A response to the Ode to Canon G9

Although the Canon G9 is a wonderful camera for all the reasons I stated in my previous post, I do have other photographic loves that cannot be denied. My Lubitel is one such love. Made in Russia of sturdy plastic, lacking a built-in light meter (I use a piece of paper taped to the side of the camera on which I've mapped out apertures and shutter speeds), and arriving with a poorly translated manual, it has become one of my absolute favorite film cameras. I find the lens to be fairly sharp though it creates a funky, swirly wash when shooting shallow. I have pre-visions of portraits made with this camera - beautiful color portraits with funky, old-fashioned backgrounds.

Best features: it is light and easy to travel with, it shoots in square format, it forces one to slow down while taking photos and it shoots film so you have to imagine what the images look like before you get to see them. All that for about $150. What a deal!