I’ve enjoyed the Lomo LC A-120, but I have now discovered something that is an outgrowth of the camera’s design. It’s program seems to prioritize aperture when the light gets low. SO that means that the f/4.5 lens has its most pronounced vignetting and softness as the light falls. As a shooter, if you want sharper photos, you need to use faster film or shoot in lower light. If you shoot with slower film or in lower light, you have to expect that you will get those more dreamy and “flawed” photos. You can see this in the first picture.
I love the angle, but tire of the limitations of this plastic-fantastic camera. Is it worth $400? Absolutely not. But it is unique. It should cost $150-175, but as the only game in town, they can charge what they want.
What I really want is a Hasselblad SWC. But right now, I just do not have the cash in my hobby account. It’s slowing building and I’m around $1,200. But I really need to get off my butt and sell some superfluous stuff. So far, I have been good and not jumped at buying one. Most are around $2,500, but I think I can get a CLA’d Super Wide C for closer to $2k with an A12 back. Probably a 1960’s model, which is fine with me. I don’t need an SWC/M or a 903SWC, which run $2,500-$3,000. As long as the glass is clean and the shutter serviced, the earlier ones are fine. I don’t need the newer filters, the new finder, or the T* coating.
The second photo of the garage door was taken with a 1959 Rolleiflex 3.5E. Great camera. Still figuring out how to keep it level, as looking down into a camera isn’t the most intuitive thing for a guy who has been using eye-level cameras for 50 years.
