lomography is a con - discuss

[mr rusty]

Having just seen this

Dead Link Removed

I am amazed. These prices are just bonkers. does anybody actually buy this stuff? Marketing hype gone mad or what?

 

[Tom Kershaw]

I'm not sure it is a con, more of a marketing created "movement". The idea of 'don't think, shoot' seems appealing to some, when perhaps they would be better served with a Mamiya 7II etc. (other cameras are available).

Tom

 

[WetMogwai]

Sometimes they have good deals, but it is rare. I once got some good prices on bulk Arista II and some European store brand C-41, but they are usually far overpriced on just about everything.

 

[5stringdeath]

We were just talking around here today about the whole Lomo/Holga/Diana "now its hip to shoot with these things" trend going on ... and how the prices on amazon etc. are pretty ridiculous. I think I bought my Holga for like $2 years ago. A gold plated Lomo ... that's just nuts.

 

[Barry S]

The whole Lomo thing had me scratching my head until I realized it was about hipster fashion, not photography. Hence, the Urban Outfitters retailing makes perfect sense. The camera is a fashion accessory-like a tweed driving cap. But that's ok in my book because a few of the mob that arrives for fashion will stay for art--and that's a good thing--not everyone is freshly minted from an MFA program. It's better than wearing your pants around your ankles.

 

[5stringdeath]

Hmm, from my standpoint its the freshly minted MFA's who ARE carrying them

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I think BarryS has the right read on this. If it's getting people to shoot some film and try something different and a few of those people become more serious about it, then I'm all for it.

 

[dmr]

Hmm, from my standpoint its the freshly minted MFA's who ARE carrying them

LOL!

Or maybe MBAs who wish to appear artsy?

 

[nsurit]

To paraphrase a political staement of days past, "It's the image, stupid!" I'm not talking about your image as a real hipster, but rather the photographic image you have produced. A gold plate piece is still a piece. Now don't get me wrong, I own and use "toy" cameras and have created some pretty interesting low tech images with them, however they are just one of the tools in the kit. Gold plated? I don't think so. How much film and chemistry could I buy for those bucks? Bill Barber

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Well it's not all bad.It's got people buying film.Can't b*tch about that.

 

[arealitystudios]

I’m not sure I’d call it a con though I do think there are a lot of vendors that way over charge for toy cameras. I think I would agree with the above posts that for many toy cameras are more of a fashion accessory than an actual photographic tool. But let’s face it, for some people Leicas and Rolleis are more of an accessory or a status symbol than an actual camera too.

In general though I do not disagree with the Lomo philosophy. Shoot from the hip and just create. Not a bad motto at all and if it gets some folks to buy film and have fun with the creative process you won’t see me complain. I’m willing to bet more than a few people who buy toy cameras end up falling in love and eventually start buying other types of film cameras as well.

For my part I own several Holgas and an LC-A. The LC-A is actually quite a sophisticated little monster. It’s durable and you’ve even got some manual control. As much manual control as a Yashica Electro anyway.

 

[5stringdeath]

Well it's not all bad.It's got people buying film.Can't b*tch about that.

Agreed!

 

[mr rusty]

wow, so many replies so quickly!

I receive these advertising promos in my mailbox from lomography, and when I read that one I just couldn't imagine the sort of person who would want to drop that much cash on a "toy" camera. Agreed, getting people to shoot film is great, but I feel a bit sorry for anybody getting carried along by the hype who could get some seriously better cameras for much less money.

 

[photoncatcher]

Hey, if it keeps people shooting film, it's a good thing. Right? I personally always thought that the "toy" camera market was kind of weird, but like I said it helps keep film alive.

 

[gurkenprinz]

With all the GAS and FAS going on at lomography.com, whatever you think of it, they might just save slide film from extinction! Not E-6 processing, though...

 

[JBrunner]

LOL... then everything is a con...the price is always what the market will bear.

 

[Robert Hall]

LOL!

Or maybe MBAs who wish to appear artsy?

I resemble that remark!

