LOMO LC-A FAQ
Version 0.4, 27 May 2003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
WHAT'S A LOMO?
HISTORY OF THE LOMO LC-A
FEATURES OF THE LOMO LC-A
WHAT KIND OF BATTERIES DOES THE LOMO LC-A NEED?
HOW DOES THE LOMO LC-A EXPOSURE SYSTEM WORK?
WHEN WAS MY LOMO LC-A MADE?
IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OLD AND NEW LOMO?
WHERE CAN I GET ENGLISH INSTRUCTIONS?
MY FILM SPEED SETTING DOESN'T READ 25/64/100/200/400...
HOW DO I USE A FLASH WITH MY LOMO LC-A?
FILM QUESTIONS
PHOTO PROCESSING QUESTIONS
SHOOTING WITH YOUR LOMO LC-A
TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR LOMO LC-A
OTHER CAMERAS
MISCALLANEOUS TIPS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This FAQ is a compilation of many people's contributions from
various sources, including the Lomographic Society web site,
nanerbug's LOMO faq (thanks!), contributors to www.lomo.org,
www.lomo.us, the Lomolife Yahoo! group, and many other sources on
the internet. Wherever possible, I've attributed the original
contributors.
A current copy of this FAQ can be obtained at
http://lomo.kataan.org/
Kurt Weiske is the author and maintainer of this FAQ. Please send
any inquiries, suggestions or corrections to him at
lomo@kataan.org. I've done everything in my power and to make
sure that the information in this FAQ is correct. However, I
cannot be held responsible for the results of acting on this
information or for any damages resulting from using the
information in this document in any way.
Copyright (C)2002, 2003 by Kurt Weiske. This document may be
distributed and reproduced without permission provided that it
stays intact, including this copyright notice.
WHAT'S A LOMO?
From the http://www.lomography.com site:
"The LOMO is a technically astonishing, gorgeous little Russian
compact camera. It comes from St. Petersburg and is the only one
to use Professor Radionov's extra-special and totally sexy lens.
It is the close-up/long range/ night vision and ever-watchful
glass eye from Russia with THE RELENTLESS WINK. It is your
constant friend and helper, a trusty companion in all situations
and for all walks of life, with precisely those qualities required
to make every day more exciting and varied and, in doing this, the
mundane more bearable, simpler. "
There is some confusion on the net regarding the name LOMO. LOMO
is the manufacturer of the LC-A camera. They also make several
manual 35mm cameras called SMENAs and put their name on several
plastic novelty cameras, like the Cybersampler, SuperSampler, and
LOMO 9. The Lomographic Society http://www.lomoraphy.com) refers
to the camera as a LOMO in several places. Many people on the net
refer to an LC-A as a "LOMO".
The LOMO LC-A bears a remarkable resemblance to the Cosina CX-
1/CX-2 camera. Rumor has it that the LOMO is a copy of the
Cosina, down to the placement of the conector for the motor drive
on the bottom of early LOMO LC-As.
HISTORY OF THE LOMO LC-A
Here's the somewhat rosy-lensed history from
http://www.lomography.com:
General Igor Petrowitsch Kornitzky, right-hand man to the USSR
Minister of Defense and Industry, slammed a little Japanese mini-
camera onto the ornate desk of his comrade Michail Panfilowitsch
Panfiloff. Mr Panfiloff, Director of the powerful LOMO Russian
Arms and Optical factory, examined the camera closely, noting its
sharp glass lens, extremely high light sensitivity and robust
casing. The two gentlemen, realizing the superior nature and
extreme potential of this strange little item, gave immediate
orders to copy and improve the design - with the ultimate goal of
producing the largest quantity possible for the pleasure and glory
of the Soviet population. It was decided - every respectable
Communist should have a LOMO KOMPAKT AUTOMAT of their own; a
unique and compact dynamo with the ability to adapt to all
situations and provide full documentation of their lives and loves
in the USSR. The LOMO LC-A was born, and millions of cameras were
promptly produced and sold. The Soviets and their Socialist
playmates in Vietnam, Cuba and East Germany snapped happily away
throughout the nineteen eighties, fully documenting the last gasps
of Communism, and the occasional beach vacation on the Black Sea.
