Lomographic Compact Automat 35MM Camera

by Lomographic

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000AC4WQ
• Item model number: 110
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,691 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 30, 2003

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The One and Only, December 10, 2004

By 

Schatzi McGee "Lomo-aficionado" (New York, Baby!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lomographic Compact Automat 35MM Camera (Electronics)

Simply put, the Lomo Compact never leaves my side. With it's tiny size and that great metal lens cover, I have it in a bag or a pocket at all times.

Why? What makes this camera so special to me? Simply put - it's the images. I have no formal training in photography whatsoever, but I am able to shoot some of the most amazing images that I have ever seen with this little item. Surely, I shoot a few blurry and screwed-up pics as well, but the unpredictability is part of the charm. After you drop off your film, you can almost always expect to have a few images which are absolutely mind blowing. Using the camera is easy to grasp, although not too easy - so you still feel a sense of accomplishment after you "master" it. In my opinion, it's a perfect item for a beginner.

With all due respect to my Amazon peers, the reviewers who feel negatively about the camera are missing the point.
It's not made with the precision of a Canon or Nikon. It doesn't have the sharpness of a Zeiss or Leica. It's not the correct camera for someone who really wants to learn the technical in's and out's of photography.

But that's where the magic is. It's made in Russia by hand. The images it creates are beautiful and completely dripping with soul. Colors are super-strong, contrast is huge, and (defect or not) the vignetting effect is very cool. Outside of that, it's small, cute, easy to use, and has this awesome mechanical-oil smell.

If you want a normal, super-reliable Japanese cam that takes nicely exposed, in-focus shots every time, then pick one up.
As everyone else said, they generally have more technical features for a better price. If you want something truly unique, utterly beautiful,, and (at times) a little temperamental - then go for the Lomo. You won't be disappointed.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Small hipster camera, for naive beginners..., July 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Lomographic Compact Automat 35MM Camera (Electronics)

(...).

LOMO cameras are marketed by a company who's primary interest seems to be selling $8 Soviet-era design cameras at boutique prices ($200). Accordingly, the cameras have very little speaking for them technically, and the defects are very cleverly hyped with a strong "revolutionary" slant, as being great new discoveries and strengths.

Their website casts a hip skew on the defects in these cameras, aiming them as a "revolution" in photography. Righhhht.

Among the most egregious re-evaluations from the marketing hype at their website:

_______________________________________
THE LOMO TUNNEL EFFECT
...produces an awesome effect called "Vignetting." Look closely - you'll notice that the corners of your Lomographs are slightly darker and a little softer, in contrast to the lighter and sharper center. This tunnel effect yields a clear and vivid subject, with the corners acting as a natural "frame," directing your attention to the center. You see, lomographs simply have more content!
_______________________________________

Keep in mind, vignetting is a powerful *defect* in the lens design, something Canon, Nikon and the other manufacturers have spent decades of advanced lens design and R&D in trying to eliminate. In Lomo's doublespeak, it's a good thing. (Yes, it can sometimes render interesting photographs, but this breathless hype's almost-mystical description of this effect/lens is misleading at best).

_______________________________________
LOMO WIDE ANGLE
The "all-seeing wide angle view"? It's really only a 32mm focal length. Woo hoo.
_______________________________________

Most SLR lens manufacturers have for decades offered extensive ranges in lenses with this view coverage and wider made to fit their SLR cameras (even old SLR's from the 60s and 70s); for wide coverage, a vintage 70's SLR+wide lens can be had for under $75 if you look right, and it'll be a vastly better machine. Any 1980s Canon, Nikon, or Olympus 35mm film SLR for instance, offers outstanding manufacture, both full manual and electronic controls available, etc...far exceeding the exposure options and build quality of Lomo's flimsy design. Typical 70's and 80's vintage SLR's like these feature supreme exposure and internal mechanisms, and today let you take advantage of low prices for former top-of-the-line professional lenses (e.g. manual focus Canon FD, Nikkor, or Olympus Zuiko SLR lenses).

Overall, the camera purposefully introduces flaws in your photographs that can render some "artsy" feeling shots, but don't be misled by the manufacturer's clever anti-establishmen skew.

If you want to take LOMO looking photos, buy its almost exact copy for much cheaper: the OLYMPUS XA (and XA2) but it is old, so only available on ebay. Good options also include the cheapest models of the "Jazz Jellies" that they sell at drugstores like Walgreens. (for only $10). Same vignetting effects, same purposefully-crappy lenses give blurred shots "artsy" type of feel."

You can even get the "much vaunted LOMO saturation" if you drop in 50 ISO or 100 ISO film. (this last point one is just beyond me. Saturation is mostly a function of the film, not the camera! LOL! Not according to LOMO though...)

If you still think this is a must for you, save your bucks, buy one on ebay for cheap (people tend to tire of these quickly; at least I did), and use it for it's artistic expression and distortions.

Certainly don't buy into all the LOMO company's clever hype without reading around the web for vintage camera offerings matching this camera, and take the Lomo society's skewed reporting with a giant grain of salt.

A simple photography course or some time spent at a website like Phil Green's excellent photo.net will better your education on this, and give you a relatively unbiased perspective with which you can then go back and see this equipment for what it is.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars don't think, just shoot., December 10, 2004

By 

susie cute "susie" (los angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lomographic Compact Automat 35MM Camera (Electronics)

don't think, just shoot. yes, that's what got me started, but after using the lomo lca for more than 6 years i have gotten to know my meanwhile best friend very well. i still enjoy the surprise effect of some pictures. but mostly i know what i will get and simply cannot live without it anymore. my lomo has documented so much of my life in such intensity and radiance, there is simply no other camera that consistently gives me such joy. i love to shoot with all different kind of cameras, i use medium format, digital, all good for specifc purposes. my personl favorite for my personal projects is the lomo. period.