Chalmers via Soviet Russia

I took this about two years ago for International Commie Camera Day. I used a Zorki 4 with an Industar 50 lens (not the sharpest), and if memory serves, some Fuji 400.

And those are indeed birds on the pointy bits of the tower.

Playing Favourites - Cameras

There are cameras I own that I like, and some I don't. In the interests of being completely biased, here is my top 5 list of the cameras I own:

1. Minolta XG-M - Dependable, solid, aperture priority + fully manual, great lens (1.7 Rokkor MD), and fairly light. It's been with me since 2003, my second year of uni. I know I can always get what I want from it, and it was duly promoted to number one for our honeymoon to NZ. The snaps were good. Damn good.

2. Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super (new) - the name's a bit of a mouthful, but this is a superb SLR. Shutter makes a satisfyingly quirky "zttttt!" noise which I describe as "like a cat sneezing", and despite being over 50, it still works like a dream and is cosmetically close to perfick. The guy was selling it for $85, but when he couldn't figure out how to work the shutter, said I could have it for $40. Good deal.

3. Kiev 6C - Only had two rolls through it, and already it's impressed me to death. As I once said, "it's massive, ugly, and so awesome I could cry". Fully manual, a super lens, a waist level finder - a different way of working, but fun. The only thing that I dislike about the whole contraption is loading film - but I guess it's a matter of practice.

4. Agfa Isolette II - The camera that introduced me to the wonders of square format. I've never spent so much time fixing a camera as I have on this one, and the one roll of film I've put through it so far did not let me down. $20 in a junk shop at Longford, and fairly dirty & unloved when I picked it up. The focus ring was jammed, the bellows were leaking like a sieve, but the shutter fired which fulfills my only criteria for second hand purchases - "they must work". Has recently been having some issues with the shutter.

5. Zorki 4 - this is a rather good looking camera, although the results so far have been a bit soft-looking. However, it's rather good looking. Did I mention that?

honourable mention:
BeLOMO Vilia - this camera kick-started my recent love affair with vintage (and particularly Soviet) cameras. It's solid, but you can really feel the mythical Soviet approach to quality control (ie. patchy at best) in the lens assembly which jiggles slightly. It feels like it was put together by people more used to putting together tanks, but it really does feel like a true "people's camera" - cheap, solid, and simple. The shots are probably more from the LSI school of photography (rather strong vignetting for one), but it revived my interest in all this stuff. Hardly ever gets a run now, but it's still in my heart. Somewhere.

There we have it - one Japanese, two West German, one Ukrainian, one from Russia, one from Belarus.

When I get a chance, I might do some more lists. Although I guess film is the logical next step.

Good news - LOMO Sokol 2

Finally arrived yesterday. When I get a bit of time, I'll do a bit of a write-up on this fabulous brick.

Sokol 2

Yay! On the way (not the one from the image, but you get the drift), thanks to anonymous auction site.

I like the cut of it's jib. Automatic exposure probably requires some weird kind of battery, but that's why folks invented sunny-16...

Kiev 4

And here it is - the Kiev 4, which has been dubbed "Kneb"*. Thankyou again, anonymous eBay camera dealer.

It's a bit more beat up than other cameras I have bought online, but I was aware it wasn't perfect and it seems to work like a dream. It has some interesting quirks I will need to get used to - one being that the focussing mechanism locks at infinity! You need to either press down on the front cog thingy to get it to turn, or there's a rather pointy lever on the front which does the same thing. Another is the rangefinder window is right where I usually like to put my right middle finger when I take a photo - well documented, and easy to get around with a bit of practice.

It came with a 35mm cassette which I don't think I'll use, thankfully the take-up spool from the Contaflex fits perfectly (for those who don't know, the Kiev rangefinders are copies of the Zeiss Contax rangefinders).

First impressions? I could get used to the new KNEB...


* for interests' sake, the Kiev 6C is now known as "The MURK" ("Massive Ugly Russian Kamera"), or "URK" for short. The Kiev 6C deserved a slightly more elaborate name to match it's monstrousness, and Kneb sounds a bit too cute...

Kiev 6C

KNEB has landed in all his massively impressive glory.

I've decided that "The Beasht" is a bit of an obvious name, so this one will just be KNEB (the K is definitely not silent), in honour of the English rendering of the Cyrillic letters for "Kiev", as seen on the front. And he's definitely a boy.

Just for the sake of knowing, I weighed KNEB on the kitchen scales, and he weighs in at just over 1.5kg - about twice the weight of the Zeiss Ikon, which is small, solid & nuggety. KNEB is just a monster.

Took me a while as well to realise this morning what was so different about the view-finder: everything's in mirror-image. Bit odd at first, but I'm sure i'll get used to it with a bit of practice.

Welcome to the family, KNEB.

I have a problem...

Thanks to a decent tax return, I have one of these on the way.

Despite not having a good lab in town that develops C41 120, I have confidence in the specialist B&W lab to do a good job. That'll be the only way, I guess.

And yes, this already has a name: The Beasht ('h' very much intentional).

14 days to wait...

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.