Thanks for this. The camera is great when it works. My first one had a broken double-exposure mechanism and was replaced by Lomography. Since then, I treat the working copy very carefully and would NEVER take it to a beach.
And therein lies the conflict, for me. It seems to be designed as an every day carry, a workhorse and a travel companion. But it doesn't quite seem sturdy enough for that. And if it's not sturdy enough then the price is hard to justify. Who knows. I still want one of my own!!
One of my semi-realistic dream cameras would be for Lomo to cross the LCA120 with the Sprocket Rocket. Panoramic 135 film, but the lens and exposure system of the LCA120. If the image circle covers 6x6, it’d cover at least 60mmx24mm, if not more. I think it’d really be a hit. If they added any advanced options, a selector switch to change program modes could be nice. My understanding is that the line greatly favors a wide open aperture, and it’d be neat to have a mode which prioritized stopping down to f16 or so.
I expect the lens has some more coverage to give. I wasn't seeing significant vignetting, even wide open, so one would assume that close that lens down and you could probably get 70mm or 80mm on the long side. I agree, a pano sprocket rocket would be awesome!
I love the Lomo LCA 120. I’ve taken it to all my travels, from Puerto Rico to Europe. Mine broke because I dropped it a few times so I had to save and wait a bit before replacing it.
It's definitely a great travel camera, for sure. But at the price I'd be worried about doing exactly what you did - dropping it or otherwise breaking it. But then, what other cameras do I own that i don't worry about dropping them?? None!
Love the video! But, I wonder, could you have used the ISO button to override the automatic exposure? Like selecting ISO 200 with a 100 film to avoid overexposure, for example.
Yes, you can definitely do that, and it works exactly as you would expect. But you still can't control the aperture or shutter speed individually. So it's out of your hands how it achieves the greater or lesser exposure.
I'm a Japanese user. Please note that there may be some errors due to the use of translation tools. I feel sad that I don't see many people using it in Japan. With this camera, when loading film, if you align the starting point of the film with the triangular start mark in the center, you may only be able to take 11 shots. Has this ever happened to you?
Yes, it does its job. But be aware that the 21mm equ. lens easily distorts any straight object (like a house corner or a street lamp) when it is too close and not in the middle of the image.The picture quality is ok, but certainly not excellent. A cheap folder will do a better job.
Ahhh, but define what makes a good image! Sure, image quality, defined along traditional lines, as you suggest, looking at flatness of image, edge to edge sharpness and minimal warping, isn't the best with this camera. But, show me a cheap folder offering a 21mm equivalent lens! It's a lomography camera, so we can safely assume that they never intended the image to perfect! That's not what they're about! Overall I think it's a nice camera for the sort of thing I was using it for - holiday snaps!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I really enjoyed the LCA120, definitely a great concept and camera. Since breaking it.... I have on a few occasions wanted to take it out again. But of course I can't. Cos I broke it. Dammit.
Borrowed one of these last year, and been on the fence ever since due to the mixed results, but the good shots were fantastic, just that the misses were well off. Still tempted though 😉
Yep, that’s pretty much where I ended up. When it’s good it’s very good! My finger on the purchase button also got held up by the fact that I would want to use it as a go-everywhere camera, a camera that I don’t have to wrap in cotton wool and can throw around. But then I’d keep remembering that it cost £400, and would feel the urge to wrap it in cotton wool. I used the example of my S2A in the vid, but actually, I could buy a new S2A body for less than an LCA120… so why do I feel the need to protect the S2A more than the LCA? And how much of that, I assume, historical reverence, is in fact what gets me excited. Suffice it to say, I haven’t bought one. Yet.
@@the120ist I've set up's as well that will do kind of similar jobs (and allow you to focus as well) like a 35mm on a Pentax 645, and a 50mm on a Mamiya Press 6x9, but the Lomo is very portable, and it's that which is attractive, it is horrible to use though, I'm not really a toy camera fan, I like the tactile stuff you get with a proper camera, and the penalty for all that 'tactility' of course is weight !
i like the concept of the lc-a 120 but i would like to change two things on the camera: build quality and flash sync. by the way does anybody know in which way the lc-a 120 automatically choses its aperture/shutter speed combinations!?
