I am crazy! I’m a sucker for new gear, I’m a G.A.S. victim if there ever was one, but what’s more, I’m a G.A.S. victim that has amazingly little money for the moment… and still I go for stupid stuff like the Lomo LC-A+ from Lomography.
I had a real Lomo LC-A, the old one, the russian one and I liked it. But the meter was inconsistent. the winder seemed a bit unreliable and I sold it on. Now I liked it as I said, and I wanted one again. And there’s the new one from Lomography, albeit at a hefty price. 250€ for a piece of mostly plastic made in China, but that’s what we are accustomed to from Lomography. Cheap stuff for big money.
And it’s got a copy of the original Minitar lens, also made in China, but you can get a Russian made lens….. at a premium of course.
When I got it I immediately noticed how light it felt, compared to the old one. The back closes only with some persuasion. The focusing lever seems not to be connected to anything, there’s a loose feeling when you move it, not as the real LC-A. But focus works.
Well, everything seems to work. And then there’s the ‘new’ features the old LC-A did not have:
Multiple exposures – ISO 100 to 1600 – a slot for various filters or add on lenses on the front cover…
Only the (mostly useless) aperture selector has been left out, and sadly also the useful focus information in the viewfinder. But you quickly get the habit of setting the focus zones.
Let’s not forget one of the real strong points of the Lomo LC-A+ – it’s capable of long shutter times, in fact, as long as you keep the shutter depressed! In fact, this is the ultimate compact long exposure camera.
The LC-A+ is fun, I like it, but I think it will not work for long, though I am always careful with my cameras. I already had the metal spring clip of the hotshoe falling off the camera when I took the flash off. Well I bent it into shape and slid it on again…. until next time.
Good thing is it got warranty! Guess I’ll need it before long, but until then I will enjoy my Lomo LC-A+ a lot. As I said, I love it AND I hate it… but so’s life!
It’s not your camera for documentation work, not for ‘serious’ photography for sure, but it takes nice pictures with flaws that can be beautiful. It’s a Lomo! That’s the essence of this camera that started the whole Lomography business.
You might loathe Lomography because of all that hipster stuff they sell at astronomical prices, but one thing is sure: Lomography contributed in a very large way to the reemergence of film photography. People, mostly young, start out with a Lomo or Holga, are intrigued by the whole film process and sometimes go on to ‘real’ cameras. They buy film, have it developed and scanned and thus keep all the film businesses running for a good part. This contributes to the fact that film is still available and will remain so until demand crashes. Let’s hope that Lomography will go strong for a long time and all hail the mighty Lomo LC-A+.
Here’s some pics to show you the wonderful things this piece of plastic is capable of. I just added a tiny bit of contrast and clarity in LR:
UPDATE (21/05/2016):
Just a quick update to say that I sold the dismally trashy Lomo LC-A+, at an obvious loss of course…
M first idea was to just use my beautiful Leica IIIa and have the XA2 always on me, but then I started to doubt. I scored eBay and found a hopefully ver y good, CLA’d real russian Lomo and bought it.
Should arrive next week and I’ll keep you up to date!
Thanks for reading.
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Hamish Gill on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 31/03/2016
Andy Sedik on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 31/03/2016
You have some nice photos from a very temperamental camera. I bought one in 2008, lured by the idea of being able to shoot at ISO 800 and 1600. You are right about the build quality though. I had mine in twice for service - good thing Lomography has a two year warranty on it. I wound up shelving mine, perhaps worried it would frustrate me more than get a decent photo. If I had to do it again, I probably would have gone for an Olympus XA3 and used the difference to buy quite a few rolls of film.
Frank Lehnen on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
It's just that the Lomo has a certain something to it that makes me like to shoot with it.
Big number of keepers on my first two rolls too!
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
jeremy north on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
I am recognisant of the value to 'sensible' film users as you said, anything which popularises film photography is a good thing, even the atrocity of "Lomography". I am one of the loathers of Lomography for the reasons you put in your summary.
