The Locals were recently invited down to the Lomography Gallery Store in Soho to test out the LC-A.
For those unfamiliar with the LC-A, it is in many ways the camera that fuelled the Lomographic phenomenon. The history of the camera can be traced back to 1982, in St. Petersburg where two gentlemen came across a rather nifty little Japanese compact camera called the Cosina CX-1 and gave orders that an improved copy should be produced on mass for the Soviet people’s snapshooting pleasure. The potential of the camera caught the attention of the USSR Minister of Defence and the Director of the LOMO Factory, who after a few tweaks agreed to manufacture the camera – and the LOMO LC-A was born.
The vision of the LC-A was simple – a miniaturized, automatic camera meant to provide the masses with a reliable workhorse for everyday photography. However, dig a little deeper and you will begin to see the true value of this fantastic camera.
I tested out the LC-Wide, which as the name suggests is the wide angle version of the LC-A. The camera features a specially designed 17mm Minigon 1 Ultra-Wide-Angle lens, that was capable of capturing exceptionally vivid images even on a very overcast day. This is largely due to its auto-exposure capability, something usually only found on professional cameras. It also has a choice of 3 photo formats, including unlimited multiple exposures and auto-exposure settings. It took some time figuring out how to really take advantage of these various formats, but hey, that’s half the fun of analogue photography.
For me the beauty, of the LC-A and LC-Wide has to be it’s simple, lightweight design. It is the perfect analogue camera to throw in your bag and take with you anywhere. I only got to play with it for an hour, but already it has moved to the top of my camera wish list.
The LC-A is available for around £250 and the LC- Wide for £330
Check out some of my photo’s from the day below.
