This camera cannot be fully called a Soviet one, but it was this exact model that brought a fair share of world fame to the domestic camera industry. LOMO was born thanks to personal sympathy. Fascinated by the Japanese Cosina CX-2, an unknown powerful official came up with the idea of repeating and improving it from the leadership of the Leningrad Association. The copy turned out not quite similar to the original, but it was tightly assembled and cost a reasonable price. At home LOMO looked unusual but gained popularity among tourists.

However, the real success came to this camera in the early nineties. Traveling in Russia, Austrian students Matthias Figel and Wolfgang Stranzingerhave discovered unexpected potential in the ‘Compact’ purchased for the occasion; the camera appeared to besuitable for modern photography in the spontaneous moment. The simplest control and good automatic expo allowed them to take pictures practically without even looking!

This is how Lomography was born; international amateur photography movement evenborrowed the name from this Soviet camera. Production of the cameradiscontinued in 1994 but was soon resumed due tohigh demand raised by enthusiasts all around the world; later the camera production moved to Chinawhere it continues today.