Cosina CX-1 - The Grandfather of the Lomo LC-A

The Cosina CX-1 is the grandfather of Lomo LC-A, actually, the LC-A is kind of a copy of this camera. I’ve been searching for the Cosina CX-1 for a long time and now I own one.

I already knew that Lomo LC-A was inspired in Cosina CX-1, almost a copy. When I bought this camera I was astonished by the similarity between the two cameras; Size, weight and design is the same, the buttons are very similar and they are almost in the same place, even the screws are positioned in the same place.

The biggest difference between the two cameras is the front piece; it also has viewfinder and lens cover but instead of using the bottom button to open or close the slide cover, you have to rotate the whole front piece clockwise to open the cover.

The camera is superbly crafted, very well built with good quality materials and very reliable, it is a bit rougher and all the mechanisms work much smoother, especially the rotation of the front piece.

The first film that I used on CX-1 was a Fuji Velvia; it is one of my favorite films and I use it a lot with my LC-A, it was the perfect film to find out the similarities and differences between the two cameras. The results are, like the camera itself, very similar; Cosina CX-1 produces sharper photos but it looses a bit on colors, Lomo LC-A produces more vivid and brighter colors but it is only a slight difference, overall, the photos look that they where taken by the same camera.

Personally, I like both cameras; it is nice to carry both cameras loaded with different films, one with slide film and the other loaded with B&W or redscale film.

What I like in this camera:

• Optics.
• Mechanical performance and reliability.
• Overall quality.
• Lens cover.
• History.
• Sharpness.

What I dislike in this camera:

• ISO range (max. 400ISO).
• No cable release thread.

written by zulupt on 2010-04-20 #gear #urban #35mm #review #lc-a #slide-film #zulupt #landscapes #compact #portugal #x-pro #cosina #cx-1