The original LOMO KRAB is an exceedingly rare piece with a clandestine, mysterious history. After exhaustive research, the only thing that we can conclusively say is this: no one knows the whole story! That said, here is the “oral history” that we’ve collected
The original item was designed and crafted in extremely limited quantities in the 1980s. The designer and producer of this item is believed to be LOMO of St. Petersburg – however it is not actually present in their company museum archive. The KRAB was never mass-produced or widely distributed. Whatever units were produced were kept under wraps and were not exported. The original KRAB was crafted in metal, painted red and black, and rated to a depth of 10m. And the most official source, J-L Princelle’s “Authentic Guide to Russian and Soviet Cameras,“ presents the KRAB as such:
Taking these scattered details into account, our design team worked tirelessly to re-create the authentic look and feel of the original KRAB. While the old case was cast in metal and closed with a metal clamp, our LC-A+ KRAB is cast in plastic and sealed with a tight underwater rotating closure – effectively making our case (1) much lighter, (2) much more affordable, and (3) effective to TWICE the depth of the original.
By combining the best features (and the Soviet-style good looks) of the original case with modern-day plastics and underwater sealing rings, we’ve paid homage to and realized the dreams of the original KRAB’s designers (whoever they may be!)
