BLACKBIRD FLY

Obsessed with Instagram? So are we. But if you’re looking to experiment with good old fashioned 35mm film, the Blackbird, Fly “toy” camera is a great new choice.

It’s a plastic twin-lens reflex camera (TLR), much in the same vein as classic models like the Rolleiflex. Since their introduction in the late ’20s, both amateurs and pros have loved the TLR for its practicality, as well as the quality of images it produces. Diane Arbus was a fan. So was Richard Avedon. Because the mechanics of a TLR are simpler than that of the more common single-lens reflex (SLR), much of the bulk can be removed, making it lighter to carry and since there are two lenses and a heads-down viewfinder, you can snap from hip level, making for a more discreet shooting style. This comes in handy for snapping spontaneous pictures of Stockholm street fashion or capturing a quiet moment in a Florentine chapel. With a retro body and colorful casing, the Blackbird, Fly is the kind of camera you don’t just carry, you wear — no smartphone can hold a candle to that.