Lomo Lubitel 166B

[ujkozavlanje]

Hey, everyone, a friend of mine is selling his Lubitel 166B, since he's not into photography, he's a bit of a tech-geek, so i've decided to take advantage of that fact. 😀
He's giving it away for about $20 and it's got all the bits, the lens cap, the leather case and a tripod. Not a bad deal for $20. Has anyone here used one? What can i expect from it?

 

[Stelios]

Soft images and low contrast. Great if that's your cup of tea. Pretty straightforward to use I found. I couldn't be bothered with mine so gave it away.

 

[Sid836]

It all depends on the condition of the camera. A well maintained one delivers sharp and contrasty photos.

Here is a bw sample from my Lubitel 2:



It beats many a lot more expensive medium format cameras.
The 166B has the same Triplet T-22 lens.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Lubitel 2 has nothing to do with 166B. L-2 was improved copy of Viogtlander Brilliant camera. But 166B is true Lomo camera. Light leaks and flares. Declined, as all in late USSR, quality. So, it depends on each camera individually. Some might have rusted springs and other parts due to crappy metal. Some might have gunk instead of lubrication by now. Some might be mis-aligned.

 

[ujkozavlanje]

This one as far as i can tell has not been used much, it's really near mint, i think it has spent more time stored in the case, than out of it. The light leaks should be easily resolved with EVA foam, or is that not possible with Lubi?
I've seen that there is a Lubitel 2 but to me they look the same. Is there any significant difference between tbe two?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Seating on shelf doesn't mean anything. Late FSU cameras (and else) were prone to bad quality. Many were not working, yet, sold. I don't think foam will be needed, but blackening shiny inner parts. 166B are also prone for failing shutter.

20$ is not so expensive lottery ticket, BTW. I would play.

 

[Huss]

i have a Lubitel 166 Olympic edition that I bought New Old Stock.
First roll - great!
2nd roll - slight double exposure look like the shutter is 'bouncing'. Film feed has become a little eratic with uneven spacing.
3rd roll - film feeding has become problematic, with some frames overlapping, some with massive spaces in between. Resulting in maybe 6 exposures on a 12 exposure roll. Shutter timing obviously way off.
I would judge it broken after 3 rolls! Looks cute though sitting on the shelf with the 1980 Olympic insignia.
Perhaps someone can fix it..

 

[bulevardi]

I bought my Lubi back in 2003 I guess, also around € 20 + shipping, don't know exactly anymore.
It was fun to learn the basics of photography, as it has no batteries/meter you have to do everything manual.
I also liked the way of taking photos, viewing from above.
I used it for night photos, on a small tripod, or on the ground, long exposures with fuji reala 100 iso film, with cable release, in cold winter, freezing hands, ...
Nowadays I'd do this with a thermos of coffee to keep me warm.

A few nightshots I took are still available here in this album, giving you an idea of the nice atmosphere you get :
https://www.lomography.com/homes/dikkie/albums/620712-lonely-nights
(except the rectangular photo was shot with the Seagull 205-A)
Here are a few weird portraits I shot too:
https://www.lomography.com/homes/dikkie/albums/620711-portrait


Even if you're not shooting film, you can shoot photos with another camera (even digital) from above, like in this shot:


Wildlife by Bulevardi, on Flickr

The only negative points I can think of is the limitation of 12 pics a roll... but I shot a few rolls of regular 35mm film with this too, which gives you weird large exposures on the slides, where the sprocket holes are exposed too.
I once put the instructions online on a blog I don't maintain anymore... right here:
https://theboulevardexclusive.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/how-to-get-a-35mm-film-into-a-lubitel-166b/

I think it was an outdated slide film, cross processed.

Anyways, have fun with this cool camera!