Product Design- Lomography's Oktomat Camera

The Oktomat is the oddest camera I have ever had the pleasure of owning, not just in appearance, but also in function. This little 35mm film camera has not one, but eight separate lenses that fire in quick succession to capture movement over a span of about three seconds; all 8 images appear on the same 5x7 print. The individual boxes on each print can be combined digitally to make some really cool .gif files. Oktomat's appearance is just as strange as its function, bright red and brick like, with a whole mess of colors around its multiple lenses. However, it's suiting for the plastic camera. The shape is easy to hold, which is great for flailing around trying to get the best three second action shots, and its sold with a sturdy lanyard to wrap wound your wrist just in case it does try to slip away. The bright red plastic also makes it easy to keep an eye on for your models in the case of a high-octane photo-shoot (and although the lenses may have some weird shades, they all coordinate nicely with that BRIGHT red). 

Unique in both functionality and appearance, the Oktomat however can't be called more then a novelty. It's practicality as a video recorder was invalidated when the first ACTUAL video recorder hit markets, plus Vine videos can record three additional seconds and sound. Any artistic merit the camera may hold is jeopardized by it's plastic seams that occasionally let light expose your sensitive film, and the slow death of analogue photography as a media. Thus, one of, what is in my opinion, the coolest designed cameras on the market is pushed aside as no more then a toy. 


Here are some older photos I took with this thing:

This is Chico our chihuahua. He's an old man now and is very gray in the face, its weird seeing him with such dark color.

If we learn how to make .gif images this is going to be the first one I do.

butt.