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You can order a LOMO at the Lomographic Society in Vienna or at www.lomo.com for € 139/GBP 86, which I consider to be a bit expensive. It usually ships within a few days. I prefer to wait for my uncle returning from Russia with a nice Christmas present in an ugly box.
I hope that my ... Read review
Advantages: For all lighting conditions, great fun to use Disadvantages: rather expensive, Russian handbook
...favourite cameras is the Russian-made LOMO LC-A. It is very special in many ways, you will see why…
Mine was shipped directly from Russia in an extraordinary ugly plastic box, as a gift from my dear uncle about ten years ago. Its appearance didn’t attract me either, as its design seemed to have been drawn by a dozen Kazaks after a night of heavy vodka drinking. As if things couldn’t get worse, they also wrote the handbook…
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But the LOMO is great for taking ordinary pictures due to its features. As there are no technical gimmicks (unless you count the battery), the secret is its special lens, hand-made out of Baltic quartz sand and designed to take pictures in almost every environment except water. You can use it in broad daylight (recommended) or in the deepest night, as the screen automatic automatically terminates at optimal exposure time. It may take ... more
As I am rather old-fashioned when it comes to photographing, one of my favourite cameras is the Russian-made LOMO LC-A. It is very special in many ways, you will see why…
Mine was shipped directly from Russia in an extraordinary ugly plastic box, as a gift from my dear uncle about ten years ago. Its appearance didn’t attract me either, as its design seemed to have been drawn by a dozen Kazaks after a night of heavy vodka drinking. As if things couldn’t get worse, they also wrote the handbook…
Luckily I found somebody who was able to translate the booklet some years ago, but actually I didn’t need that any more, as even an idiot (or a blonde like me) could open the lens and find the big button on top.
Inserting the film is a different problem, as it has to be done manually, which means a lot of trying (if it’s your first non-automatic camera) and a bit of luck (if you are already experienced). But it is anyway described in the booklet (as everything else, I have never seen such a detailed one, you could almost learn to build a camera…).
There are two ways of taking a picture: with or without looking through the lens. The first one is the most commonly used way everywhere in the world and the latter is called lomography, which is a very strange, but hip way of photographing without knowing what’s on the picture. Anyway, it’s a cult thing, so you don’t necessarily have to get it…
But the LOMO is great for taking ordinary pictures due to its features. As there are no technical gimmicks (unless you count the battery), the secret is its special lens, hand-made out of Baltic quartz sand and designed to take pictures in almost every environment except water. You can use it in broad daylight (recommended) or in the deepest night, as the screen automatic automatically terminates at optimal exposure time. It may take half a minute in the evening, so you better put in a stable position or a stand unless you want to have exciting light-effects.
The lens itself is a 32mm wide angles lens, luminous intensity of 1:2,8, developed by Mikhail Aronovich Radinov. The lens distorts the picture to the centre and intensifies the colours, so even non-flash pictures shot in a room are of good quality. The automatic exposure meter and the screen automatic can be deactivated but I don’t recommend you to do so.
With dimensions of 107X68X43,5 mm it is quite small and light, but the wristband tears off easily.
The camera is still produced in St. Petersburg, at a Leningrádskoje Optiko Mechanitschéskoje Objedinjénie (Leningrad mechanical-optical factory). This company was established in 1936 with the aid of Zeiss opticians as a factory of microscopes. It broadened its product-range after World War II to periscopes, sights, night-vision devices (still on stock!) or lenses for spy satellites. For this purpose probably also the LOMO was developed...
Over the years I shot many beautiful photos with my LOMO, as it is ideal for taking it with me even in the tiniest handbag. Sadly, Made in U.S.S.R is not always a sign for good quality and about a year ago the film stopped turning easily (I suspect a day on the beach being the reason) so I had to switch to my Minox. But nevertheless it worked for years and even survived the ‘school-is-over-partying-holiday’ in Crete. It was always great fun to use and most of the pictures were of very good quality.
You can order a LOMO at the Lomographic Society in Vienna or at www.lomo.com for € 139/GBP 86, which I consider to be a bit expensive. It usually ships within a few days. I prefer to wait for my uncle returning from Russia with a nice Christmas present in an ugly box.
I hope that my first opinion met your expectations and I apologise for any idiomatic or other mistakes I made, as I am not a native-speaker. I’m looking forward to your comments and suggestions.
