Lubitel 166 Universal

The Lubitel 166 Universal was one of the first TLR I had a chance to actually shoot. These cameras are extremely cheap for medium format cameras. Most can be had for about 30 USD on eBay. However be prepared to pay at least 20 USD on shipping as most Lubitel cameras are mailed straight from the Ukraine and other former Soviet nations.

Lubitels are what I consider the Holga of TLR cameras. If you are not familiar with holgas, they're very cheap medium format cameras, mostly plastic, with even plastic lens. They're also prone to light leaks, distortion and light falloffs.

Lubitels are almost identical except the lens used is glass. Also the lubitel gives you a bit more control by allowing you to control a full range of shutter speeds and aperture values. With a lubitel you almost have a chance of focusing rather than guessing the focus. I say almost because while the view screen does have a ground glass, the image is not only hard to focus, but also hard to compose; the view screen is like a big magnifying glasses the edge of the frame is not clear as it shifts depending on the angle you are viewing it. So if you are one of those people who must have the image perfectly composed, or perfectly focused, don't bother. These cameras are easiest when used to shoot things in the distance that you can use a hyperfocal setting for. Such examples would be landscapes, cityscapes, etc.

The lens used by the Lubitel 166U is a 75mm taking lens, and a 60mm viewings. The main reason the viewing lens is wider than the taking lens is mostly due to the fact that the view screen is roughly 4x4 as opposed to 6x6 like the film plane. The extra wideness allows the perspective in the view screen to match somewhat the perspective seen by the film. This also makes the camera quite a bit smaller and lightweight (aside from all the plastic it uses).

Also like most cheap cameras, the lens are best used at higher apertures. The 166U seems to give best results around f/8 and above. This will also help with some focusing issues by giving you're a longer depth of field. The 166U is fairly easy to use, and has the typical features. There's a timer, bulb setting, PC sync connection, and a shutter release connection. The shutter release cables can be purchased at most places for 2-5 USD, and are compatible with most classic cameras. The PC Sync hookup is pretty standard as well, and if your flash does not have a PC connector, you can easily purchase a PC-to-Hot Shoe adapter that can be mounted onto the left side of the Lubitel. Though you would usually want to reserve the accessory shoe on the side for perhaps a shoe-mount light meter as the Lubitel does not have one.

There is also a 6x4.5 mask that can be used with the Lubitel 166U. You simply place the mask in, and rotate the ruby colored window over to the 6x4.5 setting. While the camera does not have an auto winding, or even auto stopping capability, this will allow you to see the frame number on the back of the 120 paper for the designated frame size. The 6x6 frame numbers are usually near the middle of the paper, and the 6x4.5 to the edge, so that as you wind the film forward you can watch for the next number to show up. Keep in mind not all films have these numbers, some might omit one or the other. The first roll of Kodak Portra 160VC I ran thru the Lubitel did not have any 6x6 guide numbers on them, only 6x4.5, and I did not have the luxury of the 6x4.5 mask. I have however read that when using the 6x4.5 mask, the camera is even more prone to light leaks than normal. But this problem can be somewhat corrected by using electrical tape around the sides of the mask.

The 166U can also take filters quite easily if you can either find them in the 40.5mm thread size, or get a step-up ring to go from 40.5mm to 49mm or 52mm. Last I recalled Tiffin made a 40.5mm step-up ring. The mainly useful filters would be ones such as colored filters for black and white shooting, or ND filters for exposure compensation. There's not much sense using a circular polarizer as you cannot see the results through the lens. Unless of course you plan to adjust on the viewing lens then moving down, but you almost always have to turn the filter to get it on (some CPL filters have guide marks so you could just line the mark at the same angle).

In the beginning of this article, I mentioned one of the main pitfalls with TLR was not being able to see thru the actual taking lens. The 166U that I owned for a short period of time was a classic example of this in action. Upon receiving my rolls of film back, it turned out that the inner element on the taking lens was not only loose but chipped. The results would end up with an image either being out of focus, or having weird radial blurs that normally occur when the inner element is tilted against the film plane. Below is one such example of this problem.

Now some people might actually find this unpredictability to be a feature rather than a defect, but I returned the camera anyways. A lubitel 166U under normal working condition should give quite decent and sharp images, the above was just a fluke of having a lubitel that seemed to have been repaired incorrectly. Also I paid a bit more than what I could have paid on eBay from a local shop, so ended up returning it anyways.

All in all, the Lubitel 166U is quite possibly the cheapest way to get into medium format photography, its not necessarily for the serious shooter, but rather for someone who just wants to have fun with it. It is also very lightweight so easy to shoot with aside from the downsides mentioned above.