Lomography Plates Its MC-A in Real Gold for the Camera's First Birthday

Lomography has plated a point-and-shoot in real gold. The Lomo MC-A 35mm Film Camera Gold Plated, announced to mark the camera's first anniversary, costs $649 and ships in December, alongside a $599 Noir edition and community-driven firmware refinements across the range.

The company framed the birthday in characteristically maximalist terms: "One year, twelve months, 365 days, and at least 15,872 film rolls later, we're unashamedly proud of this creative tool that has grown progressively with its community. Learning and growing with experience, the Lomo MC-A is the camera made BY, FOR and WITH film photography lovers all around the globe."

For practitioners, the headline question is not the plating but what changes inside the housing. Lomography says community feedback over the past year produced concrete fixes that reach both new editions.

What actually changes for shooters?

The updates are modest but address real friction points reported by MC-A owners:

• Easier film loading
• Settings now survive powering the camera off
• Automatic mode now leans toward shooting at f/3.5 rather than wide open
• The built-in LCD info panel holds its settings display "a little longer at every half-press" of the shutter

None of these alter the optical formula. The MC-A remains a full-frame film camera built around a 32mm f/2.8 multi-coated glass lens with five elements in five groups, stopping down to f/16. Focusing is either automatic or zone-based from 0.4 meters (1.3 feet). The camera retains its automatic, aperture-priority and fully manual shooting modes, its built-in Xenon flash — the source of the hard, nostalgic flash look much in demand — plus a tripod mount, multiple-exposure capability and power from a single CR2 battery.

That optical and control package places the MC-A in a crowded revival field: a compact, flash-equipped auto-everything 35mm camera at a premium price, competing against both used rangefinder-era compacts and new entrants from Pentax and others. At $549 for the standard black or silver version, the MC-A already sat at the top of that market. The two limited editions push further.

Two finishes, two price points

The Gold Plated edition does what its name states — Lomography confirms genuine gold plating but offers little further detail on the metal itself. It pairs the finish with a rich brown leather cover, ships with a free glass lens filter set, and works with a new matching leather half-case.

The Noir edition takes the opposite direction: a glossy, chunky, textured black leather reminiscent of snakeskin, a starkly different look from the golden version but no less retro in intent.

Both cameras are available to preorder now, with shipping slated for December. The $50 gap between the Noir and Gold Plated versions, and the $100 premium over the standard MC-A, buys finish and accessories rather than function — the internals are, by Lomography's own description, "about the same as before."

For working photographers, the honest read is that the MC-A's second year arrives with better ergonomics rather than better optics, dressed in two collector-oriented skins. Whether the community that Lomography credits with shaping the camera keeps buying at these prices will decide if year three brings further refinement or another round of cosmetic editions.