Author Topic: Lomo's at it again! (Read 8790 times)

Francois · « **on:** June 12, 2013, 03:08:15 PM »

I know this is going to sound blah at first, but I just got in my mailbox a message saying that Lomography will release a new camera tomorrow (June 13th, 2013)...

What space age wonder will it be this time?
We got only 19 hours left to guess

ambaker · « **Reply #1 on:** June 12, 2013, 03:59:12 PM »

I've heard they are going digital. 41 Megapixel medium format sensor. Plastic lenses, and a 2 MB memory card.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

AJShepherd · « **Reply #2 on:** June 12, 2013, 04:09:10 PM »

The "mystery silhouette" on their site looks like it might be a 35mm camera with a TLR viewfinder grafted awkwardly on the top, a bit like the Holga TLR is a Holga with a TLR viewfinder grafted on top - i.e. ugly!

Think I'll stick to my Gakkenflex if I want 35mm TLR plastic-lensed action!

Offertonhatter · « **Reply #3 on:** June 12, 2013, 07:37:24 PM »

Plastic lens Praktiflex style of a camera?

Francois · « **Reply #4 on:** June 12, 2013, 09:17:05 PM »

Single lens action sampler

Rafael Morales · « **Reply #5 on:** June 12, 2013, 09:37:44 PM »

I hope whatever it is has a motor drive. I am for anything that keeps film going!

Francois · « **Reply #6 on:** June 12, 2013, 10:10:33 PM »

Here's the teaser site
http://www.lomography.com/?utm_campaign=nl_under_konstruktion_teaser_int&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

I just hope it's going to be affordable and great

AJShepherd · « **Reply #7 on:** June 13, 2013, 11:24:39 AM »

OK, so it's a build it yourself top-down SLR kit, with a name that only needs more umlauts to be a nod to IKEA.

Konstruktor

But it's only thirty quid, so could be a fun toy. I think I'll wait until I've read a few reviews first though.

Late Developer · « **Reply #8 on:** June 13, 2013, 01:07:07 PM »

Quote from: Francois on June 12, 2013, 10:10:33 PM

Here's the teaser site
http://www.lomography.com/?utm_campaign=nl_under_konstruktion_teaser_int&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

I just hope it's going to be affordable and great

Well, at least it's affordable

Francois · « **Reply #9 on:** June 13, 2013, 02:06:42 PM »

I haven't checked the price of the recesky and other kit cameras but I think this is on par price wise.
It looks like it uses some sort of weird shutter... could be interesting.

Ordinal · « **Reply #10 on:** June 13, 2013, 02:10:23 PM »

That looks like a pretty fun toy, and 30 quid is lower than I'd have thought. I've enjoyed the other plastic camera kits I've done so will probably give this one a go too.

moominsean · « **Reply #11 on:** June 13, 2013, 02:55:26 PM »

Interesting...nothing I would want, though. The output is actually pretty disappointing. No toy camera effects, no wide angle. Just looks like your basic disposable camera shots. Still probably fun to put together.

Mab · « **Reply #12 on:** June 13, 2013, 02:59:13 PM »

I'll buy me one Konstruktor for sure. At f/10 and 1/80s it looks like it's a good companion for ISO 100 speed film.

Nigel · « **Reply #13 on:** June 13, 2013, 03:48:52 PM »

I think it looks fun, it's easy to knock them but they're always innovating. It's not designed to appeal to me, but if I were a teenager I'd of loved to play with one.

Erik · « **Reply #14 on:** June 13, 2013, 03:55:37 PM »

Yeah, looks like fun to build. 35 bucks sounds like a good fathers day gift for this dad, ha ha.

astrobeck · « **Reply #15 on:** June 13, 2013, 04:23:44 PM »

If they would post some impressive photos made with it, it might be more appealing to more people, but they almost always post crappy shots!

I'll give them credit for promoting film and making a kit camera that you can build yourself has a fun factor going for it..

But it's still not for me.

gavechase · « **Reply #16 on:** June 13, 2013, 04:32:30 PM »

Is anyone else disappointed that it doesn't look like you get to actually build the mirror/shutter assembly? I suppose it might be too fiddly for the average lomo customer, but other than the lens, that's the part I want to mess about with.

Francois · « **Reply #17 on:** June 13, 2013, 05:43:58 PM »

You do get to assemble some parts in the shutter assembly...