I've been to both Lomography shops in London (though I think the one in the City is now closed down) and one in Manchester. The staff, pleasant as they are, know little about photography. They just trot out the company BS about their crappy products and image. I asked one about the pricing of the LC-A Wide and she pointed out the 'amazing' 17mm Minigon lens! It must cost a fiver to make yet this camera costs an eye-watering £329! That is s/h Leica money.
Yes, I'm just a grumpy old git :-)
Having said that I like the photographs you posted here, not because of the camera but for their intrinsic artistic merit. I like urban pictures and yours are very fine.
Frank Lehnen on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
Let's thank Lomography for keeping film going and just keep to our own stuff. If they find people (like me... ) who buy their stuff, well, OK for them. This will definitely be the last one I buy from them. Hope it will not break down too soon cause I like it.
Frank Lehnen on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
Blinx on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
Frank Lehnen on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 01/04/2016
Ken Hindle-May on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 13/04/2016
Optically it's flawed, but in an interesting way. The Minitar has good central sharpness and in combination with its tendency to vignette and soften in the corners, produces photos that naturally draw the eye to your subject. It also has a surprisingly wide aperture, so is capable of isolating a subject well and producing quite nice bokeh (although in my experience, it only actually does this in low light or when you least expect it). The Lomo's marmite feature is pincushion distortion so strong it borders on comical. Again, I think it serves to highlight the centre of the frame, but it doesn't half make any horizontal lines look weird.
In spite of all that, though, I just don't see the point of the LC-A . It has a few extra features, but none of them are particularly useful. It's not as well built as the original and its lens is a copy, not the real thing. The price for a new one is eye-watering and didn't really make sense when old LC-As were going for £80-£120 on eBay. The bottom has dropped out of that market in the past couple of years, such as you'll be able to get one for around £40 now. Frankly, that's a bargain. You could buy a used one, send it to Roger Lean for a full service and still save £150 over the price of a new one.
Comment posted: 13/04/2016
Ken Hindle-May on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 14/04/2016
The Lomo has that kind of weird alchemy going on that tends to make things look interesting regardless of whether the photo is any good or not. Like cross processing, it's a useful tool but one that can make you lazy as a photographer.
I also really hope Roger Lean is still providing his service. It's a few years since I last used him and his web presence is almost non-existent.
Comment posted: 14/04/2016
Comment posted: 14/04/2016
Comment posted: 14/04/2016
Frank Lehnen on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 21/05/2016
I bought a new one (well, an old one actually, and russian built) on eBay and just hope for the best (reputable seller from U.K. and apparently CLA'd).
Comment posted: 21/05/2016
Frank Lehnen on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 23/05/2016
Frank Lehnen on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 18/06/2016
Please NEVER buy the super expensive Lomography LC-A as it's just a pile of crap, really. Warranty or no, it's not worth it!
Comment posted: 18/06/2016
Comment posted: 18/06/2016
Comment posted: 18/06/2016
Bouncing the Lomo - 7 Alternatives to the LC-A - Guest post by Alan Duncan - 35mmc on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 12/07/2016
Gordon j Boddington on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 01/08/2019
Marcus on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 04/11/2019
I ponied up and got myself the Lca and I am getting back the images I wanted. The metering is just better and the lens is sharper too a point that it's good enough for those fast, fun shots .
First roll: Lomography LomoChrome Metropolis XR 100-400 - Kosmo Foto on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 16/02/2020
Lomo LC-A review - Kosmo Foto on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 09/08/2020
Zoltan on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 16/03/2021
I have an LC-A in my camera collection. The original Russian one. Don’t know if it works - it never really “spoke” to me, so to say, so I’ve never ran a single roll of film through it. But now I am intrigued...
Does the lens of the original LC-A exhibit the same resistance to flare as the new LC-A ?
Comment posted: 16/03/2021
Comment posted: 16/03/2021
Camera Review Blog No. 131 – Lomography LOMO LC-A – Alex Luyckx | Blog on Lomo LC-A+ Review – love it or hate it…. or both? – by Frank Lehnen
Comment posted: 03/05/2021