicolor. The picture is special to me because it’s a very personal (and happy) moment that’s been frozen in time through photography. It’s nothing more than a snapshot captured on a cheap camera, and would be completely meaningless to almost anyone else. I have a box full of these type of pictures, mostly 4″ x 6″ prints. You might have a box like this, too—snapshots that are meaningful to you.
Fujifilm developed the QuickSnap camera, a “one-time-use” 35mm film camera, in the mid-1980’s (Kodak released its version, called FunSaver, a couple years later), and it was an instant hit. These “disposable” cameras were extremely popular in the 1990’s and 2000’s. They came preloaded with 27 frames (a 24-exposure roll of film, but you got three extra shots), and were point-and-shoot. You’d push the shutter-release and advance the film, but otherwise there typically weren’t any other controls, so anyone could use these cameras—no skill required. Once you exposed all of the frames, you’d take the camera to the 1-hour lab, where they removed the film for development and recycled the camera. 60 minutes later you’d have a packet of 4″ x 6″ prints.
Cheap digital point-and-shoots made a dent in disposable camera sales, but it was really the cellphone camera that rendered them obsolete; however, you might be surprised to learn that you can still buy disposable cameras today. Thanks to the Lomography movement and an increased interest in film photography, there’s enough of a market for these cameras to continue to exist in 2022. I briefly considered purchasing one, but instead of that, I decided to capture QuickSnap-like images on my Fujifilm X100V.
Now you know the why, so let’s get into the how.
Anxious to see the “how” of this. I managed to track down two 2GB SD cards so I could try limiting myself to a specific number of frames (I believe it ended up being ~26 .RAF files from my X-T3) which was a really entertaining and educational exercise in restraint.
A 1GB card and JPEG-only might work. Not sure, though.
I was shocked at how challenging it was to find such a small capacity SD card. ::laugh::
It is! I have a couple from the olden days when it was more common. They’re super slow, though. I’ll have to give it a try.
show goes to film, fyi
https://nofilmschool.com/kodak-ektachrome-season-2-euphoria
I wonder if the film is something like this recipe:
https://fujixweekly.com/2021/04/26/fujifilm-x-e4-film-simulation-recipe-ektachrome-320t/
I’ll have to check out the show. Thanks for the tip!
What recipe was used for the bread truck?
It says in the article 🙂
The recipe is this one, but with some modifications and filters.
https://fujixweekly.com/2020/07/27/fujifilm-x100v-film-simulation-recipe-fujicolor-superia-800/
I’m so confused. I subscribed to get access to the “how” but can’t find the recipe. Nor how you turned your x100v into a disposable camera.
I’m sorry, I thought I explained it clearly, but sometimes things don’t come out as clearly in print as they are in my mind. Please email me at roeschphotography@yahoo.com, and we’ll clear up the confusion.