FilmSpooler

How it happened…

When the Lomography Store – LA announced that they were going to have a Lubitel 166+ workshop, I made it a point to attend.  I was curious as to how those big square cameras worked.

Turned out, they weren’t that bad.  They were pretty Lomographied (my own word) to the point that it was fun to use…however I wasn’t ready to drop the $350 on it.

So I turned to my friend eBay and found a vendor who was selling a ton a cameras at a pretty good price.  The only catch is that he’s in the Ukraine.  So even though the cameras were pretty well priced, the shipping was at least $20 each.  After some emailing, back and forth, he was nice enough to give me around $5 off for each camera I bought.  I checked his other listings and aside from the Lubitel 166B, I got a Kiev 4, Zorki 4 and a Smena Symbol for around $200 dollars.  Not a bad deal since the Lubitel 166B was only around $60.

Lomo Lubitel 166B

A few notes about the Lubitel 166B…

• Manufactured by Lomo in Russia in the 1980’s
• Lubitel is Russian for “Student”
• They’re made of bakelite plastic material (body) and metal parts (inside)
• The design is based on the Voigtlander Brilliant
• It’s a TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) camera (upper glass lens if for focusing, lower glass lens has the shutter)
• It uses 12o medium format film

A couple of differences between the Lomography Lubitel 166+ and the Lomo Lubitel 166B…

• The Lubitel 166+ has less knobs on the outside
• The Lubitel 166+ can shoot with 35 and 120 film
• The Lubitel 166B has a cold shoe with a PC cable plug in the front
• The Lubitel 166+ uses symbols to help with the F-Stops.

For the Lubitel 166B, missing some of those nice features on the newer Lubitels isn’t too bad.  I still saved about $150…and I love my Lubitel 166B.  The pictures I take with it are pretty awesome.  They’re sharper than a Holga and I feel that I have much more control over the shot.

Here are a couple of shots I took with my Lubitel 166B in Atlanta, Georgia:

The Gymnast just outside of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta

Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia

Pros…

I love the quality of the image.  I rarely have to touch up a well exposed frame.

The focus, aperture controls are intimidating at first, but you get used to them and you learn a lot from this type of camera.  Who needs symbols!?!  Use the Sunny 16 rule instead…

Remember, the price was still around $170 cheaper…

Cons…

The Lubitel 166B is a delicate camera.  The smaller knobs that hold the spools in place fall off and the threading inside them is easily stripped.  I’m trying to find replacement knobs for them, but in the meanwhile I use #4-40 nuts and stripped down paper clips to keep the spools in place so I can continue using the camera.

The camera case I got with it is pretty basic and a pain to put on and take off.  Use a larger camera case instead that lets you secure the camera.  Your Lubitel will love you for it.

Also, be careful with the door on the Lubitel 166B.  I added some velcro to mine to keep the door from accidentally opening.  Looks wierd, but it comes in handy.

There is no warranty for something like this.  You may have a harder time finding someone to fix it than the more modern Lomography Lubitel 166+.

Last thoughts…

I don’t regret getting the Lubitel 166B over the more expensive, yet more versatile Lubitel 166+.  I saved money on a camera that I think takes rather amazing pictures, especially since I save my Lubitel (and my other medium format cameras) for the big, artsy shots like statues, monuments and murals.  The cons list above may run a little longer than the pros, but with some knowledgeable shooting and some TLC, you’ll be glad to have gotten the Lubitel 166B.

On a side note, I’m also tempted to check out the Lubitel Universal next…  🙂

Filed under: Reviews, Russian Camera, 120 film, 166B, analog, Lomo, lomography, lubitel, Russian camera