Customer Reviews

Lomographic Compact Automat 35MM Camera

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

(...).

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.

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.

Let me give a brief review as to why I love this camera so much.

PORTABLE - I carry this camera with me everywhere I go, nearly every day. It's quite tiny, even smaller than some digital cameras, and in my experience (five months of carrying it every day) quite durable. There is a built in lens cover that makes a super-cool noise when you close it (and it also protects the optics).

EASE OF USE - As far as film cameras go the LCA is very easy to use. Load the film, select the ASA, and you are ready to shoot. Taking photos is just as simple. I've even taken photos while riding my bike (with the wrist strap on and a helmet!).

REAL FILM! - In the past I've been a digital camera user for my daily snapshots but the LCA has replaced my digital as my daily camera of choice. I love having photographs on real photo paper instead of having my pictures trapped in my computer as a JPEG or a TIFF file. The vibrant colors and visual effects that are possible with this camera are difficult to duplicate with a digital camera and a computer printer. With the Lomo I take pictures that I end up looking at, sharing with friends and putting up on my walls.

Regarding durability, I've had no problems with my LCA after nearly continuous use for just over five months. I would recommend this camera to anyone looking for a fun alternative to a digital camera.

Happy Shooting!

I am a long time attendee of the Burning Man festival in Nevada. I love going each year, and since I got my Lomo, it always goes with me. When you spend a week in a city full of neon, LED lights, art cars, and things on fire...you NEED a Lomo. Nighttime shots are amazing, and captures the surreal quality of this event to perfection. Daytime shots are crisp and lovely, with the desert sky a brilliant blue.
It took me a year to 'eyeball' the distances for good focus, but now that I have a handle on that, most of my pictures come out amazing...and even the blurry ones look good!
If it weren't illegal or immoral, I would sleep with my Lomo.

best of, most beautiful, too much fun to be true, still surprising after many rolls of film (and it is the good surprises you get with the lomo), a true jewel of the old era
anybody who complains about dropping the camera and it not working should get a single use camera, no doubt.
for the ones that like to experiment, investigate, be free and play and get that incredible rush of taking pictures immediately and on the spot 'cause the beauty of a single moment is just simply irresistible, get a lomo and every single cent you spend on it will come back 1000 times.
i own them all, leica, nikon, elph, you name it, my lomo is my best friend. yes, she has her moods and temper, but she also gives you pictures of the sheer impossible.

Using a Lomo to take snapshots used to be fun and a bit of an underground thing, though it was more popular in Europe. Suddenly, there's a new marketing campaign and this activity is now called "Lomography" which means Lomo can jack the price on these little cameras to ridiculous heights. I got mine two years ago when the money I paid was just a little higher than I'd have preferred for a camera of this quality, but it was on the high end of reasonable. Lomo's current prices are terrible for what you get.

I've had two rolls out of about 6 or 7 that have been bad for some reason. The last one was because the film somehow jumped the winding mechanism. All the time I thought I was advancing the film, I wasn't. I lost a lot of decent photos from my last vacation because of that. I was using actual Lomo film, too, when it happened.

Also, the shutters in these things love to break. I don't know if it's particular manufacture runs, or a certain climate, or temperature sensitivity... I don't know at all. All I know is these cameras are notorious for going into the shop for repair.

When it was about fifty to seventy-five bucks cheaper, this was a great little hobby camera. Now it's just overpriced and trendy. Pass it up and get a cheap digital instead, if you're looking for the same sort of carefree hobby photoplay. You'd be amazed at how much experimentation you can get out of one, and how much more willing you are to take photos than with a film camera since you don't have the developing costs.

This is the mothership of all Lomography and one excellent purchase. The manual settings are easy to learn, and well documented with the enclosed instructions. After you have that down, just point, and shoot from the hip. The color saturation is like no other camera you have experienced. And it takes a good beating, though care is of course recommended. I never go anywhere without this little beauty.

Lomo got a lot of ink in late 2000, early 2001, so I bought one for about a hundred pounds in the little Lomo gallery in Clerkenwell, London. The camera was easy to use and a natural for me. I like available-light photography and took some nice shots in elevators and the London Underground, in the World Trade Center concourse in New York, and street scenes everywhere.

I had it with me in Hoboken on Sept. 11, 2001, and shot a roll or two of the smoke-plumed downtown Manhattan. ALAS! Only one frame came out. I tried another few rolls--no dice. Apparently the shutter is stuck. I am stuck myself...on whether to throw the thing out or fashion it into some clever objet d'art. What do you do with a dead Lomo, anyway?

We all have to kiss frogs sometimes, and this is one of mine. A nice Rollei or Olympus for the same money would have been a better buy, and I think that will be my next point-and-shoot purchase.

This is a very unique camera that can revolutionize your idea of what a snapshot is. This camera is easy to use, and with some patience and a still hand, can take unrivaled photos in any situation, even in pitch black!

I highly recommend this camera, although I got mine for $105 on eBay new... you may want to check out a cheaper source such as this.