My Lomo LCA doesn't vignette!

andrewmoodie · Mar 19, 2005

It's an old-ish model--it says MADE IN USSR on it and when I got it it smelled like it had been in storage a long time--but it takes perfect pictures!

I don't want to start flinging it against the wall or anything but does anyone have any suggestions on how I could make it vignette or distort a bit.

Thanks.

Andrew

arigram · Mar 19, 2005

Try bashing it on your head or chewing on the lens.

clogz · Mar 19, 2005

You'd better try and get a refund!

rjr · Mar 19, 2005

How dare these russians, building a functional camera?!

Put it in a flower pot, water it and wait for some fungus to grow. It will lower the contrast and if you´re lucky some earth crumbs will stick onto the front lens, obstructing the image quality.

fotophox · Mar 19, 2005

Heck, my Diana doesn't vignette either! It takes perfect pictures too! In fact I made superslides from the pictures and they really have to be projected really big to make the soft-focus quality evident.

I think the distinctive qualities of these cult cameras are over-hyped. All the buzz about them leads you expect things that may or may not happen. The point to remember is that they're unpredictable and part of the fun IS the surprise you get when you look at the results. Trying to force the camera to do something somebody told you it's supposed to do is kind of missing the point.

Take the perfect pictures with the Lomo, then experiment with other cameras. Maybe you can find some old plastic TLR somewhere?

eric · Mar 19, 2005

andrewmoodie said:
It's an old-ish model--it says MADE IN USSR on it and when I got it it smelled like it had been in storage a long time--but it takes perfect pictures!

I don't want to start flinging it against the wall or anything but does anyone have any suggestions on how I could make it vignette or distort a bit.

Thanks.

Andrew

Download GIMP <http://www.gimp.org>
Downlaod the LOMO script.
Open up image, run the LOMO script, and... voila! Your images look like it was done with a Lomo. I use this when I shoot with my P&S digital and I want the image to look "bad".

Mongo · Mar 19, 2005

If you want soft, vignetted pictures, go for the Holga with a 6x6 mask. I've yet to see one where the lens could cover the film evenly. (Maybe the factory has mistakenly sent out an example that covers the film, but somehow I doubt it.)

Every other camera I've used to get "that look" has been hit-or-miss. Some are soft, some are not. Some vignette, some do not. I think of this as part of the fun.

Flotsam · Mar 19, 2005

I don't know. I've heard this mentioned once or twice before and it always sounds sort of comical to non-lomographers to hear someone complaining about a lack of aberations. If your lab isn't cropping the prints, then maybe you just a bad... um good one. It will still have the distinctive exposure characteristics that make it a Lomo. At least you didn't miss out on that funky, funky Lomo smell

Andy K · Mar 19, 2005

Shoot in bright conditions, preferably towards the sun.

benjiboy · Jun 21, 2005

The Russian Smell

Flotsam said:
I don't know. I've heard this mentioned once or twice before and it always sounds sort of comical to non-lomographers to hear someone complaining about a lack of aberations. If your lab isn't cropping the prints, then maybe you just a bad... um good one. It will still have the distinctive exposure characteristics that make it a Lomo. At least you didn't miss out on that funky, funky Lomo smell

I know well the smell of Russian equipment its unforgettable A guy I know, who has a degree in leather technology,and has a Zenit E, talked about this once, he told me the smell is caused by the way the Russians tan leather, they use urinic acid, derived from pig urine, apparently the process goes back to the middle ages and hasn't been used in the west for hundreds of years.

modafoto · Jun 21, 2005

eric said:
Download GIMP <http://www.gimp.org>
Downlaod the LOMO script.
Open up image, run the LOMO script, and... voila! Your images look like it was done with a Lomo. I use this when I shoot with my P&S digital and I want the image to look "bad".

Cool. I will try this with my digishots

Will S · Jun 21, 2005

I saw a new lomo in a "hip" downtown store last night. $60. $60!!!!!

The store owner was a little upset when I asked her if that was really the price.

I guess she hasn't been selling them.

Best,

Will

Claire Senft · Jun 21, 2005

I am one of those unfortunate souls without Lomo experience. To cause vignetting take a piece of black material with a hole in it and hold it in front of the lens. The amount of vignetting will be dependent on the diaphram size, the distance focussed upon, the size of the hole in the material and the distance the material is from the lens front. If you make a hole in a piece of shiny material...say aluminum foil..and do this you will probably also get lens flare.

It is very unfortunate that your newly acquired camera is not working properly.

Paul Sorensen · Jun 21, 2005

If the lens is threaded, you could stack a bunch of UV filters until they start to obstruct your view. With some wide angle lenses it will only take a couple.

Dr.Kollig · Jul 2, 2005

Dear Andrew,

sorry, but it seems you've got a fake Lomo! May be it was Leicas revenge on the fake Leicas from Russia! Claire has got some good ideas, while not very stylish. Imagine, what would Vivian Westwood do? She might take an empty (maybe not empty) toilet paper roll, adjust the diametre, add some cloth to the outside cut it to a crazy shape - and you would own a Lomo a la carte!

Feel free to donate my consulting charge to APUG!

Regards,

Wolfram

Ces1um · Jun 4, 2015

to resurrect an old thread... mine doesn't as well. no vignetting and the focus is sharp. Go figure.

Sirius Glass · Jun 4, 2015

clogz said:
You'd better try and get a refund!

Yes, it is not performing as advertized. Take it back and get your money.

My Lomo LCA doesn't vignette!

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