My Lubitel Story: No, It's Not a Rolleiflex
written by graefin
on September 30th, 2008
, 8 comments
(3 votes)
No it’s not a Rolleiflex and it’s not a Hasselblad I’m holding in my hands. But people sometimes think so when they see me standing there with my Lubitel pointed at a great motive ready to take the picture. “It’s a LUBITEL”, I tell them and they just look at me sceptically.
“It’s a russian “copy” of one of the cameras you mentioned but it’s better!" They shake their heads in disbelief and don’t bother me with any more questions. I take the picture and move on to the next motive where other people stop and ask me questions. “What kind of film do you use?” Medium format, 120mm is my answer. Again there’s a sceptical look on the faces.
My first encounter with my Lubitel was on a flea market in Hamburg, St.Pauli. It was night, we were out for a drink but there was this flea market and I can never resist them so I went around to have a look and there it was: a Lubitel! I didn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. I took it, tried all the different levers and it seemed to be working. But I was afraid to ask for the price. I thought it had to be very expensive but the guy behind the table offered the camera for a very low price and I took it! It was the best buy ever.
Over the last year the Lubitel was with me all the time. I lost the little screw that holds the spool on the left right at the beginning so changing the film wasn’t and still isn’t always easy. At first I didn’t know that I could adjust the focus but when I finally found out how to do it the pictures turned out even better, perfect. Then the self-timer broke and it took me some time to get hold of a cable release. The next thing that fell off was the fastener that keeps the back closed. I secured it with gaffer tape. So my Lubitel has some faults but they all have no impact on the pictures! It’s a reliable, easy to use and at the same time professional camera whose pictures are often mistaken for as Rolleiflex pictures which makes me feel proud!
A few weeks ago I went to a photo tour with other lomographers and photographers and wherever we stopped and took pictures there were people asking what kind of camera the Lubitel is and if they could take a look through the viewfinder. I like it when people are interested in this little black “bitch”. I think it’s great that they approach me and ask me what I’m doing there. They would not do so when seeing someone with a digital camera. So I can tell them all about analogue photography and the fun of it. And they are always exhilarated that analogue is not dead and that medium format lovers are still out there – with a Lubitel in their hands.
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