Putting the phun back in photography

Quit defensively saying "No Lomo", and pop into Lomography Austin: a sleek, exposed-stone showroom of affordable analogue cameras marked by colorful toy-like appearances, wow-inducing effects, and idiot-proof interfaces that encourage a style of gleeful spontaneity that appeals to both hardcore film fetishists as well as the cam-curious.

The flagship model is the LC-A+, a repro of a vintage Russian 35mm point-and-shoot discovered on a backpacking trip in the early '90s by Lomography's Austrian founders, who were blown away by both the color saturation, and shadowy edges that perfectly capture what evil lurks in the hearts of men.

There are other faithful recreations (e.g., the Diana F+: '60s medium format, makes dreamy lo-fi shots, comes with color filters), but the real magic's in wackier stock like the ultra-compact Sardina (sardine tin as its body), Fisheyes for under $60, panoramic insanity like the 360 Spinner (turns around own axis during exposure with the pull of a ripcord), and multi-lens cams that capture up to eight frames in one shot, for photobooth effects without the claustrophobia of being trapped in a confined space with someone who loves photobooths.

To give even more life to your shots, they've created the movie-making LomoKino, a super-cheap Super 8 alternative that takes a series of 35 crank-driven exposures, resulting in a minute-long stop-motion video, hopefully not of you acting out fetishes that, frankly, absolutely no one is curious about.