Lomo MC-A 35

[brbo]

Lomo joins the party:

Lomo MC-A 35 mm Film Camera Black

Feel first, frame second with this 35 mm point-and-shoot camera. Full of personality, this master of creativity features a fully retractable 32 mm glass lens with autofocus to capture real analogue character whether you shoot in auto mode or take full manual control. First batch of deliveries...

shop.lomography.com

 

[thinkbrown]

The specs are real impressive. If it lives up to those in use, lomo have knocked it out of the park and the Pentax 17 has some real competition

 

[loccdor]

I'm confused as to what the quote on top of the camera is supposed to mean. Never been thrilled with their marketing department.

Could be a decent camera in use. Would have preferred a thumb wheel advance for something this small.

Seems like they chose a higher energy LCD screen instead of the type that barely use any power. Wouldn't be surprised if it goes through batteries faster than it should (yes, they claim 10 rolls, but it's probably better rated in time left on).

Bokeh looks a little nervous.

Retractable lens - does that mean there's a delay between turning it on and taking the picture? Wonder how long that is.

Just my first thoughts.

 

[Cholentpot]

Flash curtain options? Manual shutter speeds? PC socket? Film advance lever? 2.8 lens?

This camera has everything I'd want and a few things I've never thought of. Good job Lomo.

 

[brbo]

Yes, impressive features indeed. We know build quality won't be close to Pentax 17, but the rest looks like what fun compact camera should be.

Feature wise, it basically only lacks motorized film transport, but has full manual mode, multi exposure, manual ISO override, filter thread, zone focus, flash options... Lens won't probably won't be as good as Contax T/T2/T3, but still... If Pentax made such camera with their built quality and superb lens they would have a true winner in stead of a pretty niche 17.

 

[Cholentpot]

Yes, impressive features indeed. We know build quality won't be close to Pentax 17, but the rest looks like what fun compact camera should be.

Feature wise, it basically only lacks motorized film transport, but has full manual mode, multi exposure, manual ISO override, filter thread, zone focus, flash options... Lens won't probably won't be as good as Contax T/T2/T3, but still... If Pentax made such camera with their built quality and superb lens they would have a true winner in stead of a pretty niche 17.

Lack of motorized transport is a feature not a bug. The intended customer wants a manual advance.

Has there ever been an AF point and shoot with all these features? I feel like when automation came around the engineers when all in on everything automated. 30 years of hindsight show that people want control over the camera.

 

[blee1996]

This is really a happy surprise from Lomo. I have a few of their cameras and enjoyed their photo output despite some quirkiness or build quality imperfections. Purely from spec point of view, this is a nice little camera for street and everyday photography. And the price is reasonable too.

 

[4season]

Looks amazing for what it is, which is an advanced, lo-fi camera.

 

[Pioneer]

Good luck Lomo. This reminds me of their LCA-120, which I pre-ordered when it came out. Neat camera...while it lasted.

Which was two months after it arrived at my door. Needless to say I was not impressed. Neither have I been tempted to buy another.

I think it is probably still in my broken camera box.

 

[brbo]

Lack of motorized transport is a feature not a bug. The intended customer wants a manual advance.

How well do you know their intended customer?

I know nothing about their intended customer, but I know that nobody ever said they only wished their Contax T2/T3, Nikon 28/35Ti, Minolta TC-1, Hexar AF... had a manual film transport.

 

[Cholentpot]

How well do you know their intended customer?

I know nothing about their intended customer, but I know that nobody ever said they only wished their Contax T2/T3, Nikon 28/35Ti, Minolta TC-1, Hexar AF... had a manual film transport.

Because going by the 17 this is following the same trends. The 17 also has a manual advance. They made a huge deal out of it too. I know the intended customer because I just aged out of it. Many of my peers who are a bit younger than me really want a hands on experience. Motor transports aren't interesting to someone who's seen it already. To people who come into photography pre motors it's still something to be had. For those who are digital natives a manual film advance lever is desirable.

 

[thinkbrown]

https://www.lomography.com/magazine/356895-first-rolls-with-the-lomo-mc-a-lomography-japan

the lens on the MC-A is the same 32 mm as the Lomo LC-A Minitar-1 Art Lens

That's really kind of unfortunate. I was hoping that the promo pictures were just selected for the stylized look. I think I'll be sticking with my Pentax 17 for now.

 

[brbo]

Build quality looks better than I expected and vignetting doesn't seem too bad either...

 

[4season]

Been awhile since I've used them, but I don't recall my photos from the older LC-A, LC-A+ or LC-120 looking as crisp as Norbi Whitney's from the MC-A. Minitar II lens, huh? Perhaps I was too quick to assume it was more of the same-old.

 

[benoliver999]

Some have called this a Pentax 17 killer but tbh I like the half-frame of the Pentax 17, and could see myself getting one of these alongside it. Tempting to place a pre-order but I'm worried about lomo build quality.

If I were the guys making the Analogue AF-1 I'd be more worried however

 

[cptrios]

Because going by the 17 this is following the same trends. The 17 also has a manual advance. They made a huge deal out of it too. I know the intended customer because I just aged out of it. Many of my peers who are a bit younger than me really want a hands on experience. Motor transports aren't interesting to someone who's seen it already. To people who come into photography pre motors it's still something to be had. For those who are digital natives a manual film advance lever is desirable.

Yeah, the first 15 or so years of my photography 'career' (read: hobby) was all digital. I know it's silly to some, but probably the most immediate, concrete, and satisfying difference on my switch to film was the manual advance. Above anything else, it's the thing that really hits the cliché "it makes you treat every shot with care" button for me. I have a couple of modern AF film SLRs now, and they sit on the shelf because they feel too much like being back with digital. And I hate the sound of the film advance!

We all have our own personal levels of desired interactivity and 'labor' as far as shooting goes. Maybe manually advancing film is a bridge to far for some, or manually focusing for others. I myself find red-window advance a huge pain in the butt and would really rather avoid cameras that need it. I also don't mind going without a built-in meter for medium format, but in 35mm, for whatever reason, I have much less patience for it.

So yeah, I guess this was an entirely pointless post, but this MC-A really does come soooo close to ticking all the boxes for me. Just stick a better lens in the next one! Or better yet, figure out a way to make an AF version of the 7sii/Auto S3/QL17 cameras that somehow doesn't lose the actual rangefinder!

 

[Cholentpot]

Yeah, the first 15 or so years of my photography 'career' (read: hobby) was all digital. I know it's silly to some, but probably the most immediate, concrete, and satisfying difference on my switch to film was the manual advance. Above anything else, it's the thing that really hits the cliché "it makes you treat every shot with care" button for me. I have a couple of modern AF film SLRs now, and they sit on the shelf because they feel too much like being back with digital. And I hate the sound of the film advance!

We all have our own personal levels of desired interactivity and 'labor' as far as shooting goes. Maybe manually advancing film is a bridge to far for some, or manually focusing for others. I myself find red-window advance a huge pain in the butt and would really rather avoid cameras that need it. I also don't mind going without a built-in meter for medium format, but in 35mm, for whatever reason, I have much less patience for it.

So yeah, I guess this was an entirely pointless post, but this MC-A really does come soooo close to ticking all the boxes for me. Just stick a better lens in the next one! Or better yet, figure out a way to make an AF version of the 7sii/Auto S3/QL17 cameras that somehow doesn't lose the actual rangefinder!

Even weirder for me. I don't particularly like build in drives. but give me a camera with a manual advance and slap on a motor drive with 16 AA batteries on the bottom? Love it. Love the noise, the gears and all that comes with it. Electro mechanical heaven.