Lomography OKTOMAT Compact 35mm Camera with 8 Serial Lenses

This was an impulse buy because it sounded so cool... I didn't really read enough about it beforehand and whatever my hopes were, I think at first they were too high. In fact, before figuring out what quirks I was working with, I was pretty pissed. I do love novelties, and that's what this is. The shutter sounds are loud for sure and it is definitely cheap and bulky with fragile controls. The first roll of film jammed somehow then I thought my advance lever was broken (sometimes it would shoot more pictures if I moved the lever just a millimeter too far) but it just needed attention paid to gentle handling. It has however stood up to being tossed around inside my bag, hiking, and being dropped. Since there is no flash or hotshoe, pictures really should be taken outside on a sunny day; with pretty marginal results indoor even with lighting. The pictures are definitely full of "lo-fi" charm. Often, the two shots on the sides (four total) are blurred red and the lines between shots can be quite prominent. My main frustration was actually finding someone to develop these correctly without chopping up the shots, because no matter how fuzzy or random, seeing them in their little equal frames is fun. Overall it is an amusing, cute, attention-getting toy with occasionally fun results; but totally not worth the money.

This is my second purchase from the "toy camera" line and I must say - it's tons of fun, especially if you follow the lomographer's mantra and shoot from the hip. The Oktomat is a tough little camera -it bangs around in my purse everyday just in case I happen upon something interesting to photograph (or something uninteresting that I can photograph in an interesting way). I love the occasional light leaks and the slight dreamy blur of all the photos. This camera is not for the perfectionist - it's for the experimental crowd. And I agree with some other reviewers - the best photos are of moving objects.

Notes: The eight consecutive clacks really sound more like a grind, don't let this worry you. And there is a small black piece on the top of the camera - the film advance leaver should stay to the back of this, you may have to pop it back into place once in a while. All part of the low tech fun!

I gotta say, this company sure does great marketing... but their products aren't that good. I have this camera, and only 7 of the lenses ever work. Most of the time it is one lens thats broken, but mysteriously, sometimes it will fire while another one won't open. That would all be fine, except for the lens itself is complete garbage. The images are dull and a little blurred. Yes I used it in bright sunlight. Yes, the lens just sucks. Also, the exposures completely vary between lenses, so some frames are blown out, while others are underexposed.
Seems like a fun idea, ultimately a waste of time and money.

I bought this camera brand new in a retail box. First roll of film and it is already struggling mightily to work. The teeth slip off the roll because the flimsy gears are not strong enough to even pull the roll. I finally figured out after wasting a few frames a way to carefully advance the film without the gears letting go. This product is made at a level of a claw-machine toy. There is flat out no excuse for the Lomo company to charge $40 for this item. I totally respect what they have done for the Lomo movement and everything but this is not the way to do it. This product will alienate people from the movement; it is that bad. Go ahead and buy it and you will see what I am talking about. Save your money and buy a genuine Lomo antique from an online auction site.

Other than being a little wary of its toy-like plastic and the lack of flash, I have no complaints about this camera. I highly recommend it to anyone who is into experimentation and is willing to try different things. I've had results ranging from "What on earth is that burry mess repeated 8 times?" to beautiful scenes I never expected to come out of this ugly red brick.