Need Urgent Help On LOMO

[wainism]

hi,
guys,i'm looking for a LOMO,i know most of u would ask me to read off the net.but i am having my exams now so dun really have much time.and i need the cam one day after i finish my exams as i am going to bangkok,would like to take some pics there.
PLEASE HELP!!

i am currently thinking of the LOMO Supersampler(the one that takes 4 panos)
some questions :

1.heard LOMOs use 35mm as opposed to Holga's large film formats,so does this mean if i can use any kodak or watever regular film i get from 7-11 or those small conveniece stalls. and also does it mean i can easily develop my films at any standard photo shops?

2.appears that the Supersampler has no flash,any way to take LOMO shots at night?(other than using the colour splash and stuff?)

3.are LOMOs just point and shoot? or do they have some control over aperture and stuff?

4.what films do you recommend for LOMOs?(both colour films and black and whites?and where can i get them?and how much do they usually cost?)

5.where do u guys advise to get LOMOs?

6.actually whats the diff btw LOMOs and Holgas?

7.any other advice on LOMOGRAPHY?

thanks,really hope some kind soul can help,cos hope to make my bangkok trip an interesting one(in the photograpphic sense)

[weevil84]

Originally Posted by wainism hi, guys,i'm looking for a LOMO,i know most of u would ask me to read off the net.but i am having my exams now so dun really have much time.and i need the cam one day after i finish my exams as i am going to bangkok,would like to take some pics there. PLEASE HELP!! i am currently thinking of the LOMO Supersampler(the one that takes 4 panos) some questions : 1.heard LOMOs use 35mm as opposed to Holga's large film formats,so does this mean if i can use any kodak or watever regular film i get from 7-11 or those small conveniece stalls. and also does it mean i can easily develop my films at any standard photo shops? 2.appears that the Supersampler has no flash,any way to take LOMO shots at night?(other than using the colour splash and stuff?) 3.are LOMOs just point and shoot? or do they have some control over aperture and stuff? 4.what films do you recommend for LOMOs?(both colour films and black and whites?and where can i get them?and how much do they usually cost?) 5.where do u guys advise to get LOMOs? 6.actually whats the diff btw LOMOs and Holgas? 7.any other advice on LOMOGRAPHY? thanks,really hope some kind soul can help,cos hope to make my bangkok trip an interesting one(in the photograpphic sense)

1. Yes, any type of 35mm film will do. but faster is better cos of the shutter speed and fixed aperture.

2. I think faster film speed is the only way out.

3. LOMO are point, shoot and pray cameras. u won't noe wat's on film until development. that's the whole essence of LOMOGRAPHY.

4. as above. any fast film for clear pics. your favourite brand will do.

5. i think KINO bookshops have some. most camera shops carry some. trying asking on B&S.

6. Holga is a type of LOMOGRAPHIC camera. Lomo refers to the whole family of cameras of russian origin that takes amazing pictures because of its defects.

7. NO RULEZ. Bring your cam out, shoot anything you want. shoot w/o looking thru the viewfinder, shoot from the hip, shoot any style, freestyle!

[sequitur]

Originally Posted by wainism i am currently thinking of the LOMO Supersampler(the one that takes 4 panos) some questions : 1.heard LOMOs use 35mm as opposed to Holga's large film formats,so does this mean if i can use any kodak or watever regular film i get from 7-11 or those small conveniece stalls. and also does it mean i can easily develop my films at any standard photo shops? 2.appears that the Supersampler has no flash,any way to take LOMO shots at night?(other than using the colour splash and stuff?) 3.are LOMOs just point and shoot? or do they have some control over aperture and stuff? 4.what films do you recommend for LOMOs?(both colour films and black and whites?and where can i get them?and how much do they usually cost?) 5.where do u guys advise to get LOMOs? 6.actually whats the diff btw LOMOs and Holgas? 7.any other advice on LOMOGRAPHY? thanks,really hope some kind soul can help,cos hope to make my bangkok trip an interesting one(in the photograpphic sense)

i use a lomo lc-a... bought second hand with the colorsplash flash for $200.

1. lomo uses 35mm film, yes any 35mm film will do. slides give better results. ISO 100 gives better results, but it doesn't really matter. HOLGA can use medium format (120) film or 35mm film, but if you use 35mm you'll be exposing your picture on the sprocket holes also. sensitivity of most lomo cameras range from iso100-iso400. my lomo lc-a has a range of iso25-iso400.


