Good Entry Level Medium Format? | Lubitel 166

[@edverosky]

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[@boondoc001]

I just got one delivered today off eBay for $80. It came all the way from Ukraine. I'm really looking forward to using it and getting into medium format

[@Anwoth48]

Thanks for that. We've got a Lubitel 166 in the house, must be 40 years old - with a roll of film in it! I'll be interested to see if there's anything on it. I'll clean the camera up and give it a go! Thanks for your video. Very helpful!

[@behindeachfilmgrain]

These TLR medium format are so good and under rated! I have purchased and sold so many in the past! They just yield quality images that just puts a smile from ear to ear! Great video Ed! Love your work brother!

[@edverosky]

After my wife saw this video, she told me I was too harsh with my criticism. 😂😂😂 I told her she feels that way because she takes better photos with it than I do!

[@SimbianMinistry]

I bought one brand-new for £17 in the early 80s - It's had maybe 30 or 40 rolls of film through it over the years - Still worked fine last time I tried it (about 10 yrs ago) Oh, and the 166+, is basically the 166B with a few very simple improvements, such as a better lock for the film back, an exposure guide on the back... mechanicals/internals are the same.

[@xyp9x562]

I bought one with $24 6 years ago, with a cheap price and when you have the right focus point, the picture quality is so good

[@valoer]

Lovely video. Thinking of getting this as my first medium camera. Been exploring with DIY lenses and vintage lenses, so it's time to test analog as well

[@campbellcaraher1008]

Great and accurate review. I had one of these when I was younger. Just bought a secondhand universal and some red and green filters for some B&K landscape shots. I’m not expecting much but will enjoy putting a couple of rolls through it anyway.

[@shred3005]

I paid £14.95 new in the early 1990s for my 166B. It was reviewed in photo magazines a few times back then and that was the retail price. They also sold a light meter (with a swing needle like the Sekonic Twinmate L-508) for the same price. Given modern AF SLRs from the major brands were in excess of US$500 there’s no doubt it was good value to get into medium format even though it has zero technology. The equivalent Seagul 6x6 TLR was over US$250 at the same time. It’s main failing is that it’s hard to focus with the tiny ground glass area and flip up magnifier, the catch would release pop the back open too easily and there was also danger of light leek around the seals in direct sunlight. At f8 or f11 the lens is reasonably sharp when you take into account the large negative doesn’t require as much enlargement for a decent print

[@MTimWeaver]

My Yashica A was $50 and has great picture quality. Works pretty much the same as that, with the endless wind. One downside to mine is that there is a focus knob near the winder...found myself with a couple blank frames when I thought i was focusing. :)

[@26LTexXb]

Prices in Russia on Lubitel 166b: from 10$ (almost working) to 50$ (mint condition). Good review, thx!

[@carls.2649]

Nice and thanks. I'm thinking on something like this as a self-present for Christmas. About time I play around w medium format film toys!

[@edverosky]

Definitely. Do it!

[@kiwipics]

Why not get a Yashica TLR for the same or less money than the "toy" 166. I have a 166, and it is just a toy. You could pick up a Mamiya 645, Pentax 645 or a Yachica / Mamiya 6x6 TLR for less than the price of a Lomography "version" of the 166. You could even buy an original 166 for just a few $ or £ on ebay. Don't be sucked into the lofi hole.

[@Nur-hi4kn]

@@kiwipics could you please elaborate why is it a toy and which features the yashica has that the toy doesn't

[@carrieannkouri2151]

Thank you for sharing, Ed. I got the 166+ in 2013 - still love it.

[@toomanyjstoomanyrs1705]

Bought a 166 as a novelty item. All the markings on it are in Russian and it says it was made in the USSR. It's kind of hard to use in the beginning but once you get used to it's an ok camera.

[@transy413]

Very helpful video, thank you!

[@toniskokovic]

Lubitel just does not get enough respect - it is a great camera that lives between absolute "LoFi" aesthetic, but has ability for a more predictable outcome, so it is a well balanced 6x6 camera that can create decent output. Thanks for hi lighting LB166 with this video.