I don't know how it would compare to the Gakkenflex?

One thing's for sure, since you know how everything works in it, it should be pretty easy to modify!

LEAFotography · « **Reply #18 on:** June 13, 2013, 06:34:29 PM »

It looks fun to put this together, and should encourage film use. There are DIY plastic kits at a third of the price, and second hand slrs (complete with glass lenses)available at around the same price, so I won't be opting in atm. Another thumbs up for lomo though from me.

limr · « **Reply #19 on:** June 13, 2013, 07:19:05 PM »

I would get something like that as a learning tool. Like my father who was a mechanic, I've always been interesting in how mechanical things work. The problem is that he taught me just enough to get me in trouble but not enough to get me out of that trouble

If I start messing around with a 'real' camera and take it apart to try to fix something, I don't have confidence that I'd be able to put it back together. I would get this kit as a way to gain both skill and confidence to work on my own cameras myself. Once it's put together, it could be the kind of camera that I could just throw in a bag and bring with me on a hike or something, just to have a camera with me but not be so worried about the welfare of that camera.

Lomo kind of annoyed me with the $350 pimped up Lubitel, but they might have me on this one.

Francois · « **Reply #20 on:** June 13, 2013, 09:55:35 PM »

I can't believe how fast the basic kit sold-out!

gary m · « **Reply #21 on:** June 13, 2013, 11:22:21 PM »

As usual, I had to bite and get one. I think they finally hit the right price mark for once.

John Robison · « **Reply #22 on:** June 14, 2013, 07:08:09 AM »

Ordered one about 2 hours after they launched. Fed X shows it shipped today so sometime next week I'll have it in hand.

Now they need to make a 35mm f11 retro-focus wide angle and a 100mm f11 telephoto to go with the 50mm f10 normal. I think at f11 they could get away with 2 element configurations. Looks like a bayonet type lens mount with a small diameter, about the size of an Exakta mount. Wish they had made it a M42 mount.

I already have one of those Recesky 35mm TLR toy cameras. should be interesting to shoot side by side and compare results.

Francois · « **Reply #23 on:** June 14, 2013, 03:15:32 PM »

It's back to available.
There was a bug in their shopping cart software yesterday. The beginners kit with film and a keychain was 35$... but not today!

I just ordered one for fun. I also want to see the way the shutter is made.

But while shopping, I did notice something: about 3/4 of their inventory is out of stock!
And they also have a lot less stuff than they used to... like no more refurbished russian stock.

Ken B: eyes, I just do eyes. · « **Reply #24 on:** June 17, 2013, 09:02:07 PM »

Will Airfix do a knock off version

Offertonhatter · « **Reply #25 on:** June 17, 2013, 09:13:11 PM »

£29! I might just get one for that price

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #26 on:** June 18, 2013, 04:53:10 PM »

Hats off the the LPS on this occasion. That's a decent price point and to echo what others in this thread have said, the idea of building your own working camera will be incredibly empowering to a lot of people....and I'm with Francois too; if you build something yourself it'll be reasonably easy to modify.

I'm all for anything which removes barriers to traditional photography and illustrates how beautifully simple it can be. This is good news all round.

Francois · « **Reply #27 on:** June 18, 2013, 05:17:15 PM »

For one thing, I can't wait to get my hands on mine. It's still in "processing" mode so I guess the cameras are not in stock in Toronto...

Now, I'm wondering how I'm going to customize mine?

limr · « **Reply #28 on:** June 18, 2013, 05:27:39 PM »

Quote from: Francois on June 18, 2013, 05:17:15 PM

For one thing, I can't wait to get my hands on mine. It's still in "processing" mode so I guess the cameras are not in stock in Toronto...

Now, I'm wondering how I'm going to customize mine?

I don't have mine either. It was supposed to arrive yesterday I think but wildfires in Colorado are apparently delaying all kinds of deliveries. Don't know if that's affecting Toronto, too.

I'm definitely itching to get my hands on the kit, but I suppose it's just as well that I don't have it yet. I wouldn't be able to start building it until Friday anyway, so it just would have sat on my desk, taunting me all week long.

Francois · « **Reply #29 on:** June 18, 2013, 05:31:40 PM »

Wippy! My order's just been switched to "invoiced"...

