The Kissimmee HipstaPak: your reactions

The Kissimmee HipstaPak, released at the beginning of this month, has added yet another lens, Dale, to the Hipstamatic catalogue and it was, almost unanimously, very well received. On the other hand, the new film, Kodot Souvenir, of which the main characteristic is a date-stamp, vehemently divides opinions. Here are a few of these opinions, as well as some ideas for various combos.

You can find more detailed information about the date stamping in this article, as well as an interesting little bug that Polina Sarri discovered, which could well titillate your imagination.

Lori Hillsberg

"At first I thought the bright blue and orange colors of the pak were going to be hard to shoot with, and have limited use. After seeing the beautiful florals and the stunning, low light evening shots that my Hipsta friends made, I knew I had to purchase the pak. The Dale lens seems to pick up beautiful tones. I paired Dale with Abbott K20 in my shot, which silhouetted the birds and gave me a lovely teal sky."

Lens:  Dale 

Film:  Abbot K20 

Flash:  Standard 

Kally Klonaris

"I really love this new Kissimmee HipstaPak. I have found that you can create a lot of interesting effects and cool variations. My only wish would be for the date on the film to be optional. For certain photos it really works, but for others I find it really distracting."

Lens:  Dale 

Film:  Blanko 1 (69%) 

Flash:  Apollo 

RGB: modified

Allan Smorra

"I grew up in Florida about 200 miles south of the town of Kissimmee and one thing that I really loved was the color of the afternoon sky, when a storm was moving in. The sky was not quite blue and not yet black. The temperature dropped as the storm got closer and for a brief period the wind was non-existent. I paired the Dale lens with the Daydream film to mimic the vintage feel of the new Kissimmee HipstaPak. The digital date imprint of the new Pak is not a feature that I would use on an everyday basis, so I went in search of something that was close. Ahh, memories. Do we really have to stamp a date on them?"

Lens:  Dale 

Film:  Daydream 

Sabine Gromek

"I like the turquoise touch that the Kissimmee HipstaPak gives to blue skies. However, I am not a big fan of date prints on the photo, but in that image I somehow like it. I toggled the Retro-Date-Prints in the settings, so that it shows the actual date and not the one from 20 years ago."

Lens:  Dale 

Film:  Kodot Souvenir 

Leslie Burnside

"I always buy the new paks, even when they don't look very promising. In many cases one of the elements is good, but not both. This is one of those paks. The Dale lens works well with blues and earth tones; colors we have all around us in northern New Mexico, along with an abundance of retro photo opportunities. The Kodot Souvenir film, however, is one that I will be disabling. The date distracts from the overall photo and, in my opinion, looks cheesy. I would prefer an option to just turn it off. I have been experimenting with other films to use with Dale instead. So far, I particularly like Bream, Radama, Daydream and DreamCanvas."

Lens:  Dale 

Film:  Radama 

Flash:  Standard (28%) 

Clarity: 83 • Definition: 25 • Shadows: +68

Joy Coyle

"My first impression was not a favourable one. I tend to shoot landscapes mostly, and the intensity of blues, even turning greens to blue, I found pretty unappealing. That hasn't changed. I still don't like it for my particular style. The shots I most liked were street shots, buildings and such, where the colour of the buildings dominate rather than the blues, and give the image the retro vibe the Pak was made for. And the date stamp - mostly annoying, but occasionally works. So it's all about finding the right subject really."

Lens:  Dale 

Film:  Kodot Souvenir 

Julie Descalopoulis

"I’ve found many of the new HipstaPaks a bit too gimmicky, over the last few releases. Saying that, after playing around with them for a few months almost all of the lenses and films do find their place in certain situations! The Kissimmee HipstaPak is no exception and, at first glance, the glaring color changes and time stamp seem hard to use. I find the use of a flash really helps tone down the teal coloring and make the lens more flexible. As far as the date is concerned, I’m not really a fan but, then again, it’s perfect for remembering a moment in time! I've seen some great results from other hipstographers who paired the lens with other films. I can't wait to find more time to play around with this interesting new Pak!"

Lens:  Dale 

Film:  Kodot Souvenir 

Flash:  RedEye Gel 

Maura Jamie-Predale

"I definitely think this pak has great potential. When used together, this combo is great for beach shots, as the combo really picks up on vibrant blues and yellows. Polina has become one of my new favorite lenses. I've paired it with Jing, Hema, Adler and Gregory. Depending on the photo, I can deal with the date stamp; I think it adds a cool retro vibe to certain subjects."

Lens:  Dale 

Film:  Polina 

Flash:  Apollo 

Exposure: -0.1 • Clarity: 54 • Definition: 59 • Highlights: -53 • Shadows: +5 • Vibrancy: +5 • Temperature: 6510 • Tint: O G

This post is also available in: French

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