Lomo LC-A

The Lomo LC-A is a compact camera for 35mm film.

The history of the LC-A

The history of the Lomo Kompakt Automat begins in St. Petersburg, in the former USSR. In 1982, a prototype for a compact camera was developed at the company “Lomo PLC”. The design of this was based on the Japanese Cosina CX-2. The goal was an affordable compact 35mm camera for the Russian market.

Mass production of the LC-A series was then started in 1984. Initially available only on the Russian market, it was later exported to other Soviet countries, such as Poland and Ukraine.

In May 1991, when the LC-A was already not so much in demand, a specimen was discovered in Prague by some students from Vienna. They liked the results so much that they started to import LC-As to the West. Then in 1992, the Lomographic Society was founded in Vienna to promote lomography and photography with the LC-A.

However, the great worldwide demand for LC-A’s could not be satisfied. So the Viennese traveled to St. Petersburg and convinced the heads of Lomo PLC and Vladimir Putin, then deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, to ramp up production of the LC-A again.

Jumping back in time to 2005, Lomo ceased production of the popular camera. Then in September 2006, the Lomo LC-A+ (eBay / Amazon*) was introduced as its successor. The compact camera, equipped with some additional features, has since been built in China by Lomgraphy or Colibri Manufacturers and no longer in the Soviet Union.

Features of the LC-A

The range of functions of the Lomo LC-A is at first glance manageable. It has a 32 mm f2.8 Minitar-1 lens permanently installed in it. The lens is manually focused in zones with a lever on the side. The closest focusing distance is 80 cm. The other lever on the front can be used to set the aperture (f2.8 to f16).

Here, the exposure time is fixed at 160 s. If you select “A”, the camera automatically selects the correct exposure and chooses the appropriate aperture and an exposure time between 1500 seconds and 2 minutes.

For this purpose, a light meter is built into the front of the camera. The film speed is also set there (ISO 25 to ISO 400). When taking pictures, you should take care not to cover the light meter with your finger. The film is rewound with a wheel at the back of the Lomo LC-A. A thread for a tripod is available. A flash can be connected to the camera’s hot shoe.

Films for the Lomo LC-A

The Lomo LC-A is a 35mm camera, so all 35mm films can be used with it. However, only films between ISO 25 and ISO 400 are supported by the light meter.

For the typical Lomo effect with the LC-A, you should put a slide film (slide films at Amazon) into the camera and cross process it afterwards (development in the C-41 process for color negative film and not in the E6 process). But regular color film and black and white film (B&W films at Amazon) can also produce great images.

Pushing a film is also very easy in the Lomo LC-A, as the ISO setting can be freely chosen by the photographer. However, one is limited in this regard by the low ISO settings of the light meter.

Batteries for the Lomo LC-A

Power is supplied to the Lomo LC-A by three 1.5v batteries. SR44 (eBay / Amazon*) or LR44 (eBay / Amazon*) button cells can be used for this purpose. One LED in the viewfinder indicates if there is enough power for the camera. The other LED signals an exposure time of less than 130 seconds, keyword: risk of camera shake.

Other models in the LC-A series

Some models of the LC-A were sold with a sticker from Zenith. Others have GOST instead of ASA. Still available new today is the Lomo LC-A+. This one still comes with some additional features, like a port for a cable release and additional accessories.

Alternatives to the LC-A

In the field of compact cameras, there are of course many alternatives to the Lomo LC-A. To mention here would be for example the Minox 35 series or also the Olympus XA series. But also a Yashica could be an alternative to the legendary LC-A. But of course these don’t necessarily deliver the typical Lomo look.

By the way, LOMO stands for Leningradskoye Optiko-Mekhanicheskoye Obyedinenie or ЛОМО́ stands for Ленинградское Oптико-Mеханическое Oбъединение).

Sample photos

All pictures were made with DM Paradies 100 slide film. The film was developed in C-41 (cross development). Then the negatives were digitized with a Canoscan 9000F (eBay / Amazon*).