Customer Reviews

Lomography Action Sampler Flash 4-lens 35mm Film Camera

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

 

 

This guy was a long time coming. I got the original Actionsampler a few years ago, and always wanted to shoot it indoors. Alas, all of my attempts came out pretty grainy and dark.

Enter the Actionsampler Flash. I've been basically married to this buzzing little thing - it's awesome! The mechanics are smoother and the images are a lot sharper then the original Actionsampler. And, the four-step flash is great - it's fast as lighting and surprisingly strong. This item is really dope at a concert or party.

A few suggestions for prospective buyers...
1. Definitely buy this over the original Actionsampler. It's like night and day.
2. Use 400 or 800 speed film - that shutter moves fast, and anything slower might blur your images (unless you like that).
3. WAIT for the flash to charge fully and the ready light to come on. It can take about 12 seconds or so. If you fire before the flash is recycled, then one element might not flash and you'll get a black frame.

i stumbled across these lomo cameras on the amazon.com website. they sounded fun so i ordered this particular camera. wow! i was pleasantly surprised with the different effects you can achieve by "shooting from the hip". definately use 400 or 800 speed film and definately take it everywhere you go. the case of the camera does seem like a cheaply made camera but WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE PICTURES THAT YOU WILL GET. definately worth the money and i will definately order more lomo specialty cameras....got my eye on the fisheye camera!

Okay, let's be clear about something. The Action Sampler is not a Lomo despite it's being sold and branded by Lomography.com. It IS a toy camera. What you get are 4 frames, each timed 1/200 of a second apart on one frame of 35mm film.

You do not get focus, ASA/ISO controls, shutter speed controls or anything other than a very basic light sensor that determines whether or not the flash fires and the flash itself which is supposedly synchronized to the shutter, although I'm not convinced that it actually is.

The four frames are cool but that's this camera's one trick. It's all it does. The optics are terrible quality. If you're old enough to remember the old Instamatic cameras with the 110 film cartridges and the terrible resolution they had, well, this will make you feel all dated and nostaligic.

That said, this camera is a blast. You can take pictures of movement but because the lenses all point in slightly different directions, it's you can shoot still images and get 4 very different photos to choose from. And if you like the lo-fi picture quality or the subtle Andy Warhol-esque look of your new 4 framed pictures and don't care too much about getting a really good picture, you'll have a wonderful time.

The lenses are focused at "infinity" meaning everything after a few feet is in in focus. Close-up/macro stuff is out of the question. As far as ASA/ISO, I use 1600 or 800 and have it pushed one stop in the lab (effectively making it 1600 with artifacts) or the pictures come out too dim in anything other than the brightest sunlight. That's right, indoor shooting or shooting in the shade is out unless you use really fast film, which also degrades the detail quality.

Like the Lomo LC-A and LC-A+, there is a little vignetting but this is not a Lomo and you shouldn't order one thinking that it is. The Lomo LC-A is it's own delightfully weird little camera and takes brilliant shots that put this little toy to shame. The action sampler is also about twice as big as a real Lomo.

Think of the Action Sampler as a great nearly disposable party/road trip camera. More fun to use with your friends than alone. If I lost mine, I am not certain if I would replace it but I have seriously considered buying a bunch and giving them out as stocking stuffers next holiday season.

This is a 2.5 star camera but I'm giving it a 3rd star because of how much fun it can be. Not a serious camera but a really fun toy.

This is a fun camera for action shots. You need to be 3 feet or less away from your subject or you get some really sketchy results.

We had a lot of fun with this for our xmas photos.

My friend had purchased the action sampler before me and I was instantly entranced by it's sleek look so after reading a few of the reviews on here,I decided to order one for myself.I also had another lomo camera[the fish eye] and thought that since the pictures taken with that one came out pretty cool,the action sampler ones would too.Lomography did not fail me!The camera arrived on time in perfect condition and I started click click clicking away.It comes with a roll of 36 exposure film and its own batteries which was convenient.Unfortunately i only got half of my film from the first roll since an idiot in my class opened the back and exposed my film so make sure you don't make the same mistake I did.Overall the pictures came out really trippy and awesome!In most of them,each frame differs and even in those that don't,the final product is great.I would advise on always using the flash and though it says the closer you get the better,that's not true because unlike the fish eye if you get too close,the picture will be of just the person's cheek or w/e.I highly recommend this camera especially if you like pictures that are random and not just myspacey!

i like this camera alot. easy to use, very fun to play around with. you really do have to get close up on a subject in order to take some really cool shots...

lomography's website is pretty cool. you get to join in on they're photography society & share pics.

rewind knob snapped after a couple months of light use. otherwise, very fun camera.

If you are looking for a fun, exciting new way to take pictures, definitely give the Lomography Action Sampler a try. What you get is a photo that is in quarters, so four little photos in one all taken rapidly (they say one second!) apart from each other in sequence. You can get really fun action shots - jumping or just moving the head, funny faces, swinging hair, waving - the possiblities are endless!

I'll agree with the other reviews that suggest using high speed film (400 works best for me), when I first got the camera, I put regular old 100 speed in and most of the shots were a little blurry. They still looked really cool, but with the higher speed film, you get much sharper images.

Another tip I learned is that when you drop the film off for processing, it's a good idea to tell them that you are printing film shot with a Lomo. My processing place told me that a lot of times they just try to make sure the center of the print is in focus while processing, but with this film the center is four corners of your pictures (hope that makes sense!) so it takes a little more effort on the technicians part to get good prints from your negatives.

All in all, I am absolutely in love with my Lomo Action Sampler. It travels in my purse daily and I get some great shots! I couldn't ask for anything more.

Excellent fun experience. First roll came out amazing, very fun to use but....

broke on second roll.

lomography has excellent customer support. so as long as you have patience buy it.

yeah, it's cheap. you can't be rough with it, but you really shouldn't be rough with any camera. unique, fun pictures. no complaints.