2. you can actually use any flash. in fact the colorsplash is a configurable flash - it has a rotating vial where you can change the pieces of colored transparancies to affect the colour of the flash. needless to say, you can remove the transparancy to have a normal (white) flash. however the flash has no metering, and is a fixed output. if you use a really huge flash with auto metering, then that's a different idea. but LOMO is not about taking "normal" shots - it's nearly always about creativity and breaking of rules, so if you're looking at taking scenic shots and all, the lomo might not be your camera.


3. LOMOs are point and shoot in general. the LC-A allows you to control the aperture you want - but it doesn't really seem to work well with me. my LC-A has a selection from f2.8 to f16, but well. i have no idea lah. for me it's either f8/f11, f2.8, or auto all the way. focus is estimate/guess-timate. you only have preset 0.8m, 1.5m, 3m and infinity. so you can't always expect super duper sharp photos from the lomo (unless shooting some sort of landscape @ infinity). there's no bulb mode unless you go and modify it.


4. for lomo, i'd recommend colour films. the lens is quite a constrasty lens, and it vignettes to produce the lomo effect. black and white films do not give the kind of feel as colour films. in fact i'd recommend slides if you can afford it. get a bulk roll and roll your own. i use provia100f on the lomos. but that's only when there's a proper project i'm working on... if not i'll use cheap film just for kicks.


5. try to find a second hand one on clubsnap/offstone/ebay. you need to know the original prices and have a gauge though. if not new ones are available at lomo embassy singapore, not sure where.. think it's chinatown.


6. LOMOs.. most are 35mm. HOLGAs.. default 120, but can use 35. if i'm not wrong, HOLGA only has 2 settings - bright daylight and very bright daylight. something like that. but to put it in perspective - they're all cameras.


7. break the rules, don't think creative, if you're going to bangkok to shoot landscape or travel, please, get a proper camera instead, unless you're prepared to let your travel series turn out lomo-ish - up to you.

[sbs99]

Originally Posted by wainism hi, guys,i'm looking for a LOMO,i know most of u would ask me to read off the net.but i am having my exams now so dun really have much time.and i need the cam one day after i finish my exams as i am going to bangkok,would like to take some pics there. PLEASE HELP!! i am currently thinking of the LOMO Supersampler(the one that takes 4 panos) some questions : 1.heard LOMOs use 35mm as opposed to Holga's large film formats,so does this mean if i can use any kodak or watever regular film i get from 7-11 or those small conveniece stalls. and also does it mean i can easily develop my films at any standard photo shops? 2.appears that the Supersampler has no flash,any way to take LOMO shots at night?(other than using the colour splash and stuff?) 3.are LOMOs just point and shoot? or do they have some control over aperture and stuff? 4.what films do you recommend for LOMOs?(both colour films and black and whites?and where can i get them?and how much do they usually cost?) 5.where do u guys advise to get LOMOs? 6.actually whats the diff btw LOMOs and Holgas? 7.any other advice on LOMOGRAPHY? thanks,really hope some kind soul can help,cos hope to make my bangkok trip an interesting one(in the photograpphic sense)

1. i normally use any type of film....different types give different or similar results...u never know....you may be surprised with expired film as well. Try slide films....color's richer.

2. try using available light, even if it's so dark, try using even a ciggy lighter. Might get something interesting. (if u dun intend to spend on an additional flash, even with an external flash juz flash it off...may do the trick)

3. i believe there a minimal bits of control....normally i juz point and shoot......to get a good photo juz pointing and shooting is much harder than getting an so-so photo with all the controls fiddling.

4. i leave this to the experts.

5. u get can it from FFurious, a creative communications company, they are the lomo society or base or emabassy for Singapore. (eh Mel u so bz u havent met up with me and amos for such a long time...Anthony Lam wans a meetup for kopi.... lol)

32a Sago Street
Singapore 059025
Tel: +65 6225 0887
www.ffurious.com

6. i leave this to the experts.

7. www.lomography.com or if u are into jap stuff try www.lomography.jp (theres a link on the site which converts everything to english)


P.s. those who know me here b4.......yes im back.

[nihraguk]

you can get the LC-A/other LomographySociety cameras from Kinokuniya - the section near the CoffeeClubXpress that sells art/photography books.

one lomo forum that has a active singaporean base is http://www.toxpose.com/forums.. you can ask any questions about lomography there... they're a helpful bunch.

[wainism]

erm...
sorry ah,real noob here.

what r slide films?

and where can i get them?(from proper shops like cathay and stuff or any ol' kodak shop that sells films?)

and wats faster films?(as in ISO higher = faster film? )

and lastly...
thanks to all who have answered!!!really appreciate ur help!
and hope more ppl can give their 2 cents...
(esp imasaint,was pretty inspired by his LOMO wedding series!)