 

[Andy K]

It is only a con if you pay their store prices for cameras.
Lomo got me back into photography about fifteen years ago when I came across an LC-A in a charity shop. Bought it for £5, did some research and came across this 'shoot from the hip' thing. So I did that, started enjoying myself, dug out my old Zorki 4K and got a little more serious. Now I'm buying bulk film, doing my own developing and enlarging and shooting medium format alongside 35mm.
They may overprice some of the cameras they sell but from time to time they do some great film deals. But most of all, they get more people using film.

Some photos I made back then with my LC-A:

 

[Q.G.]

The entire Lomo-thing started when a group of people said "f* you" to expensive cameras and strict photographic rules, and just went out to have fun with cheap thingies without caring about anything.
The current Lomo-thing is the exact opposite of that spirit: again you have to spend too much money, on the right gear, and follow strict rules.

Lomography has gone from a fun idea to utter idiocy.
By doing so, people buying from Lomography show that they don't understand what it was about at all. So anyone who buys a crap camera for top dollars thoroughly deserves to get a crap camera for top dollars. And no fun.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

While B&H is shrinking its film counter and moving LF and MF film cameras off the shelves, Lomography opened a retail shop on West 8th St. in Manhattan devoted to film and film cameras, including toy cameras as well as higher end Russian and Chinese cameras like the Panflex (I think that's what it's called--the all-mechanical version of the medium format Noblex) and Horizont and refurbished classic Feds and Zorkis, and they're also offering classes, shows, and opportunities to socialize, and my sense is that they also are shipping mail order upstairs.

I don't know what their rent is for that space, but $15,000 per month wouldn't be surprising, plus staff, merchandise, and other overhead. They must be selling something.

 

[Allen Friday]

I think there are really two different issues here. One is the idea and spirit of Lomo photography--you don't need expensive cameras and gear to have fun and to make interesting images. I fully agree with the spirit. I shoot a Diana and Holga sometimes when I want to play and they make a nice change from my normal LF and ULF work. A cheap plastic camera seems to put people at ease and I can get different shots than I can with my Mamiya 7 or a SLR. The idea of getting something unexpected and uncontrolled is fun, when I'm in that mood.

The second issue is a gold plated Lomo. I agree with the above post above that it seems to go against the essential spirit of Lomo photography itself. But, if there is a market for it, who am I to tell others not to buy it. I do wonder how many of these will actually be used.

Of course, the whole marketing ploy could be an ironic tweak to Leica's nose for putting out their gold and platinum special editions--none of which are used and spend their entire existence in safety deposit boxes. Which is with the spirit of Lomo.

 

[kadath]

The whole lomo thing just seems too expensive for me. The idea of wasting an entire roll, hoping to get one decent shot at random seems crazy. Most tlrs (yashica, rolleicord, rolleiflex t etc) are way cheaper than the lubitel on the lomography site. My leica was cheaper than the regular lc-a+ they sell, never mind the gold plated one. 35mm SLRs are by far the best option for shooting film on a low budget. There is the trendy thing, but I'm a nerdy scientist, so that's never going to happen.

 

[thebanana]

While B&H is shrinking its film counter and moving LF and MF film cameras off the shelves, Lomography opened a retail shop on West 8th St. in Manhattan devoted to film and film cameras, including toy cameras as well as higher end Russian and Chinese cameras like the Panflex (I think that's what it's called--the all-mechanical version of the medium format Noblex) and Horizont and refurbished classic Feds and Zorkis, and they're also offering classes, shows, and opportunities to socialize, and my sense is that they also are shipping mail order upstairs.

I don't know what their rent is for that space, but $15,000 per month wouldn't be surprising, plus staff, merchandise, and other overhead. They must be selling something.

I can verify that Stopped in there last spring. Nice little shop and knowledgeable staff. High end prices, definitely.

 

[nickrapak]

The one thing that p*sses me off about the Lomo craze is that people have come to expect film cameras to have light leaks, vignetting, and generally be crappy.

 

[markbarendt]

LOL... then everything is a con...the price is always what the market will bear.

Absolutely true.

I mean who in their right mind would spend $500, $1000, $2000, or more on a framed piece of paper? So what if some guy named Roman, Henri, Elliot, or Ansel made it.