Rafael Morales · « **Reply #30 on:** June 18, 2013, 08:02:22 PM »

My camera is on it's way from Brooklyn. If all goes well I will have it on Thursday. Putting it together might have to wait a little longer.

limr · « **Reply #31 on:** June 18, 2013, 08:25:05 PM »

Huh...I didn't see at first that mine too is originating in Brooklyn. The only information I have is that shipment information has been sent to FedEx. Might be quicker to just hop on the train and go pick it up myself

Francois · « **Reply #32 on:** June 19, 2013, 10:10:55 PM »

Mine just came in this afternoon!

Now if I can just find some time to assemble it

Francois · « **Reply #33 on:** June 21, 2013, 11:18:31 PM »

Just to let you know I assembled it this afternoon.
Now, for a quick review of the instruction and assembly process.

In itself, the camera is surprisingly easy to assemble... if it wasn't for the instructions that forgot to specify some very important step details that will make or break the build. First, some parts need to be assembled in a specific order in order to come together properly but the instructions don't always say so. One good example is the lens assembly. The instructions forget to mention that the bottom must be inserted through the focusing ring before the lens cone is inserted. This caused me to assemble and disassemble a few times to get things right. Also, there is a tab on the lens and the distance scale must align with it before inserting the cone that locks the entire assembly. Also, they say to put the groundglass on the mirror box when it should be inserted just before screwing on the groundglass retainer which is done towards the end of the process. They also forget to specify that the side of the camera that takes the bobbin is held by two S3 screws through the back. Apart from that, it's not bad. I had a heck of a time trying to get the lens on as it requires a surprising amount of force to lock in place. I ended up shaving the lens mount to make things a bit easier... but I don't recommend it as I think it's going to make the lens loose at some point in the future. They also forget to say that you must remove the mirror protecting film at some point.

I had a chance to play with it a bit (shooting on empty) and it is quite fun. They use a new type of shutter I've never seen before. The mirror is on a rotating drum with a simple shutter attached to the drum. When you fire the shutter, the drum rotates and opens the aperture... it's very clever and I know why you don't get to assemble that part. It's quite complex and most people would just screw it up.

Here's the final version I made.

Rafael Morales · « **Reply #34 on:** June 21, 2013, 11:41:59 PM »

Looks like it is on it's way! it might be here wednesday. I hope you get to waste some film on that soon Francois. Looks good.

limr · « **Reply #35 on:** June 22, 2013, 03:26:40 AM »

Nice! I'm glad for your additions to the instructions so when I put mine together, it will hopefully go more smoothly than it normally would have. It's possible I might have needed to ask for help, and that would just injure a girl's pride. Can't have that, now.

My FedEx tracking page didn't change for a week - kept saying "Initiated pick-up, shipped on the 14th" so I finally called them up and they said Lomo had called them for a pick-up but never gave them anything to deliver. So yesterday, I wrote Lomography a...strongly-worded email about how it really shouldn't have taken a week to drive two counties away, and lo and behold! Guess what showed up in my mailbox today!

I'm fighting the temptation to start it now because it's already 10:30pm and I really can't stay up until the wee hours...again. My cats, however, have already made themselves quite comfortable in the shipping box.

Looking forward to seeing some shots!

Francois · « **Reply #36 on:** June 22, 2013, 03:19:03 PM »

What's fun with the camera is that there are essentially three components to assemble. The lens and viewing hood can be done quite fast so I did them first at night. The body is more labor intensive so better keep that for an afternoon.

Also, I discovered that it's much easier to apply the leather before assembling the main body!
Thing is that the mirror control lever gets a bit in the way making it slightly harder to do a good job. The glue on it is really sticky so once it's on, you can't easily peel it to reposition the piece.

Ezzie · « **Reply #37 on:** June 22, 2013, 03:46:03 PM »

Dabb the surface of the camera with alcohol, or something else that evaporates easily, water even, before applying the leatherette. The leatherette can be moved around until the fluid has dried up. The disadvantage is of course that the drying process can take a few hours. Look up Morgan Sparks' Cameraleather site for tips on cladding cameras.

Francois · « **Reply #38 on:** June 22, 2013, 09:25:06 PM »

Well, it's already on. I would have moved it about ½mm off but I have to learn to let go of pointless things like that.

