Lomo MC-A Review & User Experiences: The Best New Film Camera in 20 Years?

Ever since the great collapse of the film industry, new film cameras have almost always been one of two things: plastic toys or expensive niche products. If you wanted a high-quality autofocus compact, you bought used, and legends like the Contax T2 are overpriced and prone to needing repairs. The Lomo MC-A fills that gap with a metal body and a glass lens. Its autofocus measures distance using LiDAR and, according to Mike Eckman, nails focus reliably even in dark interiors.

The best new film camera in 20 years? One of the best, yes, if you can spend just under €500 and you know its quirk. Wide open, the edges of the frame go soft and darken, and reviewers describe a “glow” like shooting through a soft-focus filter. Annoyingly, it’s program mode of all things that likes to open the aperture that far. If you set the aperture yourself and stop down when there’s enough light, you’ll get crisp shots.

Lomo MC-A: Finally, a “Real” Camera Again?

Let’s be honest: ever since the great die-off of the analog photography industry in the 2000s, there hasn’t been much to cheer about when it comes to new cameras. Mostly we got plastic toys or extremely expensive niche products. But now Lomography has come out with the Lomo MC-A, and it’s made us sit up and take notice here in the workshop.

Is this the long-awaited successor to legendary ’90s compacts like the Olympus Mju or the Yashica T5? We took a close look at the tech and the first reports from the community.

What’s Inside the MC-A?

First things first: unlike the much cheaper Kodak Snapic A1, the MC-A is no plastic toy. Lomo has given it a metal body, and you notice it the moment you pick it up (a hefty 332g). At last, something that feels like a proper tool again rather than a disposable camera.

How Good Is the Minitar-II?

If there’s one thing we really miss from the good old days of film photography, it’s the superb optics. Electronics are much easier and cheaper to replicate today. Good lenses, on the other hand, are still hard to make, which is why you rarely find them on new film cameras. All the more reason to be pleased that the MC-A comes with a 32mm f/2.8 Minitar-II glass lens (5 elements in 5 groups). The focal length sits between the classic 28mm wide angle and the 35mm lenses beloved by documentary photographers. Perfect for street photography and as an everyday carry camera. The MC-A’s big advantage over the Snapic is how fast its lens is. With a maximum aperture of f/2.8, you can still get good exposures in mediocre light on a standard ISO 200 film.

How Fast Is the Autofocus?

The MC-A’s autofocus is fast and accurate. It measures distance with LiDAR and, according to Mike Eckman, locks on reliably even in dim interiors. And for the old-school crowd: you can still zone focus and estimate the distance yourself, but the motor does the actual work.

What are the images like?

How does it hold up in real-world shooting? The reviews are clear: if you want clinical sharpness wide open, look elsewhere. The MC-A delivers character.

• At f/2.8 (wide open): This is where its “Lomo roots” show. The center is okay, but things get soft toward the edges, with noticeable vignetting. Reviewers describe a “glow” that looks almost like shooting through a ProMist diffusion filter. You’ll either love it or hate it.
• From f/5.6 on: Sharpness picks up significantly and vignetting drops off noticeably. This is the range you want for “serious” photos.

How does the MC-A meter light?

Metering is solid, but (like many cameras of this type) it tends to overexpose slightly in high-contrast scenes. One small letdown is program mode (P mode). It likes to open up to f/2.8 quickly to keep shutter speeds fast, and f/2.8 is exactly where the edges go soft.

Our tip: Use aperture priority. When there’s enough light, set the camera to f/8 and leave it there, and you’ll get crisp results.

Why you need a spare battery

Lomo ships the camera with a rechargeable CR2 battery that has its own USB-C port. We think that’s a really smart piece of engineering and very much up to date. No more hunting around for obscure chargers.

But there’s a catch: While the battery is charging (and that can happen when you’re out and about), the camera is dead. You can’t shoot while the battery is plugged into a power bank.

So here’s our clear advice as engineers: Always carry a spare battery. Nothing is more frustrating than missing perfect light because your battery is stuck on a charging cable.

Disclaimer: We sell some of the products mentioned here. Even so, this article is meant first and foremost to help you, not to sell to you. We’ve added a matching spare battery for the Lomo MC-A to our range.

Should you buy it?

If you can spend just under €500, the MC-A is one of the best new film cameras of the last 20 years, alongside the Pentax 17 (which shoots half-frame, though, meaning two images per standard 35mm frame).

The MC-A fills exactly the gap between cheap “reusable” film cameras and wildly overpriced, maintenance-prone legends like the Contax T2. You get a point-and-shoot with a warranty and modern autofocus, plus full manual control if you want it.

If you can live with the slightly soft edges wide open (or see them as part of the look), you’re getting a camera that’s genuinely fun to shoot with.

Have you shot with the MC-A yet? Tell us about your experience!

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Sources and further reading:
Review by The Darkroom (in English)
Review by Mike Eckman (in English)
Buy the camera from Lomography
Image credits: Lomography Instagram

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Video: an in-depth look at the MC-A

Peter Forsgård has taken a close look at the MC-A and shares first-hand impressions after several rolls of film:

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