[@nickblackburn1903]

I like your presenting style, nice video thank you

[@burneraccount8505]

Fun fact! Luibitel (Любител) means amateur

[@erikszabolcski9690]

Actually yes, but no. It means lover.

[@burneraccount8505]

@@erikszabolcski9690 From a russian learner with 1 year of learning , i was pretty close!

[@VladislavDoroshuk]

It's mean amateur. Lover is любящий or влюблённый.

[@burneraccount8505]

@@VladislavDoroshuk Happy to hear! I looked it up and they aint far apart , both coming from the same base , "love" , amateur meaning lover too , lover for your passion! And this is why i *love* russian!

[@VladislavDoroshuk]

@@burneraccount8505 lover comes from a noun Любовь, which means "the Love". Любитель is from the verb Любить, - which means "to love" (actually it is "to like" in the meaning). Frankly speaking that explanation seems a bit rough, cause I'm already far enough from the point I was studying that back at school:))

[@retropad2020]

I have one lubitel 166+ universal new sealed condition. But getting another two 166B in good condition from japan. Planning to get the third soon

[@IMNOTYOURSSORRY]

What's the app you're using to help you with the exposition settings?

[@stighenningjohansen]

f11 and a camera stand is your friend, it can produce pin sharp photos, actually, I own two. There is apps for settings

[@xaviegarcia2657]

This looks in great condition! Sweet little TLR! Might have to look for one of these!

[@edverosky]

It’s in pretty good shape, for sure. eBay had some good deals last time I checked. And you can always sell it if you don’t want to keep it.

[@adamm4926]

I love my Lubitel 💙💙

[@c.augustin]

The Lubitel 166+ has a real ground glass focusing screen, and the option to use 35 mm film. The rest seems to be more or less the same. Seems to be no longer available (not in stock since 2023 or even earlier; my guess is the provenance of the camera, but it might have other causes). Borrowed a 166B from a friend some years ago, liked the results (but the camera wasn't in good shape, so there were technical problems beyond the lens). I would rather recommend a Yashica TLR, maybe a Yashica Mat-124 G with defect light meter (or an older model without light meter) to save some money.

[@harunsahinbay7957]

hello, how is the iso setting done on this machine?

[@edverosky]

Films are rated for specific speeds (light sensitivity). So you will adjust settings based on film speed. The numbers are similar to ISO numbers. ISO 400 is the same as 400 film speed.

[@carlosmedina-ej2iv]

I got to know my camera, thanks, very helpful.

[@kainbre]

Great video. tnx.

[@neilpiper9889]

I haven't got a Lubitel yet to add to my collection of Russian cameras. I am looking for a 166U. I have a Cosmic Symbol, , a Zorki 4K, a Kiev 6c, a Moskva 4, and of course a Zenith Em. The nearest camera I have to the Lubitel is the Seagull 4bi with a very sharp lens. I do have a Yashica Mat from 1957 which is a much better camera than the Seagull. No peering through a red window when winding on the film. All automatic

[@Analogbrain]

Nice video, but, toy camera is a bit harsh. It's no Rollei or Zeiss ikon super ikonta, that's for sure, but it's no Kodak Instamatic either. Sure it's plastic, but the lens is glass, and stopped down a bit, it can deliver image quality in the same class as a Zeiss ikon nettar or Agfa isolette.

[@hawg427]

I had to have a Medium format & a Large format for photography school back in the late 70's. Got a used Mamiya C-330 Twin Lens then my Dad helped me get a new Hasselblad 500CM which is really affordable to anybody these days. Now the lenses are Zeiss & even used they don't give them away.

[@edverosky]

I’ve used a Mamiya C3 (TLR) and didn’t have a great experience with it either. But it was fun to play with: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p361gml3m7J-rpI

[@evgeniydeus8137]

~$900 on eBay - affordable..?

[@hawg427]

@@evgeniydeus8137 for a Hassablad with a lens and film back , I paid $1300 in 77 for mine, then added a 120mmlens & a 45 degree prism on it. If you can get the 80mm and the prism with it yes that is affordable.