FEATURES OF THE LOMO LC-A
Technical features
- Scale focus (clickstops at 0.8/1/3m, infinity)
- 1/500th second to 2 minute (!) exposures
- 32mm "Minitar 1" f/2.8 lens
- Film speed ASA 25/400
- Manual film advance
What this means:
- Vivid colors in low light possible
- Low light exposures possible without flash
- No motor noise, no focus lag and no flash makes the LOMO a great
street photography camera
- wide angle lens vignettes in bright light
WHAT KIND OF BATTERIES DOES THE LOMO LC-A NEED?
3 SR-44P silver-oxide button batteries. SR-44s are silver-oxide
batteries, and should be used -- not the similar LR-44 alkalines.
Alkalines may work for a short time, but will lose their charge
quickly.
(Tom)
LR-44 batteries are known by different designations, such as:
SR44 LR44 357/RW42/541 Energizer EPX76 photo. 76' camera
batteries. Kodak makes KA76 and KS76
HOW DOES THE LOMO LC-A EXPOSURE SYSTEM WORK?
The LOMO automatic function does not work like
"conventional" electronic cameras, that have a photometer
to measure the amount of light coming _once_ and then calculating
the time (OK, better cameras will also measure during exposure I
guess). The LOMO "photometer" is something much more simple: a
photoresistor loads a capacitor. (a simple integrator device) The
more light comes onto the photoresistor, the more current will run
through and faster will load the capacitor. On a certain voltage
then will trigger the shutter. That's all (I think). If you have a
flashlight bright enough, it will shut at once. If you already
exposed for half a minute and then flash, it will also shut. If
the flash wasn't bright enough it will continue exposing...
WHEN WAS MY LOMO LC-A MADE?
Look inside your Lomo at the bottom of the light box - there
should be a serial number. The first two digits are the year of
manufacture. This may only work with older LOMOs, some newer
models may have XX as the first two digits of the serial number. A
camera with XX in the serial number and a LOMO-Guy stencil in the
viewfinder cover is most likely a new LOMO made between 1999 and
2003.
IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OLD LOMO AND NEW LOMO?
The basic camera appears to be the same, whether it was made in
the early 1990s or is a new Lomographic society model. Very old
LOMOs from the early 80s have Russian lettering and film
measurements in GOST units (see below). 90's models switched to
English letters and ASA/ISO film units. Newer models have the
"LOMO Guy" silk-screened onto the viewfinder cover.
Some models have framelines and distance icons in the viewfinder.
Some only have framelines. Some have neither. All should have two
LEDs in the viewfinder.
WHERE CAN I GET ENGLISH INSTRUCTIONS?
Several translations are available on the net. Do a google search
for "LOMO Manual" and you'll find one of them. One is available at
http://lomo.kataan.org.
MY FILM SPEED SETTING DOESN'T READ 25/64/100/200/400...
You have an older LOMO LC-A that's calibrated in GOST film units.
It reads '16, 32, 65, 130, 250'. Use 32 for ASA 64 film, 65 for
ASA 100, 130 for ASA 200, and 250 for ASA 400. Print film is
forgiving, and as long as you overexpose it (pick a lower ASA/GOST
setting than the film rating) you should be OK.
HOW DO I USE A FLASH WITH MY LOMO LC-A?
"Traditional" flash photography with a Lomo requires that you
manually set the aperture on the camera using the slider on the
right-hand side of the lens. This sets the shutter speed to 1/60th
second, and fixes the aperture to the setting you specify -
effectively disabling all of the cool auto-exposure stuff the LOMO
LC-A does.
The Lomographic Society sells two accessory flashes. The MiniFlash
is a basic manual flash, and the ColorSplash is a wild-looking
flash unit with colored "gels" you can rotate in front of the
flash tube to make interesting color effects.
There's no need to limit yourself to Lomographic Society flashes,
if you want to use other flashes. There are two types of third-
party accessory flash units available - manual and automatic.
With a manual flash, it should come with a power rating known as a
"guide number", listed in feet or meters. If you know the guide
number, divide the guide number by the distance to subject. The
result is the aperture to use - set the aperture lever on the side
of the lens to the proper aperture. Most flashes have a chart on
the back showing the relation of film speed, distance, and
aperture.
