Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim

From Camerapedia.org

Overview

What's with it?:
The Ultra Wide & Slim is an all plastic point and shoot camera with a fixed f11 aperture and 22mm wide angle fixed focus lens. Shutter speed is also fixed at 1/125s, so film with an [ISO] of 400 is recommended for general use. The camera, which has been discontinued for some time, has found a new life in the "toy camera" and lomography universe, and has become much sought after. Its photograph's trademark vignetted edges and sometimes over-the-top lens flare give it a distinct low-fi and unique feel.

Operation:
The Ultra Wide & Slim is a completely mechanical camera, relying on no electronics to function; hence, no batteries are required. The film is advanced through a manual dial, which in turn advances the number of exposed frames in the frame counter window. Aiming is done through a plastic window that is not linked visually to the lens in any way; therefore, the photographer needs to adjust for [1]paralax error when composing the photograph. The photographer should also keep in mind that the view finder does not have the curvature of the 22mm lens. The images produced will contain much more of the scene than can be seen during composition. The shutter release is a simple button located on the top of the camera.

Links

[2] The Flickr Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim photo pool
[3] A Flickr page explaining how to add filter capability to your UW&S
[4]How to modify, or mod your UW&S for multiple exposure and "bulb mode" capability.
[5]An example of the vignette it can produce and [6] an example of the lens flare it can produce.