[@hawg427]

@@edverosky I shot High School sports with the little finder so you could look straight ahead, I just pre-focused where I thought the player would be. We used flash so F-11 was normal.

[@evgeniydeus8137]

@@hawg427 Not for someone who doesn't even know if he/she would like to shoot film or medium format, or to carry around a quite heavy camera.

[@valkia-innos4972]

Nice video man.

[@markhou]

Thank you sir!

[@SandorFule]

Here in Hungary these sell around 30...40 USD.

[@ibrahimdemir6236]

Bunun filmlerini nereden bulabilirim

[@SamsonArnettRoughley]

Nice one ! Just released my own review of this lil soviet guy

[@malpa2634]

what app is that

[@martyngaunt5460]

Lomo are having a laugh. I bought my original used Lubitel 2 on eBay for 30 ukp.

[@Zetaphotography]

ok

[@Nur-hi4kn]

This or kiev 88 ?

[@RS-Amsterdam]

One for Ed, one for Mom, one for Ed, rest for Mom So basically you're not the Alpha in the Verosky house , mom is hehehehehe Great video Ed, love the shots, that sky is beautiful, thanks for sharing, keep them coming and have a nice week !!

[@edverosky]

😂😂😂

[@nelsonm.5044]

I entered the world of medium format film in January 2019 with a second hand 1964 Yashica Mat LM which seems to be better camera and also cheaper, much cheaper. Bought my Yashica for more than half the price of what is listed on the Lomography website right now. Fasterer shutter speed with a 1/500 s which come very handy when loaded with a 400 ISO film on a sunny and all the bell and whistle that the Lubitel does have. The results with my Yashica are superb

[@edverosky]

Maybe if I tried the Yashica I’d like it! Thanks, Nelson 👍🏽

[@evgeniydeus8137]

I don't know about cheaper... Where I am the lowest cost (eBay excluded) on Yashica Mat LM is around $300. But I can get a good condition Lubitel 166U for about $30. Maybe the quality isn't the same, but for the cost ten times lesser it's no brainer)

[@kiwipics]

Why buy the "Lomo" relabelled / produced version of the Lubitel 166 for a stupidly high price, when you can buy an original for as little as £20 on ebay ? You can even pick up a Yashica or Mamiya TLR for less than the price of a Lomography 166, or you could pick up a Mamiya 645 , 1000s or a Bronica, and all of these with superb lenses, and far more functionality combined with the same fun factor.

[@matveylozinsky]

Lubitel cameras cost around 50$ in russia, so selling them for 350 bucks seems suspiciously expensive

[@lepetikitan5447]

It is not a Lubitel 166, the Lubitel 166 has the weaponry coupled with the advancement of the film; which is not the case with the Lubitel 166B..166U

[@theblackmanarmedwithacamera]

REALLY LIKED THE REVIEW! YOU LOOK LIKE SYLVESTER STALLONE!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@georgekrasheninnikov6791]

Old "Lubitel", not "-166", is better for color films, slides and negatives.

[@EricHeuschling]

Not Lubitel 166, just Lubitel 166b

[@roybixby6135]

TLRs are cure but too much work. At that price I think i'd rather buy a MF SLR, like a Bronica Mamiya Fuji or maybe even a Hasselblad...

[@kiwipics]

Well said ... loads of unwanted and unloved 6x6 and 645 gear out there going cheap.

[@leodoz1016]

You'd be wasting money buying them new, when you can pick up 1 of the million other older soviet era models of it for as low as 50$

[@lukavukmanovic8473]

They sell them as new but they are not, they refurbish them and sell them like new. Lubitel was made in USSR.

[@teddy33131]

just get a cheap one on ebay, if you like the tlr move to a yashica of rollei ... if you like the lofi look, keep the cheap lubitel, but i really don't see the point of buying a new one

[@johnschmidt7037]

I purchased not only one, but two of these pieces of crap! It is absolutely impossible to see the current frame number of the film through the red window on the back! This camera is nothing but junk!