The Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim (UWS) is often referred to as the poor mans Lomo-LCA. As the price of secondhand Lomo’s has risen to astronomical proportions people have been searching out reasonably priced alternatives such as the Olympus XA2 and the Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim.
This little Vivitar was originally built as a toy camera, however due to the quality of images it produces it has been recognized as much better than that.
Despite this it is effectively a disposable camera which you can reload with new film. The entire camera is built from plastic and is as light as a feather and as it’s names suggests very slim (just 25mm deep) making it almost unnoticeable when slipped into a pocket.
Small Yet Well Formed: The Vivitar Wide & Slim
The camera does not require any batteries, has no flash and has a fixed aperture of f11 at 1/125 second shutter speed. This combined with the lack of flash means that it can only really be used in good light condition – outside on a bright day. Get over this and shoot outside and you’ll soon discover you have a cracking little camera that probably cost you less than the postage and packaging you paid to get it shipped to you!
The narrow aperture of f11 ensures you get a nice big depth of field helping to keep most of your images sharp throughout. Of particular appeal is the natural vignette that the wide 22mm lens offers, giving it that real lomo feel to its pictures (particularly when crossprocessed).
One simple tip is to use a small coin or screw driver stuck into the space that is revealed when you pull out the rewind handle. This will avoid you having to risk breaking the handle itself which is quite easy to do as it is entirely made of thin plastic.
Cross Processed Vivitar Wide and Slim Shot
The 22mm lens is very wide (hence the cameras name!). One thing that will catch you out a few times is your fingers appearing in the edges of your shots. To avoid this you simply need to remember to hold the camera at the top/sides of the body and not grip it like you would normally do with a regular compact with your fingers curling round onto the front of the body.
Another issue some people find is that sometimes it can be a bit tricky opening the back of the camera up to get the film out. A simply trick is to hold it with the back facing down, letting gravity help you out.
Apart from the vignette that the Vivitar produces on most shots it is also lauded for the great lens flare that is achieved when you point this camera at the sun.
Conclusion
All in all the Vivitar Wide and Slim is truly a great camera. Considerng it is designed to practically be disposable and you can generally pick these cameras up for peanuts you really cannot go wrong.
If you are looking to get into film photography and have been looking at lomo style picture and fancy giving it a crack then this is the camera to start out with. No batteries, no zone focusing to worry about, simply throw in some film and start shooting.
Vivitar Wide & Slim Specifications:
Lens: 22mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
Aperture: f11
Distance: 1.2m
Weight 75g
Format: 35mm
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