So what I've read is that each available shutter speed is linked to an aperture... so for example 1/100 and f5.6 would always go together etc. Not sure if that's true, but I don't see otherwise how it would attempt to select apertures our shutter speeds. Unless it maxed out one before changing the other. Who knows! Improving things on the camera is an interesting thought... and no doubt one which Lomography wrestled with. Any improvement to build quality would mean an increased cost, and if you're entering at a higher price point, then does the user want more features for that price? I don't envy these camera designers... it must just be a whole long procession of compromises!
Better camera than I would have assumed, actually. Too pricey. Like the Pentax 17. I can do without it at the price. 400 Sterling? Gosh. I have not used Lomo film yet, but seems also 'better than I asumed'. By the way. That little rim light to your right has been tickling me for many videos now... what the hell is it? It just seems to be stuck to the wall? And lastly, if you ever make it south to Cape Town or surrounds..., beer is on me. And if you break the beer glass like you break the camera, bars around here are normally ok with the first break. After that, a gigantic Nigerian bouncer helps you vacate the premises.
Ha ha!! I was aware while I was filming that I do seem to break a lot of cameras. I wondered if maybe I shouldn't mention this one! but then I thought what the hell. So, I am totally on the fence about the price. The lens is good, the exposure system is good, but it feels plasticky, and it's a point and shoot. I'm not sure you could have created a camera with the same quality lens and workings, but felt more generally better built and offer a little more control and still have the same price. So you'd be looking at a sort of semi point and shoot for, I don't know, £800... and I'm still not interested! I don'y envy the camera designers, they can't really win! Lomo films I do like. The colour negative films are pretty good. Not amazing, but they do the job, and let's face it we don't have all that many choices out there in 120. The BW films can be really nice, but I did a vid on some of their films a while back, and some of them i really don't like. I think Lomography has a bit of a tendency to get more wacky than I like... some of their stuff is great , but some is just too hip and trendy and "out there" for a run of mill beer swilling oaf like me! When I make it to Cape Town, will get in touch! You have my word. I'll even promise to break some stuff for you. It's what I do.
One thing it does offer is a very wide lens. 38mm is the same as the Hasselblad SWC, and while some 120 system cameras can go this wide, it’s really hard to find something like a TLR or folding camera wider than 75mm. It’s just not trivial to shoot 120 film this wide angle without a pinhole. While it does seem on the expensive side, it has some tempting aspects.
You got me. Now I feel like I have to get super creative for my next video, to keep things fresh. You will NEVER guess what my next video is going to be. Actually you probably will guess the next one. But the one after that... no chance. Maybe.
It's a shame it has such a high price in the uk. If you buy one you need to add the vat and import duty. You won't be much change out of £550. That's a lot of holgas, or half way to a Fuji ga 645 zi, which is its only real competitor.
I'm really torn on the price... it is expensive. But then it's also not expensive. It's so hard for new-build cameras to compete on quality and cost with the second hand market. Sure you can get a better quality camera for similar, or slightly more, money, but second hand kit brings a wealth of risks with it. For £400 you are getting a brand new camera with after sales support. And with those conditions, there are no competitors. It's a point and shoot, so £400 feels a lot. But then it's a newly built medium format camera with a good lens, no damage risk, no maintenance required for a good few years, and after sales support. And suddenly £400 sounds like a bargain!
Thanks for this. The camera is great when it works. My first one had a broken double-exposure mechanism and was replaced by Lomography. Since then, I treat the working copy very carefully and would NEVER take it to a beach.
And therein lies the conflict, for me. It seems to be designed as an every day carry, a workhorse and a travel companion. But it doesn't quite seem sturdy enough for that. And if it's not sturdy enough then the price is hard to justify. Who knows. I still want one of my own!!
Thank you
Thank you too!
