The Lomographic Society Proudly Presents The Lomo LC-A+ KRAB Underwater Case!
written by pan_dre
on June 27th, 2008
, 19 comments
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Back in the 1980’s, the Soviet Union’s camera industry was in full swing and a small, blocky underwater case was created for the popular Lomo Kompakt Automat camera. Crafted in solid metal, perfectly aligned with the LC-A’s knobs and curves, and designed with a distinctively Russian character, this item was never produced beyond the prototype stage and is exceptionally difficult to find.
Until now!
Much like our Lomo LC-A+ and Diana+ cameras, we’re proud to announce that we’ve resurrected another analog relic from the past and breathed new life into a wonderful concept that ended before its time. Re-built from the ground up, given stronger seals and a deeper effective depth, our ALL-NEW LOMO LC-A+ KRAB – an exclusive reproduction of and vast improvement upon the original Soviet-era treasure – will take your Lomo LC-A+ far beneath the water’s surface for spectacular & other-worldly undersea Lomography!
- Dive down to a depth of 20 meters (65 feet)
- Full access to shutter release & advance controls
- Correct automatic exposures and metering through the clear faceplate
- Classic design based upon the original Soviet-era 1980s LC-A KRAB underwater housing
- Compatible with select original Lomo LC-A cameras (read down for details)
- Wonderful for all-weather and extreme action use too!
A cutting-edge improvement on the rare Soviet-era LOMO original
The original LOMO KRAB is an exceedingly rare piece with a clandestine, mysterious history. After exhaustive research, the only thing that we can conclusively say is this: no one knows the whole story! That said, here is the “oral history” that we’ve collected:
- The original item was designed and crafted in extremely limited quantities in the 1980s.
- The designer and producer of this item is believed to be LOMO of St. Petersburg – however it is not actually present in their company museum archive
- The KRAB was never mass-produced or widely distributed. Whatever units were produced were kept under wraps and were not exported.
- The original KRAB was crafted in metal, painted red and black, and rated to a depth of 10m.
And the most official source, J-L Princelle’s “Authentic Guide to Russian and Soviet Cameras,“ presents the KRAB as such:
“Although shown in the “Technointorg” catalogs since 1985 and spotted in the “Showcase of Socialism” in Moscow’s Zenit shop in 1988, the KRAB seems to have been produced in confidential quantities until around 1993.
Taking these scattered details into account, our design team worked tirelessly to re-create the authentic look and feel of the original KRAB. While the old case was cast in metal and closed with a metal clamp, our LC-A+ KRAB is cast in plastic and sealed with a tight underwater rotating closure – effectively making our case
- much lighter
- much more affordable, and
- effective to TWICE the depth of the original.
By combining the best features (and the Soviet-style good looks) of the original case with modern-day plastics and underwater sealing rings, we’ve paid homage to and realized the dreams of the original KRAB’s designers (whoever they may be!)
ALL Lomo LC-A+ & SELECT LC-A cameras are fully compatible with, and quite happy inside the Lomo LC-A+ KRAB.
In order to use an original Russian-made Lomo LC-A cameras with the KRAB, it must have a metal exposed advance cog on the bottom of the camera. The KRAB’s advance wheel plugs into this cog, and allows you to advance the camera while it’s inside. See the image below for reference. If your LC-A does not have this exposed advance cog, then it regrettably cannot be used with the KRAB.
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