The LOMO Lubitel 166 Universal is a twin lens reflex camera for size 120 film. "Lubitel" in Russian means "amateur." LOMO stood for "Leningrad Optical and Mechanical Association" (roughly). My camera was made in 1993 according to the serial number, 93032341, on the bottom. The first two numbers give the year the camera was made. It is marked "Made in USSR" although by 1993 the USSR was already two years gone. Possibly a million Lubitels were made.
Front
Back
The camera has a molded plastic body with a tripod socket and an accessory shoe. The camera makes either twelve 6x6cm or sixteen 6x4.5cm pictures on a roll of 120 film, but my camera is missing the 6x4.5 attachments. The lens is an f/4.5 75mm coated triplet in a leaf shutter. Close focusing distance is 1.3 meters. Shutter speeds are 1/250, 1/125. 1/60, 1/30, 1/15 and bulb. The shutter is synchronized for flash and has a self timer, although the self timer on mine does not work. Other features include a film speed reminder dial and a waist level brilliant finder with a ground glass circle in the center for focusing. The ground glass can be magnified by a flip-up magnifier in the finder hood. The front of the finder hood folds in to make a sports finder. There is a little red window in the back of the camera to read the picture numbers on the backing paper.
The Lomography company in Vienna, Austria, offers new Lubitel 166+ cameras, made in China, for rather a lot of money. If you're pining for a Lubitel, it would be cheaper to find an original on eBay instead of going for the expensive imitation. LOMO apparently is still in business in St Peterburg, Russia.
[Update] The taking lens accepts 40.5mm thread-in filters.
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