One of my semi-realistic dream cameras would be for Lomo to cross the LCA120 with the Sprocket Rocket. Panoramic 135 film, but the lens and exposure system of the LCA120. If the image circle covers 6x6, it’d cover at least 60mmx24mm, if not more. I think it’d really be a hit.
If they added any advanced options, a selector switch to change program modes could be nice. My understanding is that the line greatly favors a wide open aperture, and it’d be neat to have a mode which prioritized stopping down to f16 or so.
I expect the lens has some more coverage to give. I wasn't seeing significant vignetting, even wide open, so one would assume that close that lens down and you could probably get 70mm or 80mm on the long side. I agree, a pano sprocket rocket would be awesome!
I love the Lomo LCA 120. I’ve taken it to all my travels, from Puerto Rico to Europe. Mine broke because I dropped it a few times so I had to save and wait a bit before replacing it.
It's definitely a great travel camera, for sure. But at the price I'd be worried about doing exactly what you did - dropping it or otherwise breaking it. But then, what other cameras do I own that i don't worry about dropping them?? None!
Love the video! But, I wonder, could you have used the ISO button to override the automatic exposure? Like selecting ISO 200 with a 100 film to avoid overexposure, for example.
Yes, you can definitely do that, and it works exactly as you would expect. But you still can't control the aperture or shutter speed individually. So it's out of your hands how it achieves the greater or lesser exposure.
so glad u checking the lca120, i plan to get it and was till that video unsure
Did you get one? I definitely want one for myself. Just need to find the cash!
@@the120ist i plan for december, before that i want to order finally my cj´hroma technical spahot in 4x5
I'm a Japanese user.
Please note that there may be some errors due to the use of translation tools.
I feel sad that I don't see many people using it in Japan.
With this camera, when loading film, if you align the starting point of the film with the triangular start mark in the center, you may only be able to take 11 shots. Has this ever happened to you?
Yes, it does its job. But be aware that the 21mm equ. lens easily distorts any straight object (like a house corner or a street lamp) when it is too close and not in the middle of the image.The picture quality is ok, but certainly not excellent. A cheap folder will do a better job.
Ahhh, but define what makes a good image! Sure, image quality, defined along traditional lines, as you suggest, looking at flatness of image, edge to edge sharpness and minimal warping, isn't the best with this camera. But, show me a cheap folder offering a 21mm equivalent lens!
It's a lomography camera, so we can safely assume that they never intended the image to perfect! That's not what they're about! Overall I think it's a nice camera for the sort of thing I was using it for - holiday snaps!
Really looking forward to that large format paper reversal video! Always interesting
Not long now! I've got another vid I need to get out for an upcoming launch and then I'll be back in with the paper reversal vids for a few weeks!
my alter ego Bobflappybum was getting close :) Great video :) ooohhh love that B&W film
Few more minutes and you’d have got there!!
Great video as always! Makes me want to get my LC-A+ working properly again.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I really enjoyed the LCA120, definitely a great concept and camera. Since breaking it.... I have on a few occasions wanted to take it out again. But of course I can't. Cos I broke it. Dammit.
Borrowed one of these last year, and been on the fence ever since due to the mixed results, but the good shots were fantastic, just that the misses were well off. Still tempted though 😉
Yep, that’s pretty much where I ended up. When it’s good it’s very good! My finger on the purchase button also got held up by the fact that I would want to use it as a go-everywhere camera, a camera that I don’t have to wrap in cotton wool and can throw around. But then I’d keep remembering that it cost £400, and would feel the urge to wrap it in cotton wool. I used the example of my S2A in the vid, but actually, I could buy a new S2A body for less than an LCA120… so why do I feel the need to protect the S2A more than the LCA? And how much of that, I assume, historical reverence, is in fact what gets me excited. Suffice it to say, I haven’t bought one. Yet.
@@the120ist I've set up's as well that will do kind of similar jobs (and allow you to focus as well) like a 35mm on a Pentax 645, and a 50mm on a Mamiya Press 6x9, but the Lomo is very portable, and it's that which is attractive, it is horrible to use though, I'm not really a toy camera fan, I like the tactile stuff you get with a proper camera, and the penalty for all that 'tactility' of course is weight !
i like the concept of the lc-a 120 but i would like to change two things on the camera: build quality and flash sync. by the way does anybody know in which way the lc-a 120 automatically choses its aperture/shutter speed combinations!?