Rafael Morales · « **Reply #39 on:** June 27, 2013, 10:40:20 PM »

Took me a few hours. I don't know about the instructions you got with yours; mine were all over the place. Here is a photo. I had these stickers around here I got from a birthday cake; so they are on the camera now.

My "Cars" LPS camera. by commieflex, on Flickr
Back

The back. by commieflex, on Flickr

Francois · « **Reply #40 on:** June 28, 2013, 04:42:08 PM »

I got the same instructions as you. Lets just say I'm happy to have had a chance to assemble so many Legos when I was a kid. I think it helped a whole lot on this project. I must admit that the instructions were not the most descriptive. They would greatly benefit from looking at the instructions from Ikea and Lego which are a marvel of simplicity and clarity. But just thinking how many people who don't have the slightest mechanical thinking or plan reading skills, I think there's going to be a fair number of unfinished cameras sitting in drawers around the world!

Jack Johnson · « **Reply #41 on:** June 29, 2013, 05:15:25 PM »

Quote from: Francois on June 21, 2013, 11:18:31 PM

They use a new type of shutter I've never seen before. The mirror is on a rotating drum with a simple shutter attached to the drum. When you fire the shutter, the drum rotates and opens the aperture...

Is it kind of like the KW Pilot / Great Wall shutter? Can you post a pic?

Francois · « **Reply #42 on:** June 29, 2013, 10:13:16 PM »

Better than that, I just made a short assembly of the illustrations in the booklet.
The shutter starts as a partial drum.
Here's the details.

limr · « **Reply #43 on:** August 16, 2013, 02:59:14 AM »

Mine is finally built. It was delayed by a vacation and some missing parts (that god-forsaken tiny little B10 spring for the shutter button!) that Lomo kindly resent. I went with the black leatherette and I haven't really decorated it yet. Not sure if I want to leave it all black or not.

Please forgive the craptacular <hushed tone> cell phone photo </hushed tone> of the camera. The next post will include shots from my test roll that I just scanned in tonight.

limr · « **Reply #44 on:** August 16, 2013, 03:05:39 AM »

I figured a low speed film would be best for a test roll, and the only low speed 35mm I had in my possession (because I was too impatient to go looking for anything else or waiting for the mail) were Portra 160 and Lomography Redscale 100. I wasn't going to waste a roll of Portra on this thing, and it seemed apropos to use the Lomo film, so I loaded 'er up and started shooting.

The film advance knob is a bit sticky and I wasted more of the lead than I usually do when loading. It also tended to advance the film rather inconsistently, so I knew there would be some overlap in some of the frames or some really large gaps between other frames. The #)%^)(#$% B10 spring took forever to get on and was mangled in the process, so that's probably why my shutter button sometimes needs a little help springing back into position after taking a shot. And focusing is tricky because the lens becomes unseated very easily.

But here are some shots. The last one was a "panorama" that resulted from some of those overlapping frames. The focus is quite soft, even those that seemed sharp in the viewfinder, but it does surprisingly well with getting shadows and detail.

Francois · « **Reply #45 on:** August 16, 2013, 04:35:40 PM »

It's still pretty neat.
I still have to finish my test roll. Only 12 frames to go and hopefully everything will work fine.

I must admit that the small springs were a b**** to get on.

Rafael Morales · « **Reply #46 on:** August 16, 2013, 05:02:30 PM »

That little spring was a nightmare! There was an extra sring in my kit and I am still tempted to take it apart and replace it. But I have a roll of film in it. (The first one I still have to shoot.)

limr · « **Reply #47 on:** August 16, 2013, 05:37:13 PM »

If I want to replace the spring, I'll have to order more. After the first one got sort of mangled, I tried putting the second one on and I was >< this close to getting it in place when it flew across the room, never to be seen again. I think I'll still try a few more passes with a magnet before I totally give up. But I think I can also live with the gimpy spring. It just means that after I press the shutter, I push up on the knob that switches the shutter from "N" to "B" and that resets the button. I can live with that. Overall, it's still a fun little toy. And I'm thinking the film advance will get a bit less sticky with some more use.

Francois · « **Reply #48 on:** August 16, 2013, 08:48:32 PM »

Mine was sticky at first even with the spring in good shape. What I did the first times is to turn the wind crank slightly backwards and then forwards. That fixed it. But now, it seems to be fine.