Lomography La Sardina review

Yes, this fish can really is a camera

Lomo La Sardina
Shaped like a sardine tin and available in several different colour ways, the Lomo La Sardina

TechRadar Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Fun design

  • +

    Takes 35mm film

  • +

    Creative effects

Cons

  • -

    Film is expensive

  • -

    Sometimes hard to tell if shutter has been released

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Lomo's La Sardina is the newest camera in the analogue phenomenon's line-up. Boasting a compact size and a range of interesting designs, the La Sardina is, as the name pretty accurately suggests, shaped like a sardine can.

You can choose the camera only version, or you can plump for the added flash which comes with coloured discs to customise its colour output. It's worth noting that the camera only option is a fair amount cheaper, and you can always add the 'Fritz the Blitz' flash at a later date.

As with most Lomography cameras, there are very few 'settings' to choose from on the La Sardina. You have the option to choose from 'normal' shooting mode (1/100th second shutter speed) and Bulb, and there's also the option to shoot multiple exposures too.

Luckily, the La Sardina uses 35mm film, unlike the 120mm film used by some of the other Lomo models. 35mm is still relatively easy to come by in supermarkets and chemists, but of course there are also a variety of Lomography Society own branded films that you can buy too. For our test we used the Lomography Colour XPRO CHROME at 100 speed.

The lens on board the camera is a 22mm wide-angle fixed length lens and comes with rudimentary focusing controls.

Lomo cameras are of course not known for their high quality or precise optics, but rather the charm and unpredictability characterised by light leaks, flaring, underexposure and just about every classic 'mistake'.

Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar.