I found Lomography film in a store.

[Moopheus]

You should hear me go on about "retro" crap.

What's wrong with a little retro? I mean, almost all of my cameras are "vintage." Even my Diana. I guess there is a small difference. They aren't new things made to look like old things, they're just old things. They're "authentic." This weekend I will probably make waffles in my c. 1950 Sunbeam W-2 waffle maker and serve them on c. 1960 Royal China Blue Heaven plates set on our formica 'n chrome kitchen table.

 

[CGW]

If you're a professional photographer, would you use a Lomography camera?

Helmut Newton was fond of Ricoh and Olympus p&s cameras.

 

[Aristophanes]

What's wrong with a little retro? I mean, almost all of my cameras are "vintage." Even my Diana. I guess there is a small difference. They aren't new things made to look like old things, they're just old things. They're "authentic." This weekend I will probably make waffles in my c. 1950 Sunbeam W-2 waffle maker and serve them on c. 1960 Royal China Blue Heaven plates set on our formica 'n chrome kitchen table.

Are you my grandma?

 

[E. von Hoegh]

What's wrong with a little retro? I mean, almost all of my cameras are "vintage." Even my Diana. I guess there is a small difference. They aren't new things made to look like old things, they're just old things. They're "authentic." This weekend I will probably make waffles in my c. 1950 Sunbeam W-2 waffle maker and serve them on c. 1960 Royal China Blue Heaven plates set on our formica 'n chrome kitchen table.

If they're authentic, then they aren't "retro".

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I believe John Canlas uses a Holga at weddings with x-processed slide film.

I hope he has a lot of fun!

 

[Aristophanes]

I hope he has a lot of fun!

Ask him:

http://filmisnotdead.blogspot.com/

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Ask him:

http://filmisnotdead.blogspot.com/

I probably won't. But thanks for the link!

 

[jali]

Without lomography and their enthusiastic shooters army, the color processing labs in my city wouldn't make it until this day. Even a Kodak professional lab is saved from this lomography hype, the lab is almost shut down when the digital frenzy was happening and affected film-processing lab in the whole country.
I really don't give a shit about their overpriced lo-fi cameras and overpraised point-and-shoot style. Honestly the only thing I care is we both shoot film, for the love of the old tradition.

Sure yeah, I should say this: dear lomographers, thanks for everything.

 

[himself]

Without lomography and their enthusiastic shooters army, the color processing labs in my city wouldn't make it until this day. Even a Kodak professional lab is saved from this lomography hype, the lab is almost shut down when the digital frenzy was happening and affected film-processing lab in the whole country.
I really don't give a shit about their overpriced lo-fi cameras and overpraised point-and-shoot style. Honestly the only thing I care is we both shoot film, for the love of the old tradition.

Sure yeah, I should say this: dear lomographers, thanks for everything.

but does that mean that we and they (the buyers) should accept that the products are overpriced? bearing in mind that the price has only recently began to increase so dramatically.

and what happens when they move onto something else (the buyers)? surely we should be supporting a more sustainable model... that's not to say that Kodak's is the way to go, those guys seem to be pretty useless and couldn't sell a glass of water in a desert full of under-prepared, over heated british tourists, you know - the stereotype from the 60's, fat and with a handkerchief knotted atop a balding head.

 

[keithwms]

but does that mean that we and they (the buyers) should accept that the products are overpriced?

If you think something... anything... is overpriced, then simply don't buy it. Let the market take its course.

Like I said before, I can think of all kinds of photographic items that are overpriced. Not just these "low end" items. So what. I am not compelled by ego, nor by fashion, nor by colleagues to buy anything that I don't want.

Anyway, if it is so clear-cut that the prices are offscale, then why isn't a competitor emerging....?! If you really know that the price for any product is too high according to yoru own calculations, and you know that the demand is there and is solid, then just go into business and take your profit.

 

[himself]

If you think something... anything... is overpriced, then simply don't buy it. Let the market take its course.

Like I said before, I can think of all kinds of photographic items that are overpriced. Not just these "low end" items. So what. I am not compelled by ego, nor by fashion, nor by colleagues to buy anything that I don't want.

Anyway, if it is so clear-cut that the prices are offscale, then why isn't a competitor emerging....?! If you really know that the price for any product is too high according to yoru own calculations, and you know that the demand is there and is solid, then just go into business and take your profit.

would that it were so easy...

besides, there are equivalents that do the same thing and do it for far less, but they - unlike these - aren't marketable in clothing stores. surely being desired doesn't up it's quality or value?

it offends me personally that's so what

 

[keithwms]

would that it were so easy...

besides, there are equivalents that do the same thing and do it for far less, but they - unlike these - aren't marketable in clothing stores. surely being desired doesn't up it's quality or value?

Sorry it pains you, but there are *many* objects out there that are incorrectly priced. And the desire of the customer trumps all, when you're in consumer business. It would be nice if we had enough analogue people active in photography today to educate through example, but that's just not where we are. The stores we're talking about are typically next door to starbucks, for crying out loud...!

Take heart, I know quite a few young people who started with one of these cameras and then wound up becoming interested in others. And I think it's absolutely amazing or perhaps even miraculous that young people even consider these cameras rather than the latest electronic thing. Clearly, some people want more choice than they currently have.

Back to the point about starting your own biz in competition with these. It's no doable, right? Because you'd take on an enormous risk to spin up a product, betting that the demand will be there when you're ready to place said product. If you realize that market softness is buuilt into their price, I think you will quickly see that the prices aren't all that unreasonable. Companies like Fuji and Ilford can push out cameras at a much thinner margin because they are far better diversified in terms of who uses their products.

If somebody really thinks its easy to compete with the likes of Lomo and the consumers want you to provide an alternative, then hey, buy up a bunch of old cameras on ebay, clean 'em up, paint them pink and bedazzle them and sell them with a roll of film and a blingy chain.

 

[himself]

The stores we're talking about are typically next door to starbucks, for crying out loud...!

[...]

buy up a bunch of old cameras on ebay, clean 'em up, paint them pink and bedazzle them and sell them with a roll of film and a blingy chain.

and there's the rub.

but the reason there are things that are overpriced is because people say "ah well, things are overpriced, so what can I do?", or that someone has decided that it's cool/hip/whatever markets it as such and hey presto... you know, there have been studies done on this sort of thing.

we may live in a consumer based market, but that doesn't mean we should be bad at playing the game.

well, I don't have the start up capital for such a venture and it's a bit disingenuous to suggest that starting a company that could compete with an established international brand with years of pr and marketing groundwork already done, not to mention the chances of successfully establishing a brand as underground and subversive without being to be deliberately being so - would be easy...

but anyway, as I have said there is nothing wrong with people using them, buying them if they choose or doing whatever the hell they like, but I fail to see how the holga I bought 2 years ago could have doubled it's value (which it has, and almost tripled it in Poland)... it's the same piece of poorly moulded plastic

 

[keithwms]

it's the same piece of poorly moulded plastic

I think you mean individually molded plastic. Think about it, the defect has become the effect. Why? Well it's the antithesis of pixel perfection. I still don't see why some insist that the product value is merely the "rational" material value. That has never been true in any business!!! Not even if you're selling gold straight out of the ground.

But anwyay... I say go with it if you want. If not well then the same price will buy you a week's worth of vente moccha crappucinos...

 

[himself]

I think you mean individually molded plastic. Think about it, the defect has become the effect. Why? Well it's the antithesis of pixel perfection. I still don't see why some insist that the product value is merely the "rational" material value. That has never been true in any business!!! Not even if you're selling gold straight out of the ground.

But anwyay... I say go with it if you want. If not well then the same price will buy you a week's worth of vente moccha crappucinos...

but how much tea could I buy...

but don't you think it should be rational material value, that we should be better consumers, that we should expect more for our ever harder to earn cash?

look, I'm a big fan of the anti-pixel-perfection movement, but I can't stand for this high-jacking and being priced out of it too... they told me it would be fun and inclusive and now they are the ones with their trophies swinging below their heads.

all very personal

 

[keithwms]

but don't you think it should be rational material value, that we should be better consumers, that we should expect more for our ever harder to earn cash?

Good luck defining a rational value for such a low volume, faddish item. Look, the price is what the marketing people determined they could get. And they know that their whole storefront market could be gone overnight, just like the fashions in those stores. Think about the pricing this way: it's like pricing penny stocks. Could be up 20% one day, down 40% the next. Hmm kinda like Kodak :confused:

Even if you did have a rational price, I bet you somebody will still want the costlier thing for what it does. And guess what, they are as entitled to that as any of the brandwankers but I shall say no more...

The concept of rational value is much better applied to mass-production Nikons and Canons- those are high volume products up against real competition that are sold under constantly fluctuating market demand, which forces the prices to go up or down in a more or less rational way.

 

[eurekaiv]

There is a price, based around R&D plus material and manufacturing costs, that engineering and product managers might tell you is the dollar amount needed to create X amount of profit. And there's the price that moves the most units. They don't necessarily align. For example, my wife makes jewelry and runs a shop on Etsy as a hobby. Materials are cheap (maybe a few $ total) and she can make say 20 identical items in around 4 hours total. She would sell these for around $15/ea and sell a few items a week. I always thought this was too cheap even though it's a $300 take (minus supplies and commission to PayPal and Etsy) and convinced her she needed to raise her prices. When she did, her sales increased about 20%. So after a few months, I convinced her to go up to $25 and she was able to increase her sales another 5-10%. So it's not unreasonable to think that the kind of folks making a Lomo purchase might see the Lomo item as a higher quality item then the equivalent Time magazine freebie camera from the 80s, or any other cheapie that can be had at Goodwill for $5 or less.

 

[Helinophoto]

Look

Lomography is, from what i gather, about the fun of taking pictures. Its about the inability to predict what your camera does in general, it's about capturing moments in new and unexpected ways.

Just the other day I was thinking about the phrase "It's all been done before, there is nothing new to photograph", is it, really?

I was thinking how boring we all are now days, street photography showing the same boring people in the same clothes, driving the same boring cars, all over the world.

Nobody wear hats any more for example, just those silly caps with some global brand logo on them, at best.
The everyday fashion is generic and uninteresting.
Heck, you can't even tell car-brands apart anymore, without looking at the current logo in the front.

Just think about the remarkable difference this is, from the days in the 50's and 60's ^^

Lomography is about capturing this seemingly boring world we live in in new ways, a different perspective, informal, "cool", in your face.

Fast paced but with an old style nostalgia and a fascination about imperfection to it, I suppose.

Treat it for what it is. This is a very different thing than the photographic craftsmanship we can often see on this very site, but all "art" is not the same

Here is an interesting film about lomography and its history:
http://vimeo.com/m/21735770

I personally don't own a Lomo flavoured camera, but I was tempted to buy some questionable eastern European brands while in the Czech republic (Fotoskoda and a few other more all-analogue stores) a couple of years back, for kicks

I regret I didn't buy any ^^

And remember, the more film-wasters there are out there, the better off the community and industry as a whole is.