Auto flashes have a sensor on the front of the flash. Auto flashes
normally have one or two aperture/power ranges - set the camera to
the aperture corresponding to the power setting you choose, and
the flash will vary the brightness to properly expose everything
within the flash range.
You can also experiment with a flash in auto mode.
Auto Mode w/Flash (Davey) "...I put my hand in front of the flash
to soften it. I really like that method for shooting people at
night. If executed properly, you can get detail of the subject,
but lots of ghosts floating around them."
Off-camera flash (Poindexter)
Try leaving your LOMO LC-A on the auto setting and take a picture
with a subject in flash range. Note how long it takes for the
second click. Shoot again, but point your flash at the subject
before the second click and fire the flash using the test button -
off the camera. You should get a weird streaky LOMO-like
background and a sharp foreground subject.
FILM QUESTIONS
Film is film is film. Any 35mm 12, 24, or 36 exposure roll color
print, negative, or specialty film 400 speed or slower should
work.
Ok, then, what kind of film?
I've had great luck with shooting the cheapest film I could find,
and shooting a lot of it. By shooting cheap film, you take more
pictures, and capture moments you might not capture if you were
watching your film. I've shot professional-grade film, and gotten
great pictures, too. To each his/her own - there is no one "right"
film.
What speed film should I use?
"Slow" films (films rated ASA 64 or 100) require more light to
expose a picture, but have brighter colors and the pictures have
less grain. "Fast" films (films rated ASA 400) require less light,
but the colors aren't as bright and the prints appear more grainy
than with slow films. Slow films usually require wider apertures
and longer shutter speeds, which can result in blurrier shots.
Sometimes, with a LOMO LC-A, that's what you want.
200 speed film is a compromise between the two speeds, twice as
sensitive as ASA 100 film and half as sensitive as ASA 400 film.
(gregg)
"In general lower ISO's have better color saturation -- pros even
go to ISO 50... slides usually have better colors than print film
but who wants slides for goofing around shots?"
What is "Lucky" film?
Lucky film is an inexpensive Chinese film brand. Lucky emulsions
tend to be a little off-color, but can result in vivid colors.
PHOTO PROCESSING QUESTIONS
I develop most of my photos as a one-hour lab where I know the
people who work the lab, and like their results. One-hour labs
aren't as fool-proof as you'd think, and sometimes a specific tech
can provide better/worse results using the same camera, film, and
processing. It's a nice compromise between cost and results.
Lomo.org users have reported getting more "Lomo-like" results by
specifying "no color correction" on their order, or asking the lab
technician to lower the density by a point on the development job.
I'd recommend trying local labs until you find the lab/technician
who gives you the best results.
There's no LOMO-specific requirements for processing your prints -
they're just prints, like film out of any other camera.
(Andrei) "A local printer, who also happens to be a friend of
mine, likes my pictures and recently blew up a few of my lomos
(from the negatives) to the poster size for entertainment and
decorative purposes only. A couple were ?artistically blurry? and
came out just as that - ?artistically blurry.? Others looked
incredibly LOMO-sharp as 4 x 6?s, but when blown up, looked
unappealingly grainy. Granted, I did not use a professional type
of film - just the kind normal people use, and LOMO lens is not
the sharpest around, but still, such a difference. The printer,
by the way, is a pro and many real photographers use his services;
so I am sure this, the grain and lack of sharpness on the
enlargements, is not his fault. I am not entirely sure what the
purpose of me posting this is; I guess I?m just sharing. There, I
shared. "
WHAT IS CROSS PROCESSING?
Developing color print film in slide chemicals or slide film in
color print chemicals is called "Cross Processing". Cross
processing can yield vivid, surreal colors to your prints, but it
can be difficult to find photo labs willing to process it for you.
SHOOTING WITH YOUR LOMO LC-A
Low light photography:
Use the slow shutter speed of your LOMO LC-A to get low-light
shots. The LOMO LC-A makes two clicks when shooting - one when the
shutter opens, one when it closes. In bright light, they sound
like one click. In low light, you'll hear two distinct clicks.
Make sure you hear the second click when shooting in low light.
