WHAT?!? A non-disposable disposable camera???
Or why you should definitely buy this gadget
I love it when I get to follow up on a previous piece, and — GUESS WHAT??? — today is one of those days.
A few months ago, I wrote about falling in love with disposable cameras. Since then, things have changed. Instead of that scary, oh-my-god-i’m-getting-old-so-fast change, this one’s a bit different. It’s a nicer change. Like stepping into a warm bath.
If, in this instance, a warm bath is a non-disposable disposable film camera.
Yes, it’s an utterly ridiculous name, but it’s a totally glorious thing. Let me explain.
To jog your memory, I picked up a disposable camera before a trip to Newcastle and fell in love.
There's something special about decoupling from the endless amount of photos you can take on your phone and making them count using film. It makes you cherish the moments you do snap.
Plus, getting your photos developed is a rush.
All was not well though. Thing is, the more disposable cameras I used, the more I felt slightly uncomfortable. Something didn’t feel right.
And it hit me: buying a whole-ass camera and throwing it away feels shitty. There had to be another way. And, just in case you hadn’t already guessed it, there was.
This is where non-disposable disposable cameras come in. Or if you want another name (I couldn’t think why you would), you could also call them reusable film cameras. That’s less accurate though. Because pretty much every film camera that’s not a disposable one is reusable, so it could be anything, really.
Non-disposable disposable cameras it is.
The idea behind them is as good as the name is ridiculous. Effectively, it’s a camera with a similar ease of use and quality as a disposable one, but — and here’s the exciting bit — you don’t throw it away. You simply replace the film and move on to pointing and shooting.
Most of what I said in the previous piece still stands true: it’s so much nicer to have a camera where you capture fleeting moments and have to wait for the experience of seeing them.
Consider this piece a PSA.
Yeah, I love having the same camera when taking photos because it feels like my little buddy, an adorable fella hanging around and helping me take nice photos.
Really though, since I’ve been using a non-disposable disposable camera I’ve had a lot of people ask me about it — and I thought you, dear reader, might get a kick out of it too.
So here it is, the Harman EZ35:
It was relatively cheap (mine was £30 including a roll of film) and has been a constant in my life.
You’re probably not going to shoot any award-winning photographs with the Harman EZ35, but that’s not the point.
You can definitely get a second hand camera that’s technically far better on eBay, but as a beginner to film photography, I like the lack of options or choice. The Harman EZ35 can have the flash on or off. Besides that, you just point it at something and click the button.
While there are none in this article, what I love most is taking pictures of the people I’m close with. And the Harman EZ35 does that beautifully.
Even better, because it’s easy to use, tough, and reasonably priced, I take it with me wherever I want. If it gets broken, so be it, no great loss, but until then, it’s a miniature memory companion.
If you’ve ever thought about getting into film photography, grab yourself a reusable film camera (sorry, non-disposable disposable camera). I can’t express just how much joy mine has brought me over the last couple of months, opening up a new world of beautiful memories.
One day, I may upgrade my camera, but, for now the Harman EZ35 is doing its job, and doing it with aplomb.
Finally, here’s a picture of me holding a tree while kinda being dressed like a tree:
See you next week, beautiful people.