Gear Review: Pocket Dispo Lens
There seems to be a pretty booming market for this type of lens at the moment and I have wanted one for a long time, this type of lens being a disposable camera lens mounted to fit your mirrorless of DSLR body.
The problem (for me at least!) has been that they have been largely targeted at the mirrorless market, leaving us DLSR ‘dinosaurs’ feeling a little bit left out and unable to join in the fun. I love a bit of lo-fi tech.
That was until a couple of weeks ago, when I found out that Pocket Dispo now sell lenses which are made for DSLR cameras (be quick, they have been quite open about the fact that there is a limited number), and had brought out a model which fits on to my Canon EF-S lens mount, and I couldn’t have been happier about it!
The version I have, for the EF/EF-S Mount is priced at £45 when it’s at full price, but I got mine in the promotion they were running in the run-up to the 4th July celebrations (7/4, or 4/7 depending on where you are reading this), so I managed to secure a bit of a discount, which was great when you consider that the postage is £15.
That said, you do have to bear in mind that they are shipping this from the USA (I’m in the UK), and considering it arrived in less than a week and with no customs issues, I would argue that this isn’t too much of a price to pay. I also bundled in some presets for £8, which was a discount of almost 50% against full price, which brought the total of my order to £57 (around $US78 (exchange rate correct at 02/07/2025)) and for the money, I think I managed to get a reasonable deal. I suppose this also clears up the point that this is an unbiased review as I have paid for this with my own money.
The Nitty Gritty
Price - £45 (I paid £34 in a promotion)
Presets - £15 (I paid £8 in the same promotion)
Tech Specs: 35mm focal length at fixed f/11
Material - 3D Printed ASA
Where to buy: https://pocketdispo.com
<——— The Pocket Dispo DLSR lens has a small form factor, is light weight, but in spite of this, it’s rugged and the recessed lens helps to guard against scratches.
So what do you get? What’s it like?
The lens arrived well packaged and in one piece following its transatlantic adventure. In the package there was a velvet-style pouch to keep the lens in, the lens itself and a little information leaflet with a QR code to a video and a focus map showing where the sharper parts of the lens are.
The lens itself feels solid. I love the fact that they are using genuine disposable lenses (I don’t know if these are recycled, but extra bonus points if they are), and the aim, I suppose, is to reduce the amount of disposable cameras we buy by replicating the lens and then duplicating the film with the presets (I will talk about these later).
The whole thing (aside from the lens element itself) is 3D printed in ASA. This is supposed to be more UV resistant, so it should be more durable and not degrade too much if you’re using it in the sun all the time. It is however, petroleum based and will take forever to break down, but you are buying a piece of plastic so you should know what you’re getting into anyway. Spoiler alert, I won’t be throwing mine in the bin any time soon! The material also helps to keep the price down - if you want one made out of aircraft grade aluminium, then that’s great, but expect to pay for it!
I like the feel of the lens, it is lightweight, but doesn’t feel fragile or like it’s going to break in a slight breeze or if it gets bumped around in your camera bag. I love that when the folks at Pocket Dispo have designed this, they have made the conscious decision to recess the lens into the plastic, which means that it is going to be far more durable and less prone to scratches.
It is easy to mount to your camera, and doesn’t fill you with dread that it’s going to cross thread or get stuck on your camera. The threads for the mount are solid, and there are useful marks on the rim of the lens that help you to line it up to your mount. It pops off just as easily.
What are the Images Like?
The lens itself has a fixed aperture of around f/11 so you’re getting good depth of field. According to their website, everything beyond 1.5 metres will be in focus. This seems to hold pretty true and you get some fall off in sharpness towards the edges, which, if you are after recreating that true disposable camera look, is what you are looking for.
The focal length is ~35mm, which is what you would expect from this lens on a crop sensor. 35mm, I suppose, could be described as a ‘classic’ focal length, and allows you to achieve a good balance between subject and context. It gives an almost journalistic feel to your images, furnishing them with a certain air of familiarity.
The f/11 aperture does mean that you need to be in a really well lit room if you want to use it indoors, or you need to be near some good natural light.