Blurry shots:
Blur is either caused by the camera being out of focus, or from
camera shake. In low light, the LOMO uses the widest aperture -
f/2.8. At this setting, the Depth of Field (the area in front and
behind the subject in focus) is very small. Make sure you set the
zone focus correctly. With slower film, the camera needs to keep
the shutter open longer, so if you don't brace the camera, you'll
get blur. Try shooting with faster film, shooting in brighter
light, or steadying the camera with a pocket tripod or a table.
(shauna)
"Links to two homemade cable release pages:
http://home.hiwaay.net/~drcannon/cp950/cablerelease.htm
http://www.photo.net/photo/ncliffe/hexarcable.html "
(wisdom3)
"Search Porter's for "Cable" and you'll find a cable release that
will work with the LOMO."
Focusing:
If you can get as bright a subject as possible, the lens will stop
down to f/16, it's smallest aperture. At this aperture, the Depth
of Field is great, and you can get closer close-ups than the
stated minimum focusing distance. The settings are in meters -
0.8, 1.5, 3.0, and infinity. Or, roughly 3 feet, 5 feet, 10 feet,
infinity.
(M. Lau) "For short distance control your Lomo that the knob on
the right side to 0,8 (top). The left side knob (a). Then the
length of youre arm + one hand length is the right distance for
sharpness Lomos for all situations. "
(Andrei) "I'd like to add that in bright sunlight you can get even
closer than the arm + hand's lentght if you set you camera on '16'
instead of 'A' (left side lever). With this setting I could get
as close as one to one and a half feet and still get a very sharp
picture, but only in bright sunlight. "
(Derrick Clevenger) "A cool option is to turn you and your camera
into a modular autofocus camera. Go to Radio Shack and purchase
one of those "tapeless tape measure" distance finder things, it's
basically what af cameras have built in. You aim the thing, press
a button, and it displays the distance. It would be nice until you
give yourself an idea of how far things are. Or just a nice thing
to have with you. "
(lomogrrl) "You can also pick up an old rangefinder that slips
into the flash shoe on ebay for measuring distances. it will
really give your Lomo a totally retro look....like this..."
(Poindexter) "Lomo used to make a rangefinder for their cameras -
do a search on Ebay for "LOMO BLIK" to find one."
Street photography:
With the wide-angle lens of the LOMO LC-A, you can set the focus
to 3m and shoot from the hip without looking through the
viewfinder - try it!
TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR LOMO LC-A
Help! my shutter stopped working!
Make sure the lens guard is fully retracted. The shutter will not
fire otherwise.
Look in the viewfinder and press the shutter halfway. Does the
battery-check LED in the viewfinder light up? If not, or if the
light dims after a few seconds, replace the batteries.
A LOMO lives and dies by its batteries. Batteries power the meter
and the shutter - it won't work without batteries, and most non-
mechanical problems can be traced to incorrect or old batteries.
Check the contacts in the battery compartment on the bottom of the
camera. Make sure they're clean and that they make solid contact
with the batteries. Clean the contacts with a pencil eraser and/or
bend the contacts outwards slightly if necessary.
Some people have jarred the shutter back into operation by rapping
it hard against a padded surface. Do this at your own risk!
Help! The rewind knob broke!
Buy a LOMO Smena-35. the rewind knob is interchangeable with the
LC-A, and the Smena is relatively inexpensive.
Help! my Lomo chews up film!
Sometimes, it's the film's fault. Try a different brand of film,
make sure the film guides are clean and free of burrs or
obstructions, and wind/rewind the film slowly.
Help! the film broke inside my camera when I was rewinding!
This happens occasionally with almost any camera. If there's
important shots on your Lomo, take it to a real photo lab. They
may be able to change the film out in their dark room or a
changing bag.
Help! rewound the film took it out, but the film counter didn't
reset!
There is a little metal contact right below the left-hand edge of
the film advance. Make sure it's not pushed in and it's free to
move out slightly when the door opens. That's the frame counter
reset.
OTHER CAMERAS
I can't afford/don't want a LOMO LC-A. Are there similarly cool
cameras out there?
There are a lot of cameras out there, ranging from expensive posh
point-and shoot cameras down to $5 plastic giveaway cameras.
Whichever camera allows you to express yourself is all you need.
