The Lomo MC-A just got dressed up. Lomography, the Vienna-born film camera company, has opened preorders for two new versions of its hit 35 mm compact: the Lomo MC-A Gold Plated, with a real gold-plated body wrapped in rich brown leather, and the Lomo MC-A Noir, a glossy black body with textured black leather. Both are live on the official shop now, with shipping estimated for December 2026, which puts them right in the holiday gift window for anyone who shoots film.
Why the Lomo MC-A matters
New film compacts with real glass and real controls are rare. Most of the cameras that defined the point-and-shoot era are decades old now, and second-hand prices have climbed while reliability has dropped. Lomography built the MC-A as a modern answer to those classic '80s and '90s compacts, and it landed. The camera was named Film Product of the Year in the 2026 Amateur Photographer Awards and was a finalist for the Austrian State Prize for Design, according to Lomography.
The core recipe stays the same in both new finishes. You get a fully retractable 32 mm f/2.8 multi-coated glass lens built from five elements in five groups, fast autofocus or zone focusing down to 0.4 m, and a choice between point-and-shoot auto mode and full manual control. Apertures run from f/2.8 to f/16. In auto, shutter speeds stretch from 1/500 out to 20 seconds, while manual covers bulb and 1/500 to 1 second. ISO goes from 12 to 3200 with DX code reading and a manual override, so pushed and pulled rolls are fair game.
What is new inside
These are not just new paint jobs. Lomography says the latest MC-A has been refined with feedback from its community of shooters. Film loading is easier, the camera remembers your settings when you power it back up, the auto program now favors f/3.5 for extra depth of field, and the LCD display stays lit a little longer at every half-press of the shutter. Small changes, but they are exactly the ones that matter when you are shooting fast on the street.
The fun stuff is still here too: a built-in flash with front and rear curtain sync, a PC flash plug, unlimited multiple exposures, long exposures, a tripod mount and a manual film advance lever. Power comes from a single CR2 battery or a rechargeable CR2.
What comes in the box
The kit is generous. Along with the camera you get a lens cap, an MC UV glass protection filter, a leather hand strap, the Splitzer lens attachment for split-frame tricks, colored gel flash filters, a USB-C rechargeable CR2 battery, a sticker sheet and The Lomo MC-A Book. Lomography is also running a celebratory offer on its shop: a free Lomo MC-A Glass Lens Filter Set with the camera, plus free leather accessories when you add the Lomo MC-A Leather Camera Half-case and Strap. Check the product pages for current terms before you order.
Gold Plated or Noir
Pick the Gold Plated if you want a statement piece that looks like it came out of a 1970s jewelry case. It is the more collectible of the two and the one people will ask about. Pick the Noir if you want something quieter. Glossy black and textured leather read as classic street camera, and it disappears in a crowd, which is the whole point when you are shooting candids.
Whichever you choose, load it with something worth the glass. Lomography's own LomoChrome Classicolor 35 mm ISO 200 is a natural first roll, and a black-and-white stock will make the Noir sing.
Keep going
If you are building out a film kit, start with our list of film cameras you can still buy new, then browse the Leica and Film Photography hub for everything else we have covered. Prefer digital in your pocket? The Ricoh GR IV 30th Anniversary Edition Kit is the other compact we keep thinking about.
Preorders for the Lomo MC-A Gold Plated and Noir are open now on Lomography's official shop.
