Customer Reviews

Lomo Action Sampler 35mm 4 Lens Camera with Four Sequential Exposures, Chrome Color

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Lomo "action sampler" is sold as a seque3nce camera for sports photography, but don't let that fool you. Sure, you *could* use it that way- but why bother when there are so many much more fun things you can do with it?

What this box does is shoot four pictures in sequence on one 35mm frame; when you take your film in to get processed, you'll get prints with four images, taken over about 2 seconds. I bought an ealier version a couple years ago, and I must have run 20 rolls of film through it the first two months I had it.

Here's a few of the things I tried with mine:

1. Shoot it while running down the street.

2. Tape different pieces of tinted plastic over the lenses

3. Rotate the camera while shooting, at different speeds.

4. Run up to you friends, trigger the shutter and yell "start talking! "

Get the picture? It's a platform for experimentation and fun. Get one and go crazy.

Hello, my name is Mark - and I have a problem with buying cameras.
Thats right, ever since around last april I have been binging on toy cameras - from the joycam to my latest, and most welcome addition, the lomo action sampler. I'll tell you, at first I was weary of buying this camera, with no flash, for close to 40 dollars. Out on a whim, and with the extra cash, I grabbed the credit card and decided to purchase it.
The camera actually came rather fast - and the minute I got it I ripped it open and popped in one of the 2 rolls of film they already supply you. Because they are 200 ASP I went outside and took some shots. First I just ran, then I took one of me on a swing set, etc. etc. Before you knew it, I was done with a roll of film!
Now the part I dreaded - rewinding! Now I know, I know its not that hard. But I've been living it in high style. My nice electric cameras have been doing the trick - rewinding right as I finish! How convenient! I never had to turn the dial before, or press the button at the bottom to release the film. But honestly, it was easy as can be.
So it's two days later, I grab the film and send it away to 1 hour film developing at walmart (Yes, walmart WILL develop your lomo film). An hour later I received the pictures. My heart pounding, I opened the package and looked at the first one - nothing but the best! My pictures came out wonderful and I couldn't be pleased more. Now I keep hearing about how its hard to get a nice lomo camera, without the colors on the frames. In a way, I was hoping I had one or two of those. I think they enhance the uniqueness in the photo. If you think otherwise, perhaps the lomo action sampler is not for you.
While at Walmart, I grabbed an 800 speed film for my camera. Supposedly, these will now allow me to take pictures inside, with much lighting, without the flash. I'm excited to use it, and develop a few more pictures!
Oh and yes, the camera is somewhat delicate. Be careful with your lomo, and treat it like a baby!
Have fun! Thank you!

It's hard to rate a camera like this. It is a fun little toy camera, but limited in its uses. They probably should have space the time between pictures out a bit, because its shutter is not fast enough to stop a lot of action.

If you are not insistant on the Lomo name and bright colors, you can get a very similar camera for less money...

Yes, it's a junky little camera, one notch above a disposable. And, without a flash, even 400 ISO film doesn't do well indoors. So you really need to do just outdoor photography. BUT... this is one of the coolest toys I've bought in awhile!

The instruction manual is fabulous, although some may be shocked by *ahem* a few colorful words in the text. (I'm impressed that they went out on a limb with the booklet, but this is clearly targeted for a specific, artsy audience.)

But, oh!, the camera! It takes four images, one quarter-second apart, and they all appear in one frame, sort of like the opening to the Brady Bunch. And this means--ta-dah!--you can use the four sequenced images with a GIF animation program, to make a mini-movie.

I wasn't expecting much from this camera, when I received it. As I said, it's truly junky quality, but.. that's okay. I'm vastly impressed with it, now that I've had a chance to play with it. It's probably not going to impress serious photographers who do the whole light meter thing, and all that. But for me (an artist, not a photographer, usually), this is a toy that gets my very highest rating!

i love this camera. granted, when i first got it i had problems with it. but it's just so different that i had to adjust to it. it's not supposed to give you wonderfully clear and crisp photos. that's part of the fun. this camera allows you to capture your own little world in ways that perhaps you hadn't seen before. shooting from the hip, so to speak, is the best way to use this camera. the only downfall is getting used to loading film manually and then rewinding it when you're pretty sure it's done. it's more for fun and experimentation so if you're not into that then don't get this. but if you want every roll of film you develop to be a surprise, then get it! :)

OK, so it's definitely not a high quality piece of optic equipment. Don't use this thing as your main camera-you can't even really get an accurate idea of where you're aiming. But it's pretty fun for events where there's motion. We used black and white for some arty shots, even. It looks pretty cool (who ever heard of a see-through camera) and is definitely a conversation piece. It was great at the beach, for people in the waves.

This is the first Lomo Camera I had purchased, after I learned about Lomography. What a fun camera-this is what got me addicted! I take it with me everywhere now-you never know when you will need it!

...ignore the directions and get 800 speed film and only take pictures outdoors (on BRIGHT AND SUNNY days, and at HIGH NOON). Since its not very well made, you have to be very careful. And it hurts your thumbs to advance the film to the next frame. I like the supersampler better.

I love my Sampler! This is an awesome toy/creative tool that I use all the time! It's great for skateboarding shots, snowboarding, or just any subject matter that involves movement. Just remember to only use it in bright sunlight conditions. And if you turn the film into one of those one hour photo places, give them a heads-up as to what type of shots the camera takes. Their machines sometimes get stuck during the processing because they have a hard time with the vertical and horizontal lines that separate the frames. If you just tell them though, they can monitor it and the pictures turn out just fine! Get one of these cameras, you won't be disappointed. Not only that, it's a total conversation piece!

When I bought one of these I knew that it was a plastic toy type camera, but I was suprised at exactley how plasticy and cheap it was, especially for its not cheap price.
I tried one roll of film in it - the results were so bad, the lab didn't bother printing it and just gave me the negs and a contact print; the last lens in sequence jammed open and the film transport was so terrible that everything overlapped resulting in mostly nothing on the negatives. I took it back to where I got it for a full refund.
Yes I expected blur, I expected vignetting, I expected suprises. What I did not expect was such terrible build quality and results.
This camera is a nice idea, if they were actually made well, it would be great - but it is mass produced plastic junk. Buying one is a lottery - you may be lucky, you might not. I'm sad to say, don't waste your money.