With 1 April behind us we can get back to the usual stream of dubious information on the Internet rather than the onslaught of April Fools’ hoaxes. For people and groups with legitimate announcements that day is a daring scheduling move.
Many thought the subcompact and poorly named AMC Gremlin was satirical when released on 1 April, 1970. SoftBank’s celebration of raising their reception to the “best in Japan” was met with widespread suspicion because of the timing and… well, it’s SoftBank.
And now we have the Oldlensgirl.jp opened on 1 April, 2013. The website’s mission is to catalog old camera lenses as moé (cute and anthropomorphic) girls. The website got popular pretty quickly due to how specific a niche it filled. However, it’s making even more news now as people are realizing it wasn’t a joke. A few days after 1 April, Oldlensgirl is going strong with plans to add more lens-girls.
Team Oldlensgirl is made up of 25-year-old freelance illustrator and photography enthusiast Garnet and 45-year-old Tetsu Sawamura, a photographer with published works in infra-red and digital camera dress up (putting old-fashioned lenses on digital cameras).
For the opening of Oldlensgirl, the two have put together a modest set of three lenses. However, each lens is filed with its representative girl along with a detailed explanation of it and sample photos taken from that lens.
1) The KMZ Helios-40-2 85mm F1.5
This model of Helios lens was made in Russia and sells for around 700 to 900 US dollars on eBay. Normally KMZ lenses were known for their low price and reliability but the KMZ Helios-40-2 85mm F1.5 stands out among the rest of the line. Here she is dressed in a Soviet style ensemble depicted from a seldom seen angle. Here’s a sample photo of her work.
2) The Chiyoda Kogaku (Minolta) Super Rokkor 45mm F2.8 Leica L mount
This lens is nicknamed Umebachi (bowl of plums) and helps to create soft old fashioned tones. The lens itself is said to have a variety of gimmicks that might wear thin quickly for some users. Still, it has a timeless bright cheerful feeling like a school girl during the Taisho Period (early 1900′s) when this lens was developed.
3) The Olympus PEN F mount F.Zuiko Auto-S 38mm F1.8 and G.Zuiko Auto-S 40mm F1.4
These lenses put out by Olympus in the early 60s have an older and younger sister relationship. The F1.4 is a reliable and sturdy lens that does what you need when you want it, but she plays by the rules and if you don’t you won’t be happy with the results. The F1.8 is a little clumsy and unpredictable yet if the user wants to experiment a little she can produce some result greater than her older sis.
Even though I’m not especially into photography, this website of antique lenses was surprisingly interesting and fun to navigate. The site design is comfortable and the moé designs make learning about lenses surprisingly fun so even a layman like myself could get into the nuances these lenses have.
So kudos to Oldlensgirl for taking an incredibly weird concept, launching it on April Fools Day, and making it quite awesome!
Source: Oldlensgirl via Gizmodo, Gigazine (Japanese)
Garnet: Official Site (Japanese)
Tetsu Sawamura: Official Site (Japanese)
Oldlensgirl on facebook
Related Stories
- Algae Found Capable of Removing Radioactive Matter from Water
- How Lens Maker Sigma Saved My Life
- It Really Works! Turn Your iPhone Into a Microscope With Just a Drop of Water!
- Take Sweet Pics with this Awesome New Doughnut Camera
- Chinese Bootleg DVDs Improve on Originals in Every Way
Origin: Website Featuring Anthropomorphic Camera Lenses Opens April First, Surprisingly Wasn’t a Prank
Copyright© RocketNews24 / Socio Corporation. All rights reserved.