[wainism]

oh,one more thing..
can someone with LOMO experience explain to me how a LOMO works?
all 4 shutters will fire off at the same instance is it?
so if we r taking a still object,we shd move the cam?
pretty confused with how a LOMO works!

[sbs99]

Originally Posted by wainism erm... sorry ah,real noob here. what r slide films? and where can i get them?(from proper shops like cathay and stuff or any ol' kodak shop that sells films?) and wats faster films?(as in ISO higher = faster film? ) and lastly... thanks to all who have answered!!!really appreciate ur help! and hope more ppl can give their 2 cents... (esp imasaint,was pretty inspired by his LOMO wedding series!)

yup u can find slide films at cathay or other leading photography shops. Slide films are pricer than normal negative films though.

Faster film = higher ISO film than your normal films 100, eg. 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400.

[sbs99]

Originally Posted by wainism oh,one more thing.. can someone with LOMO experience explain to me how a LOMO works? all 4 shutters will fire off at the same instance is it? so if we r taking a still object,we shd move the cam? pretty confused with how a LOMO works!

if u r toking bout the action sampler...then tat cam shoots at four frames at one go...think its bout 0.5 secs interval in between....i could be wrong...not an expert in action samplers. Think moving the camera around, will result in blur photos? like how a normal cam works i guess.

i only tried the classic black one...kompakt or something. heh.

[patch17]

Originally Posted by wainism oh,one more thing.. can someone with LOMO experience explain to me how a LOMO works? all 4 shutters will fire off at the same instance is it? so if we r taking a still object,we shd move the cam? pretty confused with how a LOMO works!

one thing to remember is that lomo is a russian company that makes cameras, e.g. like canon, nikon, fuji, etc. lomo makes a number of cameras, action sampler, LC-A, super sampler, just to name a few. they also make cameras which use 110 film (these are those slim films in their own cartridge) and used to make cameras which use 120 roll film (e.g. lomo lubittel 166, a wonderful medium format camera that's out of production already unfortunately.)

i guess most people are familar with the action sampler which takes 4 CONSECUTIVE photos on the same piece of negative, each lens firing a split second after the other. so if you move your camera while taking a photo, you'll end up with 4 very blurred images.

holgas on the other hand are not really made by lomo, they're made in china by some company which i really have no idea what it's name is, but that doesn't matter. cameras from both companies have inherent quirks which leads to their appeal to the 'artistic' set of photographers. the cameras take crappy pictures, but in the right hands, they can make crappy pictures look decent, ok, or even great. there's no guarantee that a lomo or holga will take 'amazing' pictures, that's up to you, the photographer.

remember these things are just tools, and like any tool, if you don't use them properly, you're likely to end up with crap.

as for film, use iso 400 or faster. the cameras have no manual controls, don't believe holga's sunny or cloudy setting, i've take the lens apart and flicking the switch makes no difference whatsoever to the aperture. so fast film gives you better chance of getting a decent picture from the available light. they're useless at night unless you've modifed them with a 'bulb' function.

but most of all, they're fun to use with their 'no' tech bodies. every now and then it's a relief to get away from all the technology.

[foxtwo]

I've heard lomos break easily, if so, try not to pay too much for one. Unless you're patch17 and can repair diy.

[wainism]

Patch17 can repair it DIY? hey, Patch17, how do u mod the LOMOs man?

is there a flash version for Supersampler?

i read that the thing(forgot the term) that winds the film breaks easily, hey Patch17, any idea how to repair those?

can teach?

[patch17]

Originally Posted by wainism Patch17 can repair it DIY? hey, Patch17, how do u mod the LOMOs man? is there a flash version for Supersampler? i read that the thing(forgot the term) that winds the film breaks easily, hey Patch17, any idea how to repair those? can teach?

well, i've never tried to repair a lomo before, that's because i've never used one. though i've done some minor modifications with my holga. now looking to put a bulb function into it.

as for the flash version of a supersampler... i honestly don't know. you'll have to ask the lomo experts for that.

repairing a film winder in one of these plastic cameras shouldn't be a problem, i reckon. as i said, i've never had the chance to work on a lomo before, but how hard could it be?

you can buy a holga from perly for around S$50. buy two, and do and do all kinds of modifications on one of them. (these things can be made to shoot 35mm film too. the pictures will overflow into the film sprocket holes and look quite unusual.)

[wainism]

guess the holga will be the next toy i get after i get bored with my supersampler(yes,just took the mini plunge and got one tdy!!!)