Analog photography – Everything Geek

This particular version seems to have been produced in 1980 and is new. Brand new. Never used. No scratches, no dents, no fungus – pristine 42 year-old camera. Serviced last week before buying it.

I had also ordered the recent version (april 2024) but the box came unsealed and the camera was used (scratches). So fuck that. It’s alo larger and feels cheap, as much more plastic was used. No idea if it’s any good as I haven’t tried it.

This is indeed a tiny machine, heavy with sturdy metal and splendid build quality. The Pentax 17 – which I like – feels bulky and cheap (light).

Tested the bokeh on a particularly grey afternoon, wide open at 2.8. Results are very good:

The same shot taken with the Pentax 17 and the Washi Z 400 and with the Rollei 35 SE and the Fuji Neopan Acros II 100.

The LomoKino is an ingenious plastic device that records motion pictures (1/4 of a frame) at a rate of cca 5fps.

It is operated by turning a flimsy plastic crank that triggers a shot being taken roughly twice per spin. The plastic housing has moult flexions that add a most delicious wobble and skip to the 20s or so movie that you will get out of a 36 exposure roll.

Looking through the peeping apparatus involves positioning your face on the LomoKino in such a manner that that turning the crank will inevitably hit your face with each spin.

It is advisable to use thick film as the crank can rip the plastic from the container despite the handy red flag that pops up next to the hotshoe when the film is spent. There is another window on the side with most mysterious markings that does turn red when there is no more film but remains half-red when the film is full and freshly loaded.

It has a 25mm lens through which 1/100s exposures are taken at a continuous f/5.6-11. The quality of the lens is meh but does its job with honors.

This is a great camera. I use it frequently and it sparks much joy.

The negatives look like this: