Review: Bambi-na

Another machine that has caught people’s attention lately, this is the Bambina from Make software. As I mentioned in an earlier post it’s already been surpassed by the next version, Essence but as Essence isn’t released nationwide yet Bambina might be your best option!

 

As it’s name suggests it tries to make you look like Bambi so as well as skin tone you have an eye size option at the beginning (only two sizes verses the BF Manual’s three). You also have a choice of pastel or bold courses.

Once into the posing you take four shots in a close up square frame. Again I think this machine is better for two or three people. The backgrounds on our course were pretty cute, of course I like the frame ones the best! Once you take your four shots you can then choose to take two more close-ups or two of a longer length. The longer length ones can be either full-length or sideways, but the sideways ones are not much different from the close up so we chose full length. I found myself leaning or bending more than the full length version in the BF Manual machine.

Close up examples

After you’ve taken your six shots comes the machine’s best development and selling point, the collage! It’s not the first machine to have a collage option, however it is the first machine where you take a seventh shot to go in your collage. You cannot choose which pictures to put into your collage (which they have changed for the Essence machine) but all your pictures look cute, right? J

Collage options

Onto decorating! It has a section with themed stamps and pens which can be nice if you want a coherent look for your purikura and you are working against the clock! 

Themed section

We went on a quiet day so we had bonus time to work with. There’s the usual stamp options and some nice-looking date options. The message section is a bit hit-and-miss, the fashion stamps are nice but even someone as purikura obsessed as me doesn’t need a stamp with the machine’s name on it! One thing I liked was the standing stamps which are designed to go under your feet in the full-length shots.

You can also make your own tape stamp with various backgrounds, you can write anything you like, our names didn't quite fit so I used our initials.

On the special menu there’s a section with some small frames, what you can do with these is take screen shots of you purikura by ‘stamping’ the frame on (It won’t show up) then on the menu you have your own faces as little stamps you can add to other purikura!

Before creating our own stamps

After, now we can add these to other purikura

There’s also a pose when you are taking where you look like you are holding up a sign, unfortunately we didn’t do that, because once you get into decorating there are special stamps just for the signs in that pose!

Holding a message pose

Like most of the newer machines you can choose separate layout options, where you can choose to not have the collage if you wish. This is definitely a two people machine, as any more would take some figuring out. However if you were just wish to make a nice collage I had the idea that four people could take the close up purikura in two pairs (friends can just duck!) then have the four together for the collage with smaller pair purikura on it…just a thought!

Layout options

You get a free gift with this machine but it’s either fake lashes that are the same (I already have three sets! Maybe a giveaway one day!) or a little cotton set which is kind of useful.

All in all the collage is a great development and I like the different sizes that you can do!

This machine has a third outside screen where you choose your keitai pictures (iPhone compataible!) but as you each take a turn there can be a bit of a bottleneck if it's a busy time!

Outside screen

Good points: eye-size options, full-length pictures, cute frames, cute stamps, screenshot your own stamps, collage!, free gift

Bad points: I’m too tall!, wasn’t overwhelmed with the decorating options, can’t chose your pictures for the collage, lots of people would be a problem in terms of taking and sharing the pictures

Example pictures: