Moskva 5 - first results

There seems to be a funny sort of light leak in the form of a reddish "stain" on the top right of the image (therefore bottom left of camera), I'll have to figure out if this is from the bellows or  perhaps the body of the camera itself.

Speaking more about the camera itself, it is a weighty sort of thing but feels good to use. I've never quite liked the way the shutter has to be cocked with folders, and this one is no exception - feels a bit tough. But I do like the focussing mechanism (this image being out of focus is my issue, not the cameras) and it's not an overly complex camera to use. This one will definitely get more use in future.

I need to come up with a name that isn't such a mouthful as "Moskva", though. I thought about "Moscow", but eh. Perhaps "The Mok5"?

New additions

Agfa Isola and Moskva 5.

The postie was kind enought o deliver the Moskva (right) on Saturday morning. I was please to finally have it, I've been eyeing this camera off for a long time. All I can say right now is that it feels like the most well-engineered Soviet camera I've had yet. And it is hefty - somehow it makes the Kiev 6C feel kind of empty and cheap! I haven't used it yet - I want to make sure I know exactly what I'm doing first - but I really look forward to working in 6x9 format.

The Agfa Isola (left) was a find at a small brac-a-brac/junk shop in St Helens. It cost the princely sum of $20, and is in absolutely perfect condition - I'd be surprised if this camera had ever been used. It feels quite light, plasticy, and a bit toy-like. My feeling is it wasn't a particularly expensive camera to begin with. I put a roll through it the same day, results to follow soon.

Folding Camera Frenzy

Just ordered:

1 x Moskva 5

1 x Zeiss Ikon Nettar 517/16

5 x Fuji Pro 400H (120)

Thankyou, Taxmas & eBay.

Bakelite Beauty, Petrograd & old Ukrainian film...

Today's purchase ($10) was that bakelite beauty, the Kodak Brownie 127. The 127 refers to the type of film these cameras take, which I believe Kodak stopped producing in 1995. Thankfully, I'm lead to believe some Eastern European film manufacturers still make the stuff (how I will navigate online ordering in any language other than English is another matter), and if you're keen (but not keen enough to buy 127 film & then argue with your local camera chain about developing it) you can slot in some 135.

I'm not a huge fan of "toy" cameras. I do own both a Fisheye 2 and a Holga, however with me the novelty wears off eventually. The Holga has had about 6 films through it in my 7 years of owning it, and the Fisheye is still nursing a roll of expired film that I started at Christmas. So I guess it's more a using them thing. I like the look of the Brownie 127, it reminds me of a radio (c. 1950s) I once saw at the family shack. So it's worth the relatively small outlay for that alone.

WHilst in the shop that lead to the purchase of the Brownie, I took a squizz at a pair of folding cameras they also had for sale. One was a Penguin (? never heard of it until today), the other was a something I had heard of (UK brand?), but can't for the life of me remember now. Both were in pretty poor condition. The second seemed to be functioning okay, but $50 for something that is more rust that camera is a bit much.

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Yesterday I was so close to buying a Moskva 5, but in the end decided that I still haven't seen results from the Contaflex & Isolette, and only one roll from the Zorki - so perhaps it wasn't a wise idea to compound this by adding another camera to the pool. What I did decide is that a light meter would drastically increase the chances of getting good results (or at least well exposed) from those cameras. So, thanks to confdntart, I have a Leningrad 4 light meter on the way.

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Oh, and I ordered some Svema 64 film as well, expired in 2004. I figured it would be good to get into the spirit of Red Oktober by shooting film from a former Soviet Union manufacturer, in a camera made in the USSR.