Lomo LC-A

When I first started photography my dad handed me his Pentex KM with a 50mm f1.8.  Manual goodness, switches and knobs, needles and cocking.  The excitement of taking the photo and waiting for those little kinder surprises to develop.  We'll, that didnt last too long as DSLR's started coming down in price, I soon jumped on the digital bandwagon, I guess because in the long run it saves you money on developing and printing.  But, instant gratification, YES!  I get everything now, now, now, instant feed back, instant photoshoping, instant posting, machine gun photography, can it be any easier?  Okok, I wont get into the argument of digital vs. film.  But recently I was surfing online and bumped into the Lomo-LCA.  Hello there sexy!  

So what is the Lomo LC-A, I think it stands for, LOMO KOMPAKT AUTOMAT, can you hear the Russian accent coming through? 

Originally made, circa 1984, Lomo remade the cult classic into the LC-A based on the Consia CX-2. 


(Sorry for the poor photo quality, its from my phone). 

• FILM: 35mm Film 25-400ISO/ASA.  The adjustable knob tells the camera what ISO/ASA film you're using.  The newer models like the LC-A+ and RL can take up to 1600ISO. Remember the higher the ISO the more gainer it is.  Film will be a whole other article I'll write about because you need to think about film as a new medium each time you use a different film.  Each type of film has different colors, grain, saturation, contrast, etc etc. HINT: if you think the scene is too bright you can push your film by a stop by turning up the ISO.  Or if you turn down the ISO then it make the camera think it's darker than it really is. 
• Prime lens or i like to call it Sneaker zoom, because there is no zoom! 
• Minitar Lens 32mm f2.8-16.  The lens has a focal ZONES, 0.8m, 1.5m, 3m, and .  The LC-A has a little slider lever that lets you set the focus zone, the LC-A isn't a SLR so you don't look through the viewfinder to see if things are in focus, its purely for framing. 

• Automatic Exposure: The LC-A does all of the exposure for you so you don't have to worry about shutter speed or aperture.  If you look closely, the LC-A has a little light receiving diode on the side of the lens, so make sure you're not covering it with your finger or the camera wont meter properly! I like to keep the LC-A in (A) mode, I wouldn't bother using the aperture priority its only good for flash. 
• Shutter speeds are as fast as 1/500th - 2min.  Shutter speeds are all automatic in the LC-A, it does the thinking for you!  I usually just shoot the LC-A in auto mode (A), it's just easier and lets you think more about composition than playing with the settings. Oh, and if you're using a long shutter, over a few seconds, you cant let go of the shutter button, else the shutter will close, so keep your finger on it.
• The view finder is pretty bright, don't forget this isn't a SLR, it doesn't have a mirror inside to reflect what the lens sees or if it's in focus.  So just think of it as a framing box, like when you put your fingers up to frame something.   Inside, it has two little Red LED's at the top, the one on the right tells you that the camera is powered, and if the right LED comes on it means that you're shooting below 1/30th of a shutter speed, so you'll need either use a tripod or stabilize yourself!
• Hotshoe!  So you can attach a colorsplash or a old flash unit. For fun I tried to attach my Canon 580ex II, the 580 is 3 times the size of the LC-A but it wont trigger it.  However, I popped on an old one my dad had lying around, and it seems to work fine.  I think for the old flashes you might want to put a little gel filter over it, mine came out quite yellow, maybe because the bulb is old.  The gel filter will balance out the color. 
• Batteries, YES it needs batteries, it takes 3x SR44 silver oxide button.  Ok, here's where things get a wee bit tricky, SR44 Silver oxide batteries are hard to find, there are some internet sources but I popped in some alkaline ones I got from the grocery store, and it seems to be fine.  Some sources say that alkaline batteries mess up the exposure, but to be honest I don't think it hurts it too much. I've been told that the batteries should last 10-20 rolls, don't quote me on it. but if you know you're not gona use your LC-A, then pop out the batteries.

Ok, so now you know what the LC-A is where can we get one??  Unfortunately, the original Lomo LC-A, like the one I have, is no longer in production.  But you can buy a new one, the LC-A+ at the LOMO shop but it's quite pricey, for $250.  The LC-A+ it was made in China, LOMO claims that the build and quality are all exactly the same, I haven't held one, but the online population says differently.  Also, the Lomo LC-A+ lens is claimed not to be as sharp as the Original Russian lens of the LC-A.  So, what does any profit making company do?  Well, we'll make one with a Russian lens then, the LC-A+ RL and charge you more for it!  Ok, it's not that much more the RL version is $30 more.  Or!  You can go on Ebay or Craigslist and buy it used.  I got mine for $150 from a local seller. 

 The Lomo LC-A has a HUGE cult following.  Lots of young new photographers love using it, it's an experience in itself.  There's a lot of experiments with double exposure, cross-processing/XPRO, panoramas, and color splash.  The LC-A has lots of cool possibilities. 

Kodak EBX100 Slide film XPRO'ed: This was a night shot, hand held.

Not sure if your a Lomographer?  Lets look at the economic side of it first. Let's get down to the costs.  The LC-A is relatively 'cheap' to buy.  But the film is what hits you.  I personally like to use slide (E6) film with the LC-A, it costs about $6-$8 and developing about $7 on a 36 exposure roll of film.  Cross processing generally costs a little bit more.  XPro, is the mixing of chemicals during the developing process to output a splash of punchy saturated colors, make sure to ask your lab first if they do xpro or not. Next, you can choose to get prints at the lab but I really just like to get the lab to develop the film and I take the film home to get it scanned in with a film scanner.  If you dont have one, most labs will scan for you for a cost, so look into investing into a film scanner.  I recommend the Canon CanoScan 9000F (I think there's cheaper versions) or Epson Perfection v600, these scanners have film trays for you to place the film in and scan.  They run about $250ish, but it's a good investment because its a high grade scanner. Maybe you can bribe friends or parents to 'invest' in your scanner by offering to scan their old film if they have any! 

Do you have the Lomo eye?  First you really need to know how to appreciate film, the grain quality, color, tones, and just the feel of it.  I guess you could say it looks more natural, for those of you reading who didnt grow up with film, it might be even more of a delight to see the kind of rawness analog gives you.  Think creatively, look for things with bright colors and interesting shapes.  I really like to shoot with Slide Film (E6) and Cross process it.  It gives super punchy colors like below.  But look out for what I call color shifts, where the whole picture just shifts to one tint, outdoor shots might become super teal/blue.  Or indoors will be all yellowy toned, I personally don't like that look.  If shooting with the LC-A many lomographers seek the coveted AGFA-Precisa 100 CT.  I personally haven't gone out to hunt for it.  But another great alternative is the Kodak Elite Chrome 100 (NOT the EBX or Extra Color).  The EB100 gives punchy colors without color shifts.  The second thing that most lomographers like to do is double exposure, where you run the film through the camera and without rewinding it the whole way, reload the film back in and take a whole another set of pictures of over it. Be creative and just enjoy shooting with it!



Some of my samples: There's some XPRO'd shots in there so you can see the difference. 

Kodak EBX100 Slide film: Day time.

Kodak EBX 100 XPRO

Kodak EBX 100 XPRO - Night shot, hand held.

Kodak EB100 XPRO

Here's some samples from a LC-A Group in Flickr.


            Flickr LOMO KOMPAKT AUTOMAT Group.

Ok, that's it for now.  I probly have more to say about the LC-A, but that's all I can think of right now. 

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