Lomo lenses: how nice are they?

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The Lomo lenses are older, but they are still very nice lenses, if they are found in good condition. People often compare Lomo lenses to the looks of Zeiss and Cooke™, which many consider the high end of cinema lenses. If you are wondering if you should buy a set of Lomo lenses, then stop worrying and buy! You will be very happy you did once you see your footage.

Recently, Todd Terry of Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc. shot with a set of Lomo lenses side-by-side with a set of Leitz Superspeeds. Here's what he had to say:

We were on a television commercial shoot (sorry, not film, shooting HD with P+S Technik converter). I normally use the primes set that we bought specifically for this camera rig, which are a sweet Leitz/Panavision hybrid of sorts (they are Leitz f1.3 superspeeds that Panny rehoused, collimated, mounted and geared, a set of five). However in this particular instance I also had call to use a couple of my LOMO primes... so I have a spot that mixes the two kinds of lenses, sometimes cut back-to-back and shot in the same location. A good comparison.

I have to say, the LOMOs really look great. In fact, except for the fact that they are a little slower and just a tad warmer (which we compensated for on location) you really can't tell any difference in them at all. At ALL. Sharpness and contrast are virtually identical, at least on 1080p. When my cutter is finished with the spot I'll post it and let you try to guess which lens is which :)

Of course just as dramatic a comparison is the price.... I think I bought the whole set of LOMOs for just a few hundred bucks a couple of years ago. The Leitz/Panny lenses were about $4K. Each.

Makes me wish all my LOMOs had PL mounts.

Kinor with 20-120mm Lomo zoom lens
Bruce Taylor's Kinor with 20-120mm Lomo zoom lens
Still thinking? Then ponder this: the Lomo anamorphics lenses are cheap enough that you can actually own a decent set for the cost of a week's rental at certain rental shops!

NOTE: Watch out when buying these Lomo lenses through certain online auctions, since some not-very-reputable sellers like to describe them as studio tested Lomo lenses, when they haven't been. Be sure to buy from reputable dealers with lots of positive feedback.

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