If you wanted to add some more ‘truth’ to your aims of recreating that true point and shoot look, you could mount a flash to your camera and fire it directly at your subject!
Remember that with this, there is no autofocus! This may seem a but obvious, but you’re buying a repackaged disposable camera lens, most of everything is in acceptable focus anyway, and besides, this isn’t really the point; we’re not trying to create technically perfect images with this. This is about nostalgia and having fun, and the latter is certainly why we do photography. The vignettes are cool, the edges a slightly soft - embrace the imperfections and nostalgic feel!
The Presets
You get 10 of these in the pack that you can opt to buy with the lens, at a cost of £15:
CineStill 50D
CineStill 400D
CineStill Double-X(Black and White)
Fujichrome 264
Fujicolor 400
Fujicolor Superior
Ilford FP4 (Black and White)
Kodak Ekatchrome
Kodak Gold 200 (I love this, as this was the film I always used to shoot on as kid)
Kodak Portra 800
I suppose you could argue that these are film simulations, and I think this is what they have set out to achieve when they have created these, though I can’t say how well/how truly they have created these film stocks as I don’t shoot enough film to have a solid basis for comparison.
I’m not usually a fan of presets, as I want to edit everything from scratch and have full control over the edit from start to finish, but I like these ones, they feel like they should be a part of your image making process with this lens. Usally if I use a preset, it’s one I have created, but I might use these ones more than I would normally as they feel like a part of the fun of the process of recreating the feel of the kind of images we want to produce with the Pocket Dispo. I’ve made a gallery of examples for these presets at the bottom of this post so you can have a look at what they do to the images you create. I’ve not made any changes to these other than some exposure adjustments so you can see exactly what you’re looking at.
Remember though, presets are a starting point and won’t solve all your editing issues or save you all the time you might think. Don’t rely on them to do one hundred percent of the work for you - there’s not any fun in that anyway!
Keep your eye out for the link to download your presets when you get your confirmation text/email, I nearly missed mine!
Who is this lens for?
I would say that this lens is for all photographers who want something a little bit different, that isn’t going to break the bank and who to enjoy the fun of disposable camera photography, without the guilt of all the disposable cameras going to landfill. It’s great if you haven’t been ‘feeling’ photography or you’re having a bit of a creative burn out.
I’m having a lot of fun with mine, and it has been a a great addition to the bag at a time of year when I am tired and struggle to want to go and shoot (I’m a school teacher in the real world, and it’s almost the summer holidays - we’re all shattered by this point, and I promise we’re not counting down the days…)
Where to buy?
I got mine by heading direct to https://pocketdispo.com. I haven’t found any UK retailers that are selling lenses from this manufacturer, so go ahead; buy direct and support them!
In Conclusion
This lens is great fun, and whilst it might seem a bit pricey, for me it’s worth the money. Do I wish it were a bit cheaper? Of course I do, we all do with anything we buy, be it for our camera or not. It’s a durable piece of kit, which gives your environmental conscience a bit of a boost, it’s easy to use and did I mention it’s great fun!?
It’s light, fun, and a great way to reset your photography mindset. Personally, it’s helped me push through a bit of creative burnout.
This lens isn’t going to win technical awards — and it’s not meant to. What it offers is sheer photographic joy in a tiny, clever, and surprisingly sturdy package.
Pros:
Good build quality and small form factor.
Constructed from durable materials which feel like they will last.
Easy to use and mount/unmount
35mm focal length gives the classic point and shoot vibe.
Hours of fun!
Cons
If you’re not in the US then postage is a bit steep if you buy outside of a promotion.
There can be a bit of a wait for delivery.
At full price, they are a bit expensive so be prepared to take a small hit.
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Preset Gallery:
As mentioned previously, these have just had some exposure adjustments applied, everything else is done by the preset itself.
Top: Original (Exposure Adjustment only), CineStill 50D, CineStill 400D, CineStill Double X
Middle: Kodak Ektachrome, FujiChrome 264, Fujicolor 400, FujiColor Superia,
Bottom: Ilford FP4, Kodak Gold 200, Kodak Portra 800
