Learning the limits of the camera!

Using the camera

Disposable camera were designed to be easy to use in a pre digital age which meant that they tried to design it so that almost everything was done for you which as a result means that were using a very limited medium but if we learn more about the cameras then we can push those limits.

So what do we need to keep in mind?

A disposable camera uses a fixed focus lens, its focusing distances is roughly 4 or 5 feet away from you’re subject to infinity.

With a disposable camerayou cant change the focus which means that if you try to shoot any close up’s they will appear blurred but you’ll have no way of knowing because you cant check the photos.

So what does this mean?

Well disposable cameras do tend to favour landscape shots but as long as your careful and keep the subject 4 or 5 feet away then you’ll be fine doing portrait shots.

Understanding film

Film speed is a measurement of how sensitive a film is to light. A film that is highly sensitive to light is called a fast film, a film with a low sensitivity is a slow film.

The most common way to quantify film speed is according to its ISO speed (international standards organisation) rating.

A film with a higher ISO number needs less light to properly capture an image that a film witha lower ISO number .

For example ISO 400 film is more sensitive to light than ISO 100, it will take 4 times more light to properly expose ISO 100 film as it will take to properly expose ISO 400 film.

Things to consider:


ISO 400 tends to be the most common film speed we see in disposable cameras because it’s the most versatile; it’s good for dimly lit outdoor conditions and in doors.

If your doing night time photography be aware that you’d normally need to use at least a 1600 or even 3200 speed film to capture night shots without using a flash and when you do use a flash it only captures the object directly in front of the lense.