lomo
 

hey. im moving to germany for a year and i am thinking about finally investing some money and getting a camera. one of my friends suggested a "lomo" lomography . these are cool cameras and all, but it might take a while to get use to and may turn into an inconvenience considering the funky lense that gives off the "vibrant" colors. any input or info would be extremely helpful! danka

After checking out the website I would think you would be better advised to purchase a more mainstream camera for your first. However, they do look fun and I like that there is a company out there that is playing with standard model of a camera and coming up with variations. Of course it should be noted that I am basing this soley on a ten minute glance at their website. :)

thanks for the reply!
heres a cool article on them: http://www.ruavista.com/lomo.htm

in my photo history class, a girl gave a presentation on lomography and said it was created by (foggy memory: communist?) russia so that everyone could use a camera point-and-shoot style in the literal meaning of the sense. she said she's had problems getting it developed at regular 1-hr. places because they thought something was wrong with her film.

for my first camera i would get a 35mm SLR with a 52mm lens, or, if i could afford it, a telefoto lens.

what do you think of a canon a70 digital cam? it would save me alot of money compared to a 35mm

as far as first cameras go, i personally don't think someone would get as much experience out of a digital vs. film camera.

I bought a lca on ebay a few months ago to see what the hype was all about. If you're going to buy one, you can get a used one for $50 US or so. IMO they're not at all worth the $180 that they go for new. It's a neat camera, but I wouldn't use it for important pictures.

The 'vibrant colors' attributed to the camera aren't caused by the lens, rather the film used. From what I can tell, people generally shoot either expired film (which causes the color shifts and other randomness) or else cross-processed slide film.
Anyway, I'd get a good rangefinder or slr.

thanks!

there is a lot someone can learn by getting a digital for their first camera... I know that my digital cost less than the SLR I want to buy when feel like I know what I'm doing. My digital has given me the confidence to play around with photography, to find subject matter, settings and scenarios that I am happy photographing - it is also giving me lots of practice. To achieve this sort of training/experience with a regular SLR would've cost me a small fortune in film and processing.

*its an Olympus C5050-zoom if you were wondering