Some of the posters on http://www.lomo.org have been spotted with
these cameras:
Lomo SMENA-8M, SMENA-35
Cosina CX-1 or
Olympus XA/XA2/XA4
Jazz 101(daytime only)
Jazz Jelly
Manual SLRs
Polaroid SX-70
LOMO supersampler, cybersampler, LOMO-9
Canonet
Kiev 35/Minox 35
Fed rangefinders
Holga 120/120SF plastic cameras
MISCALLANEOUS TIPS
Double Exposures (marc II) "Shoot, but do not wind . Tighten the
film in the film can a bit - not too much (as if rewinding without
having pressed the rewind knob). Press the rewind knob, so the
film transport is disengaged now wind - hopefully without moving
the film. Shoot a second time."
Exposure/Shutter Problem Diagnostic Tip (qwerty) "Set film speed
to 400. Shoot in bright sunlight while looking through the back.
Don't cover the light sensor. Aperture should be tiny. If the
aperture is still wide open in bright sun, the camera may be
defective. Lomo's program AE will do the shutter/aperture
calculations based on reading from the light sensor AND film
speed. At 100 and lower speeds, the aperture may indeed stay wide
open for a lot of shots. But at faster film speeds, the shutter
may not be fast enough, and the camera compensates by closing down
the aperture."
(marc II) "May be the camera varies aperture. But it does not
calculate. OK, say, not in a digital way. Light sensor and film
speed setting is one single part. It is just a light sensitive
resistor, which gets light through a hole. Faster film == bigger
hole, more light hits the resistor, resistance falls, current
through resistor grows. The electronic simply integrates this
current over time and closes shutter with a pre-set threshold.
There is not any digital part in it, I could build you such a
circuit with a single OPamp. There is no magic in this camera. The
tiny aperture in bright light may as well be an illusion. Human
eye is not capable of following, say, less than 1/50 of a second
of a bright light blink. "
Random Lomo Wall Script
(marc II)
"http://www.geocities.com/markus_petz/lomo/wall2.htm"
Reflection Photography (qwerty) "Focus on the object in the
mirror, not on the mirror itself. Focusing distance will be the
distance of the object to the mirror plus the distance of the
mirror to the camera. Kinda makes sense. You don't need a SLR to
experiment. Close one eye and hold a mirror about 12 inches from
your face and look at a distant object in the mirror. Then focus
on a mirror itself. you'll notice that the image in the mirror
goes out of focus."
Vignetting
(randy) "The vignetting is simply an effect of the 32mm lens. In
other words, it is automatic, although I have noticed that on
certain subjects it is difficult to see. Sometimes a printer will
over expose a print so that a blue sky and dark subject becomes
too light so the subject is more visable. Result: the vignetting
is not as pronounced. Another possibility is the aspect ratio of
your prints. Some of the BIG prints out there are actually
cropping the frame. Do a few calculations and you see that
different size prints are not the same proportions. So, you may be
getting prints that actually crop out the top and bottom and you
might be losing the vignette effect that way, but it would still
be present on the negative."
(davey) You can't "force" a small aperture when in "A" mode. When
in "A"mode, you get a wide-open aperture....period. As far as the
vignette effect...I have been putting the LC-A through some
methodical and rigorous tests...and you seem to get the most of
that effect when in "A" mode and with a photo that has a lot of
light bouncing back at the camera. The "A" mode makes the shutter
speed very fast (faster than the default 1/60th of a second when
you set it to any other setting). Put that in combination with the
wide angle lense..and you get the vignette. You can also get the
same (but not quite as obvious) effect if you took that same shot
on 16, with the slower shutter speed.
...when outdoors taking pictures with huge chunks of sky in them,
or other other large bright objects..it is almost ALWAYS best to
use "A" setting, because it's generally a faster shutter speed
than 1/60...and it leaves the colors slightly underexposed, and
very rich and deep...you just don't get much depth of field. You
can use the 16 setting outdoors in brightness, get great depth of
field...but colors are a little more exposed, washed out...but
very close.
(darren)
Yep, I think fast film and or bright light may be it. Unless you
like using a flash. You could use a combination of existing lght
and flash and set the cameras exposure accordingly. (but this
would bulk up the small camera and really throw a wrench in the
"shoot from the hip" theory...)