Lomography

It's 40 years since the first Lomo camera went into production, a Russian copy of the Cosina CX-2. That simple model spawned a global art-centred Lomography movement – which has now been embodied in the stylish and versatile Lomo’Instant Wide Glass.

In 1859, British photographer Thomas Sutton created a camera with a unique water-filled lens – it allowed for some interesting effects. Low-fi camera company Lomography has replicated that lens, and included it in a 35-mm panoramic film camera.

Lomography has been celebrating the legacy of Joseph Petzval since 2013, when the first reinvention of a 19th century portrait lens was launched. The 80.5-mm f/1.9 MKII marks the 180th anniversary of Petzval's first portrait lens.

Champion of non-digital photography Lomography has launched a build-it-yourself kit for a cardboard medium-format camera which comes with a lens that you can fill with colored liquid to create a unique photographic feel.

With a wide-angle glass lens, the Lomo'Instant Automat Glass Magellan camera is pitched at discerning instant photographers. We recently got the chance to have a look at the upcoming shooter at The Photography Show in Birmingham, UK, ahead of its release in April.

The Daguerreotype Achromat Art Lens is the latest vintage-inspired lens from Lomography. Currently on Kickstarter, where it’s already secured its funding target several times over, the lens is a modern reworking of the world’s first photographic optic lens from 1839, but now for your DSLR.

Lomography has launched its latest decidedly quirky Art-series lens, the New Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art Lens, on Kickstarter. The new 58-mm brass lens allows users to create and control swirly bokeh thanks to a new bokeh control ring mechanism.

Lomography is bringing the optics from the iconic Lomo LC-A to interchangeable lens cameras with the launch of the LC-A Minitar-1 Art Lens. The handmade lens will feature a Leica M Mount and will be compatible with other cameras using an adapter.

With instant cameras experiencing something of a resurgence, the analogue photography enthusiasts at Lomography are now looking to get in on the action. The company has unveiled its Lomo'Instant Camera, combining the immediacy of instant film and a little room for creativity.

Gizmag recently had the chance to go hands-on with the Lomography New Petzval Art Lens, a lens which looks like it came straight form the 19th century, to see what the quirky brass-housed optic is all about.