As often, if not always, Lomography presents a strange camera: the HydroChrome Sutton’s Panoramic Belair. A panoramic film camera with a lens that can be filled with liquid to modify the image recorded by the film.
Liquid-filled lens
This is the first thing that strikes you when you read the HydroChrome Sutton’s Panoramic Belair technical sheet, the lens must be filled with liquid. This explains this appendix to the left of the lens.
This process, although rare, is not new. We owe it to the English engineer and inventor Thomas Sutton. It is also to him that we owe the first color photograph in 1861. But let’s go back to the 21st century.
Thanks to its liquid-fill lens, the HydroChrome Sutton’s Panoramic Belair allows you to play with the renderings, which vary according to the type of liquid used. Lomography offers a liquide guide so you don’t destroy the lens or get photos that are too dark.
Panoramic format
The lens is a 32mm with multiple apertures and a larger recording area than the traditional 24 x 35mm; since it is 104 mm × 35 mm. This is what enables the camera to record panoramic images and print the perforation areas of the film.
| Available Apertures | f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32 & f/168 (pinhole) |
| Shutter Speeds | N (1/100), B (Bulb) |
| Focal Length | 32 mm |
| Exposure Area | 104 mm × 35 mm |
Some pictures
Resolutely dedicated to a creative photo, outside of a realistic approach, the HydroChrome Sutton’s Panoramic Belair allows to mix the real and the imaginary from the moment of the shooting.
Our analysis
For a price of 79 $ or 79 €, the device may seem expensive but is clearly in the segment for lovers of an original photograph. More than a camera, it is a tool of creativity at the service of an existing or emerging artistic intention.
Without doubt a great Christmas gift idea for creative photographers!