So what I've read is that each available shutter speed is linked to an aperture... so for example 1/100 and f5.6 would always go together etc. Not sure if that's true, but I don't see otherwise how it would attempt to select apertures our shutter speeds. Unless it maxed out one before changing the other. Who knows!
Improving things on the camera is an interesting thought... and no doubt one which Lomography wrestled with. Any improvement to build quality would mean an increased cost, and if you're entering at a higher price point, then does the user want more features for that price?
I don't envy these camera designers... it must just be a whole long procession of compromises!
Better camera than I would have assumed, actually. Too pricey. Like the Pentax 17. I can do without it at the price. 400 Sterling? Gosh. I have not used Lomo film yet, but seems also 'better than I asumed'. By the way. That little rim light to your right has been tickling me for many videos now... what the hell is it? It just seems to be stuck to the wall?
And lastly, if you ever make it south to Cape Town or surrounds..., beer is on me. And if you break the beer glass like you break the camera, bars around here are normally ok with the first break. After that, a gigantic Nigerian bouncer helps you vacate the premises.
Ha ha!! I was aware while I was filming that I do seem to break a lot of cameras. I wondered if maybe I shouldn't mention this one! but then I thought what the hell.
So, I am totally on the fence about the price. The lens is good, the exposure system is good, but it feels plasticky, and it's a point and shoot. I'm not sure you could have created a camera with the same quality lens and workings, but felt more generally better built and offer a little more control and still have the same price. So you'd be looking at a sort of semi point and shoot for, I don't know, £800... and I'm still not interested! I don'y envy the camera designers, they can't really win!
Lomo films I do like. The colour negative films are pretty good. Not amazing, but they do the job, and let's face it we don't have all that many choices out there in 120. The BW films can be really nice, but I did a vid on some of their films a while back, and some of them i really don't like. I think Lomography has a bit of a tendency to get more wacky than I like... some of their stuff is great , but some is just too hip and trendy and "out there" for a run of mill beer swilling oaf like me!
When I make it to Cape Town, will get in touch! You have my word. I'll even promise to break some stuff for you. It's what I do.
@@the120ist I will be sure to bring you some titanium bodied cameras to play with!
One thing it does offer is a very wide lens. 38mm is the same as the Hasselblad SWC, and while some 120 system cameras can go this wide, it’s really hard to find something like a TLR or folding camera wider than 75mm. It’s just not trivial to shoot 120 film this wide angle without a pinhole. While it does seem on the expensive side, it has some tempting aspects.
@@thebitterfig9903 That is a good point.
@@the120istit has been on sale recently. The 35 wide came with underwater housing for free.
Batteries?
So I was correct, you did take pictures, with a camera, and on 120 film. I would however never have guessed the camera in a month of Sundays.
You got me. Now I feel like I have to get super creative for my next video, to keep things fresh. You will NEVER guess what my next video is going to be. Actually you probably will guess the next one. But the one after that... no chance. Maybe.
It's a shame it has such a high price in the uk. If you buy one you need to add the vat and import duty. You won't be much change out of £550. That's a lot of holgas, or half way to a Fuji ga 645 zi, which is its only real competitor.
I'm really torn on the price... it is expensive. But then it's also not expensive. It's so hard for new-build cameras to compete on quality and cost with the second hand market. Sure you can get a better quality camera for similar, or slightly more, money, but second hand kit brings a wealth of risks with it.
For £400 you are getting a brand new camera with after sales support. And with those conditions, there are no competitors.
It's a point and shoot, so £400 feels a lot. But then it's a newly built medium format camera with a good lens, no damage risk, no maintenance required for a good few years, and after sales support. And suddenly £400 sounds like a bargain!
@@the120istit was on sale in USA last few weeks. I check and see if it’s still on sale. Almost $80 usa savings on price. Both the 35 and 120 wides