A week ago … I got a little upset when the DHL guy arrived with a package from Lomography and in the package was a Diana Mini (the Jiyu version) instead of the Kirameki Diana F+ I ordered. Damn! I could have avoided such problem had I bought it locally but then I had some piggies and some vouchers that I needed to use up by this month … so an online order was the most logical way to get it.
Anyway … being honest (stupid me!) … I emailed them telling them about the problem and they told me that they’ll be sending me the correct item and get DHL to collect the Diana Mini from me (to be shipped back to Hong Kong). I did reply them asking if I could get to buy the Mini too … perhaps at a discount (ie. without shipping … since it is already here by mistake) … but they totally ignored my question (damn it!) and promptly told me that DHL will be delivering the Kirameki Diana F+ and collecting the Mini on the same day (or the next). Duh. Nevermind.
The Kirameki arrived today and it was very happy to see how pretty it was the moment I opened up the parcel!
The camera ain’t pure white (is that what you call it?) like the Edelweiss or Rudolph version. The color somehow reminds me of the bottle of milk I just made for Fitzand half an hour ago. Hahaha!
The ‘skin’ on the camera is neat! It is made from some fabric/canvas material and that’s something different from the usual rubbery material found in certain Diana F+ clones. Really neat but I guess it might get dirty easily if you use it often. Apart from the ‘skin’, the lens cap is just as neat with embossed Japanese characters which means ‘happiness’ (Kirameki) if I am not wrong.
On the top, the film advance wheel has the Lomo boy in blue and that makes it look pretty clean and nice. The only problem I have with this Kirameki design is the flash. I don’t quite like the color and thought maybe something grey-ish might make the camera look better. Ermm … but then I ain’t designer or graphic student … so that might be just me thinking out loud.
Even the usual photo booklet that comes with every Diana F+ is given the special treatment! The cover has the same texture/pattern/material like the ‘skin’ on the camera! This is the first time I’m placing one of these booklet into my cabinet together with the camera. 😀
Go do something good today and order the Kirameki or the other two cameras (Diana Mini or Fisheye 2). Lomography donates Euro 20 to the Red Cross Relieve Japan for every purchase of these special Japan edition cameras. 😉
Sorry if the photos of the camera (above) don’t really show 100% the correct color. I suck bad at getting the white balance correct in Photoshop and I couldn’t do a custom white balance when I was shooting these images. Why? I usually do my custom white balance off the white foams on top of my pint of beer but tonight … I ain’t got no beer. 😛