Advantages: Different quality to pictures, easy to use Disadvantages: Not for professionals
...photos I assume taken by lomo devotees from around the planet. At the time I bought it, it was about 75-80 quid, which at the time I thought was a little pricey, but there's nothing around quite like it. I got a little box containing film, instructions, a book, and signed up to the 'club' (so you get letters and emails about new products and events).
The camera itself is quite small (slightly smaller than those larger post-it notes), and has a retro-communist ... ...much the ethos of the lomo user, not skilfully composed images but captured moments. This is a camera for messing around with. You'll notice brighter colours, and if you loosen up a bit you'll be surprised at some of the results. It's not brilliant for your typical landscape shots, it's not meant to be used for normal shots. Now I've seen new ones that are listed on their website as 180 EUROS (£125) which I think is an absolute rip off. My advice ...
mozip78 19.09.2003 (09.07.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lomo LC-A Compact Camera
...included the following:
- Lomo LC-A camera
- "Lomographiere" hardcover book
- Two 35mm film rolls
- Three 1.5V batteries
- Colorsplash Flash
- TunnelVision Lens
- Hipshot Bag (white or green depending on stock)
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Although I am here to write about the LC-A, some of the other items i bought with it are worth mentioning. The Colorsplash flash, a hot shoe flash powered by 1 AA battery with rotating ... ...are:
1. Take your LOMO everywhere you go & whenever you go.
2. Use it anytime - day or night.
3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but a part of it.
4. Shoot from the hip.
5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible.
6. Don't think.
7. Be fast.
8. You don't have to know beforehand what you've captured on film.
9. You don't have to know afterwards, either.
10. Don't worry about the rules.
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Aphasia 10.01.2007 (16.01.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lomo LC-A Compact Camera
Advantages: A change from the norm of digital perfect instant photos Disadvantages: Unpredictability of images
A few months ago I was strolling through Bristol when I came across a shop selling a collection of kitsch goodies and two camera's that were slightly out of place. One of them was a LOMO. I saw the examples of the photographs and spent a very worthwhile £50.
It is the ultimate old school Russian camera. Small black, communist and tankline it seems fairly indestructible, though it's not something I've tested extensively. It comes in a nice old fashioned ... ...instruction booklet and the camera. The instruction booklet, probably useful if you can speak Russian but for the rest of us it is just a showcase for the capabilities of the camera as many photographers display their work.
The camera is simple to use, just load it with the 35mm, lens cap off, aim and shoot. Even I managed that one. You can of course do funky things with it when you have got used to it and feel like a change. For all queries go ...
chemistangel 16.07.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lomo LC-A Compact Camera
I bought my first LC-A in 1988 from Jessops; it cost £32. Unluckily, it was stolen (along with 2 Nikons) within a year. I thought the camera looked quite funky (it is a loose copy of the Cosina CX2), this was the main reason for purchasing it.
I bought my current LC-A in 2002 from www.lomography.com; it cost £95 (how much?!?!) This was a drastic price increase, probably to help pay for the facilities available when becoming a member of the website. ... ...The main differences between the older model and the newer one are as follows:
Viewfinder distance icons have been removed.
A picture of a weird looking face has been added to the viewfinder blind.
The motor-wind contacts are no longer present.
Other than these differences, the camera is relatively unchanged.
The camera body is plastic which is partly covered in a leatherette material. At some time in the manufacturing process the camera picks ...
sillyconguru 15.01.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Lomo LC-A Compact Camera
Advantages: easy to use and it's funky. Disadvantages: the quality of the pictures can't be guarantee.
...can't afford a Leica. A lomo is your choice. It is made in Russian. It is a very basic camera with no zoom, autofocus or flash functions. The appearence is simple and it is black. You can find its specifications from the website, www.lomo.com. You can even order it from the website and it only takes a week to delievery by DHL. My friend introduced this camera to me, she said it is funcky. Then I looked through the website. The pictures are fabalous ... ...have to bear in mind that after you buy this camera, you will spend lots of money on films and develop process. I've got the lomo nearly 9 months now, I think I have taken more than 100 rolls of film. I know I'm mad...but I just couldn't resist it. ...
2hit6 02.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Lomo LC-A Compact Camera
