I want to buy my Girlfriend the Diana+ camera from Lomo..?

I want to buy my Girlfriend the Diana+ camera from Lomo, and I was wondering if there were some camera buffs out there that could help me out.

First of all, she's not some huge photographer, processing all of or any of her own photos. Ever, this will just be for fun. So how do I go about buying films for it, and getting the actual pictures made? How much does it cost? I understand the camera was conceived to be a toy, so am I right in assuming it's simple to operate and load?

I know I must look and sound pretty dumb to people smart to this kind of thing, but it's not really my area of expertise. If this is a terrible gift for a girl who has a casual, but educated interest and respect for art and photography, please tell me. From the research I've done so far, it seems like she'll absolutely love it.

Thanks!

The Diana is a replica of a 1960's Chinese toy camera.

It takes 120 film, which may not be available at your local mall camera store.

You won't get it developed in an hour -- they'll have to send it away.

The controls are pretty simple: two shutter speeds and three focusing choices.

As for image quality, it's crappy but it has a unique charm some people like.

Overall, though, it's a fun piece of junk and the price is right.

But if she needs to see the image immediately and post it on MySpace, she'll be very disappointed.

HTH
V2K1

That sounds like fun.

Makes sure it is a 120 Lomo. 35mm just doesn't cut it.

B&W film can be bought at Adorama or B&H for less than $3.00/roll. Also, occasionally, film can be found at College Book stores.

Processing can be dropped off at Wal-Mart. Takes about 4 days and costs between $2.00 to $4.00.

I agree get the 120 size Diana. In regards to the film, depends on where you live. Any respectable pro photo supply store will have 120 in a variety of makes. In terms of developing and printing, at least when I was living in the San Francisco bay area which was not that long ago I could get my 120 film developed in anywhere from 1-3 hours and at the latest 1 day. and prints werent all the expensive. However, what I would suggest is just have the negatives developed and get yourself a scanner and print at home digitally.