The Lomography SuperSampler Flash (~2004) is the flash-equipped variant of the SuperSampler (2000), retaining the four-lens horizontal panoramic sequence format while adding a built-in flash unit that fires in synchrony with each lens as it exposes its strip of the frame. The result is the same distinctive panoramic time-strip - four sequential sub-frames arranged side by side across a standard 35mm frame - made available for indoor, evening, and low-light conditions.
Reference
Find film for your Lomography SuperSampler Flash
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
Lomography Color Negative 400 is a versatile ISO 400 C-41 color negative film with vivid, saturated colors, believed to be a Kodak Alaris-manufactured emulsion, available in 35mm and 120 formats.
Lomography Color Negative 800 is a high-speed ISO 800 C-41 color negative film widely suspected to be a Kodak-manufactured emulsion, delivering vibrant colors and adequate grain for challenging lighting conditions.
**Timing dial function** - test all four timing modes; the dial is the most common failure point on SuperSampler variants, with the plastic detents wearing and causing the dial to slip between settings.
**Flash function per-lens** - with an expired roll and fresh AA batteries, verify that the flash fires with each of the four sequential exposures, not just the first; a partial flash failure produces inconsistently exposed panels.
**Battery contacts** - inspect the AA compartment for corrosion; stored flash cameras are prone to battery leakage damage.
**All four lenses firing** - a stuck shutter pin in any of the four lens positions produces a blank strip in that panel position.
**Light seals** - check body seams for deteriorated foam; light leaks are a consistent age-related defect on plastic toy cameras and present as fogging at predictable panel positions.
About this camera
The SuperSampler Flash extends the four-lens panoramic sequence strip into low-light territory - a built-in flash fires with each successive lens, illuminating the temporal panorama indoors and at night.
Key Specs
Frequently asked questions
What film does the Lomography SuperSampler Flash use?
The Lomography SuperSampler Flash shoots 35mm film.
What battery does the Lomography SuperSampler Flash take?
The Lomography SuperSampler Flash uses a 2x AA battery.
What lens mount does the Lomography SuperSampler Flash have?
The Lomography SuperSampler Flash uses the fixed mount.
What shutter speeds does the Lomography SuperSampler Flash offer?
The Lomography SuperSampler Flash's shutter speeds range from 1/100s to 1/100s.
35mm; 4 sub-frames per standard frame (horizontal panoramic strip)
Mount
Fixed (4x non-interchangeable lenses)
Year
2004–
Lenses
4x fixed plastic lenses
Shutter
Sequential firing, L to R
Timing modes
0.2s / 0.5s / 2s / 5s between exposures
Flash
Built-in (fires with each lens)
Flash range
~1-3 m at ISO 400
Meter
None
Focus
Fixed (hyperfocal)
Battery
2x AA (for flash)
Recommended film
ISO 200-400
History
The SuperSampler was introduced in 2000 as the panoramic counterpart to the ActionSampler (1999). Where the ActionSampler captured a 2x2 grid of rapid successive moments, the SuperSampler produced a horizontal panoramic strip with selectable timing intervals spanning from a fifth of a second to five seconds. The timing dial made the SuperSampler particularly suited to slower subjects - people walking, shadows moving, environments changing - rather than purely fast action.
The SuperSampler Flash was introduced around 2004, following a similar pattern to the ActionSampler Flash (2003). The flash variant was aimed at indoor and evening use - party photography, bar and club events, indoor performance - where the original camera's reliance on daylight was impractical. Because the SuperSampler's timing modes include 2s and 5s intervals, the flash variant creates an interesting creative possibility: a single frame with four flash-lit panels separated by seconds, capturing a slow unfolding of action or movement in a strip that reads almost like a storyboard.
The flash fires in synchrony with each individual lens firing, not as a single burst across all four. This means each sub-frame receives its own discrete flash exposure, rather than a single flash illuminating all four exposures simultaneously - the latter would only fully illuminate the first lens's exposure before the other three fired.
Why It Matters
The SuperSampler Flash's combination of selectable timing modes and sequential flash firing creates a photographic capability genuinely difficult to replicate with conventional cameras: a four-panel panoramic time strip where each panel is independently flash-lit, separated by intervals ranging from 0.2 to 5 seconds. At the 5-second interval, the camera produces a sequence documenting five seconds of slow change in a low-light environment - a candle guttering, a conversation's expression shifts, a figure moving across a dark room.
This temporal range, combined with the panoramic strip format, gave the SuperSampler Flash a distinct aesthetic voice in the Lomographic camera line. Where the ActionSampler Flash was primarily a party camera (fast action in dim rooms), the SuperSampler Flash offered a slower, more deliberate form of sequential low-light documentation.
Lenses & Accessories
Four fixed plastic lenses in a horizontal row; none interchangeable. Built-in flash fires sequentially with each lens according to the timing dial setting. No hot shoe for external flash. The timing dial (0.2s / 0.5s / 2s / 5s) is the primary creative control. Camera accepts 35mm film cassettes via standard loading.
Sample Photographers / Notable Use
Used in low-light indoor portraiture and social event photography for panoramic sequential documentation.
Adopted for performance and theatre photography where the timed sequential flash could capture motion across longer intervals.
Featured in Lomography community galleries demonstrating the 2s and 5s timing modes for slow-motion panoramic sequences.
Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400 (marketed as Superia 400 in some regions) is an ISO 400 C-41 consumer color negative film in 135 format, one of Fujifilm's most popular consumer films. It delivers warm, vibrant colors with moderate grain and remains in production in some markets.