LC-A & LC-Wide Tip: Always Check for Fresh Batteries!

"Help! My whole roll of film came back totally dark!" it says in the FAQ section. The key to making sure you don't get blank, dark, or underexposed rolls back from the lab is simple: always check that you've got fresh batteries loaded in your LC-A or LC-Wide!

I shared the pang in my officemate's heart when she got two rolls of film back from the lab only to discover they were all blank. Retracing her steps to pinpoint what went wrong, it was soon discovered that the batteries in her LC-A+ were probably old and low on juice, thusly not powering the camera's exposure meter.

Something similarly unfortunate happened to two rolls I loaded in the LC-Wide because I didn't think to replace the batteries in it when I borrowed the camera and just kept shooting. I didn't notice that the Battery Check Light (one of the red LED lights in the viewfinder) was already telling me that it was low on power so I ended up with underexposed photos.

I tried to "fix" some of them by correcting the exposure digitally, but they still don't look as good as they would've if they were shot right. Below, you'll see the big difference between the underexposed photos and the correctly-metered photos. These are the photos I managed to salvage but nearly half of my rolls turned out blank and it was such a waste of totally good Lomography Color Negative 400 film. If only I paid more attention to the light indicator!

What did I learn from this?

• Always remember to put in fresh batteries in the LC-A+ or LC-Wide--specifically three 1.5V type LR44 or A76 button cells*
• Check that the contacts in the battery compartment are clean and the batteries fit snugly.
• Make sure that the red LED on the left side of the viewfinder (Battery Check Light) swiftly turns on.

Head on over to the FAQ pages for the LC-A and LC-Wide for more troubleshooting info.

The Lomo LC-A+ is known worldwide for its amazing features: automatic exposure, extended ISO range, and multiple and long exposure capabilities. The Lomo LC-Wide boasts the newly-developed 17 mm Minigon Ultra-Wide Angle lens. This 35 mm camera wonder is the perfect companion for your photo expeditions. It produces eye-catching splashes of colour with astonishing saturation and contrasts with the added versatility of 3 different formats. Both are available in the Online Shop and Gallery Stores worldwide.

written by denisesanjose on 2012-10-30 #gear #tutorials #film #dark #underexposed #analogue-photography #blank #tipster #development #roll #light-meter #lca #lc-a #battery #quickie-tipster #analogue-cameras #batteries #lc-wide #35mm-films #low-batt #battery-check-light