I’m a bit of a photography nut; I have a (small but growing at an alarming rate) collection of unusual cameras, and I’ve recently become totally obsessed with the Lomo camera. You can learn a bit about them here.
Since the basic Lomo is about $200, I’d written it off as too expensive for me to justify buying one at present, but tonight I found them on eBay for closer to $100, which I can kinda-sorta see as reasonable. (Yeah, I’m cheap, plus I’m quitting my job in a few months.)
So I’m wondering if anyone here has any Lomo experience. What’s it like shooting with one? Are the pictures really as cool as they look on that site? Is it as much FUN as I’m thinking it might be?
In general, will the experience be as much fun as my bizarre little Vivitar LC 650, a camera so irredeemably crappy that the Vivitar corporation denies (by their silence) that it ever existed, but which still somehow captures strange and wonderful photos?
Thanks; hope someone can help!
(And by the way, I did a search on this, but only one Doper has mentioned them and that person doesn’t have any contact info available.)
So, I guess that would be a “no” then?
Until a few months ago, I was the proud owner of a Lomo Supersampler. It was one of my prized posessions. The camera was super low-tech, it was basically made out of springs and rubber bands. There was a viewfinder, but it was not a very accurate one - you just shot and hoped for the best.
There were four lenses, and each one captured the light a little differently. Even if I took a still picture, I’d have four different mini-versions of it come developing time.
I loved that little Lomo. It fell apart on me a little while ago, after two and a half wonderful years - pretty good for $14. I’ve been thinking about getting a new one, but now I have a digital camera and I don’t know if I can go back to paying $7 every time I want to get my pictures developed.
Get yourself a Holga. It’s only $20, not at all an unreasonable investment for an experimental-type photo camera. It’s featured on that Lomo photography website, too. I’m not sure if Lomo produces Holgas, or if Holga is simply a Lomo-type camera, but the philosophy behind them is basically the same.
I’ve got one at home, and it’s fun to play around with. Here’s a sample of my first two rolls taken with the Holga. (One of the neon pictures is a triple exposure, in case you’re wondering.)
So here’s the deal with the Holga, at least. It’s cheap. It’s made of plastic. It looks like crap. It has an awful plastic lens. It advertises two aperatures, but only has one. It has one shutter speed. It vignettes like hell if you shoot in 6x6 mode. It has light leaks up the wazoo in 6x6 mode. (Your 6 x 4.5 Holga is converted into a 6x6 Holga by removing a plastic insert.) You focus completely by guessing. The framing is approximate. (The viewfinder shows you the general ballpark of what you’re photographing.)
But that’s the appeal of it. It’s quirky. It’s got a distinct look and feel to it. I’d say it’s a little bit on the trendy “instant-art” side of photography, but it certainly has its place. Newsweek ran a series of Holga photos from the 2000 presidential campaign. I have a wedding photographer friend who also offers Holga weddings as an option. So it can be used in a professional context.
With the Holga, photography becomes more instinctual and care-free. I’m used to dealing with the latest autofocus systems, 8 frames per second, matrix light metering, etc. With the Holga, all you got is f/8 (or f/11, I forget), 1/125. No choice in the matter. I find myself shooting with the Holga all on impulse. I don’t worry too much about framing or focusing or metering, since I have very little control over those things. It’s definitely liberating, although I still love my “real” cameras. 
I say, get yourself a Holga for $20 and see what you think.
pulykamell, I considered a Holga, but the abovementioned Vivitar is basically a Holga itself; it’s got the plastic lens, the lack of focus, aperture, or f-stop control, it gets the vignetting effect and the high-weirdness colors, etc. A couple favorite examples:
http://fff.fathom.org/pages/jackelope/pics/picnic.jpg
http://fff.fathom.org/pages/jackelope/pics/baseball.jpg
http://fff.fathom.org/pages/jackelope/pics/kid.jpg
http://fff.fathom.org/pages/jackelope/pics/hoops1.jpg
On the other hand, I’m starting to want control over things like shutter speed and such; I think I’ve pretty well maxed out the Vivitar’s possibilities.
Anyway, I’ve ordered a Lomo and it should arrive later this week; once I develop some skill with it I’ll come back and share some of the results.
Thanks for the input, folks!
My ex has one of these and he’s taken the most beautiful pictures with it.
But I see you’re going to get one… so… um, congratulations.
I’m sorry to bump this but it’s less than a year old so I figured, what the hell!
My husband is a serious amateur and is currently using a digital SLR, the Canon EOS-10D. He’s been lusting after the EOS-1D Mark II and I’m considering it as an X-mas gift but it’s totally something he’d buy for himself (eventually) and that takes the fun out of it. I want to give him something that he would enjoy but never buy for himself.
I’ve heard great things (and bad - though only in the quirky sense) about Lomos for years, though he’s never mentioned them to me. So, what I’m wondering is…
If you were a passionate amateur, used to fairly high-end (though not professional) digital cameras, would you be insulted by a gift such as this? Or this? Would you think I was nuts, wonder what the heck I was thinking?
Help!
He may not like the film part of it. Other than that it seems like a good gift. Photographers always want more cameras.
Go for it. That big crate of toys will make him sparkle.
BTW, I am a passionate amateur/previously semi-professional, and yeah, it is a cool gift. Especially if he’s never heard of them before.