Zorki 4 - 'the Golden Rule'

"Cock the shutter, set the shutter"

I imagined this would be a fairly easy thing to overlook, however, I was surprised by how easy it was to not get this in the wrong order. I guess maybe I'm used to using the Minolta, where I never set the shutter speed anyways (as it's constanly in Aperture Priority mode - yeah, lazy, I know), so it's not something I often think about. And with the Vilia, I stick strictly to Sunny-16 as well, so shutter speed is hardly ever in my thoughts.

I like to take snaps, I do pay attention to aperture, focus, and metering, but shutter speeds have always been a distant second.

It's like I was training myself for the Zorki.

Yeah, right. Convenient, though.

It arrived today...

It's beautiful. Not as heavy as the Zeiss Ikon, but a lot more compact, but like the Zeiss (West Germany/FDR), it was made in a country which no longer exists (USSR/CCCP). Extra bonus points for that.

We'll see how it goes. I'll be studying the Zorki 4 manual (in English) quite thoroughly before putting film through it.

I also must remember the golden rule of FSU cameras: "Cock the shutter, Change the shutter". Important to get it in that order, it's an easy way to end up with a paperweight, changing the speed before you cock the shutter...

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In other news, I've asked the local camera monopoly to order in some Fuji Pro 800z, and some Ilford Pan F 50. They seem to offer a fairly competitive rate for both films, but it'll have to wait until I get paid next anyway before I can afford to pick them up. Picked up a couple of rolls of Reala as well while I was at it.

Fuji disposable

Pictures taken with Fuji Disposable.

We did a bit of sea kayaking near Nelson during our honeymoon. We took a waterproof disposable camera, which thankfully was a Fuji - loaded with Superia 800. I'm quite pleased with the results. I really appreciate Fuji film, the results are always pleasing. And they seem to still care about film, and I'm not sure Kodak do.

Ebay

Isn't it a beauty? I'm sure it will be a bit more scuffed up than this pharmacy-catalogue-style image (update: camera was pretty much as new! not scuffed at all!), but I don't mind a few dings here & there (as long as they're not in the lens). I've wanted a Zorki/Fed for a while, and only recently have I managed to get into a position where I can justify the admittedly small spend. They're a good looking camera, and yes, I'm aware it's a Leica copy - but as I can't afford a Leica I'm happy to rely on the precision Soviet craft of ripping off someone else's design.

I just bought it through ebay using the buy-it-now function. Much better than the disappointment of being outbid (as always) because I have the money now, but inevitably don't when I get outbid, and hence can't afford to up my bid. Savvy?

Anyways, this is coming from the Ukraine, not sure how long it will take. With a bit of luck, it'll be here for Commie Camera Day, 1st of May 2009. If it's not, I still have the Vilia, which is a neat little beastie anyway. And I can always use it for Red Oktoberfest, the follow-up to International Commie Camera Day. Honestly, I am not making either of these celebrations of communist cameras up

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In other news, I am planning on putting the Contaflex to work doing star trails this week. It's the only camera I own which accepts the cheapie cable release I bought last year. I've never done star trails before, and I'm sure it's something that's done to death...doesn't mean I don't want to try it myself!

Film arrival

My Fuji order arrived yesterday. That meks it 7 days from the UK. Not bad for a parcel destined for the antipodes.

They also gave me a nice choose-film.com pen.

Now I have to find an occasion to test the 160S. I've been promising to do some portrait shots for some friends whose wedding i missed while I was overseas (a gift of contrition), so I'll probably use that as it is supposed to be good for skin tones & stuff.

The Neopan? I just got it because I wanted to have a nice stock of B&W film.

And these last few days I have been eyeing off the Holga thinking "what can I do with you?", so I may even see if they have any short-dated 120 film, as the exchange rate + the postage makes for a good deal at the moment. I had a look at Calumet's website & they wanted to charge me $70US for the same films, + $111US postage! No thanks, I'll stick with the mother country, thanks.

I'm just not sure what to take photos of now. I like taking photos, but I have no idea what I really like to take photos of. Except Heidi & Ava. And one of them's a cat.