Lubitel
Encyclopedia
Lubitel refers to any of the several medium format twin-lens reflex camera
Twin-lens reflex camera
A twin-lens reflex camera is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" , while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level...
s manufactured in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
by LOMO
LOMO
LOMO or Leningrad Optical Mechanical Amalgamation is a manufacturer of advanced optical instruments, medical equipment, consumer still and movie cameras, projectors, lenses, film editors, splicers, professional sound recorders for motion-picture production based in St. Petersburg, Russia...
.
The design is based on the early 1930's Voigtländer Brillant
Voigtländer Brillant
The Voigtländer Brillant is a range of pseudo-TLR cameras, and later true TLR cameras, taking 6×6cm exposures on 120 film, made by Voigtländer from 1932.Famed Hungarian-Dutch photographer Eva Besnyö used a Brillant for her early work.-Introduction:...
camera with various improvements.
They are often considered toy camera
Toy camera
Toy cameras are simple, inexpensive film box cameras made almost entirely out of plastic, often including the lens. The term is misleading, since they are not merely 'toys' but are in fact capable of taking photographs. Many were made to be given away as novelties or prizes...
s due to cheap price, bakelite and later plastic construction and low build quality. However the Lubitels use 120 film
120 film
120 is a film format for still photography introduced by Kodak for their Brownie No. 2 in 1901. It was originally intended for amateur photography but was later superseded in this role by 135 film...
, feature Cooke triplet
Cooke triplet
The Cooke triplet is a photographic lens designed and patented in 1893 by Dennis Taylor who was employed as chief engineer by T. Cooke & Sons of York...
, all-glass lenses and shutter speed
Shutter speed
In photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a camera's shutter is open....
s can be set from Bulb to 1/250 of a second. Aperture
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
s vary from f/4.5 to f/22. These characteristics are closer to those of an amateur TLR of the fifties than a toy or disposable camera. They can achieve excellent results when the lens is stopped down but, as with any 3-elements lens, the results will be soft by today's standards at larger apertures.
Lubitel cameras are often used by art photographers or amateurs looking for a cheap introduction to medium format.
Models and years produced:
- The Komsomolets camera was a forerunner of the Lubitel. Unlike the Lubitel, it has a non-focusing viewfinderViewfinderIn photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...
. It is a close copy of the Voigtländer BrillantVoigtländer BrillantThe Voigtländer Brillant is a range of pseudo-TLR cameras, and later true TLR cameras, taking 6×6cm exposures on 120 film, made by Voigtländer from 1932.Famed Hungarian-Dutch photographer Eva Besnyö used a Brillant for her early work.-Introduction:...
. - Lubitel TLR 1950-1956
- Lubitel-2 1955-1977
- Lubitel-166 1977-1980
- Lubitel-166 B 1980-?
- Lubitel-166 Universal 1984-August 1988 (production terminated)
- Lubitel-166+ 2008- (manufactured by Lomographic Society)