Smena 8M

I was surprised when I noticed that I hadn't posted about the Smena 8M before.  I have had it for at least a couple of years although I haven't used it much. I got partly because I like Russian cameras and because I liked its red face plate.

When I opened the camera there was a finished roll of film in it. I developed the film and almost every image turned out well. The images are of a couple with a new baby.  From some feed back I have received when posting the images to other sites the images may have been taken in the Urkaine the 1990's.  So far these are the best found film images that I have developed.  I made a post about the images and a gallery here.

The Smena 8M seems to have been aimed at those who needed a cheap camera but who also wanted to learn something about photography. It was made in the USSR from the early 1970's till the mid-1980's. The Smena allows for learning by giving a choice in shutter speed from 1/15 to 1/250, and apertures from f/4 to f/16.  Nothing about the Smena is automatic.  You even have to manually cock the shutter. Focusing is by guessing the distance.  Most of the camera is made of plastic, however some parts like the lens an face plate are aluminum.  This makes the Smena 8M a very light camera.  Sometimes this lightness can be a problem since the shutter button takes a fairly hard push.  That combined with the lightness of the camera can make camera shake a problem.  Some people also have a problem keeping their finger out of the cocking lever when pushing the shutter.  Although that wasn't a problem for me.

So the Smena isn't the smoothest handling camera.  Where it redeems itself is with a good 40mm triplet f/4 coated lens. Its the kind of camera where if you know what you are doing you can get surprisingly good results. It is also the kind of camera that would reward a newcomer to photography who made the effort to learn.  Even some of the lack of smoothness in the camera's operation can be seen as positive if looked at as something that forces the shooter to slow down and think about what he is doing.

Smena 8M Gallery

Zenit S

Produced: From 1955 to 1961.
Shutter: rubberized silk double cloth curtain, horizontal focal plane.
Shutter Speeds:
    Before 1959: 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500 +B
    Since 1959: 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500 +B
Lens: Industar-50 50mm f/3.5





The Zenit S is mostly a Zenit with flash synchronization added.  That is what the S is for.  The Zenit was one of the earliest SLRs being first produced in the USSR in 1952. The Zenit appears to have been developed by adding a reflex-box to a Zorgi 2.  The Zenit S lacks features like a self-returning mirror that we have come to expect in an SLR, however this was typical of the early slrs.  To me the most interesting feature of the Zenit S is its compactness.  The Zenit S weighs only 538 grams. That compares well with the Olympus OM-1 at 510 grams, which caused a sensation when it was released nearly twenty years after the Zenit S.

The Zenit S that I have was made between 1959 and 1961 as indicated by the shutter speeds.  The camera body is in excellent shape and functions well having been cleaned and serviced.  The green leatherette took some getting used to, however I have come to like it.  It really is striking how small this camera is for a classic era SLR.  I still have the sense that I am handling one of my old rangefinders when I pick it up.  In actual use things like the lack of a self-returning mirror make the Zenit S a little slower to use, however for me that is not a difficult thing to adjust to.  The main thing I would change is to make the viewfinder brighter.  Wide-open the viewfinder is usable, however it is fairly dim even in bright light.  Also the Zenit S is one of those cameras where unless you are using it wide-open you have to manually change the aperture after focusing.  Still I think that if you are able to slow down and adjust to the characteristics of the Zenit S then it is a very usable camera.  Although likely it would be hard to get good results from the Zenit with any fast changing subject.

I was near the end of my bulk roll of Kentmere 400 when I loaded a roll to use in the Zenit S.  And the roll turned out to be a short one. So I ended up getting only a few pictures.  Still it looks like the Industar 50 in the Zenit S is capable.

Most of my other images with the Zenit S I put the lens on its hyper-focal setting. 










So I am just staring with my experience of the Zenit S.  I imagine that in time I will have more to report.

ZORKI 4

The Zorki 4 was made in the USSR from 1956 to 1973. So it was being made from the time I was born almost until the time that I graduated from high school.  And while I enjoyed reading Maxim Gorky during those years I never heard of a Zorki until just a few years ago.









The Zorki 4 in the picture was made in 1969, one year after the Beatles released "Back in the USSR".  Because of the western lettering it was an export model.  The camera came to me in good shape.  About the only problem was with some loosening of the covering in a couple of places.


You may notice a self-timer lever being prominent on the front of the camera.  That reminds me of warning I have heard about not using the self-timer on one of these old cameras until you are sure that everything else related to the shutter works well.   And even then it may not be a good idea. Anyway supposedly a lot of people can't resist setting off the self-timer right away and end up with a jammed shutter.  


Like the FED 2 that I talked about last week the Zorki 4 is another Leica II copy. Unlike the Leica II the Zorki has the rangefinder and the viewfinder in one window.  And the rangefinder in the Zorki 4 is large and bright enough to be useful even in low light.  Like the FED 2 the Zorki has a diopter correction lever beneath the film rewind knob.  The shutter speeds are B, 1 - 1000.  And if you don't remember anything else about this type of camera, remember never to change the shutter speed until the shutter is cocked.  The lens on my Zorki 4 is a Jupiter 8 50mm f/2.  I believe this is the standard lens for the Zorki 4.  The Jupiter 8 is a copy of the Zeiss Sonnar.  In case you don't know the Soviets got a lot of plans and equipment from Zeiss as a part of war repartitions. 


Of the four Soviet era cameras that I have the Zorki 4 made the best first impressions.  For me at least it fit well in my hands and had just the right amount of weight.  Still so far it has worked out that I haven't spent enough time with the Zorki 4 so that I feel I have truly tested it.  It seems like when I pick up the Zorki it inspires weather that is not comfortable for photography.  The latest example is while after enjoying a few days of more moderate temperatures with the FED 2, the heat wave vigorously reasserted itself when I picked up the Zorki 4. Also for some reason I seem more prone to mishaps with film when I have been using the Zorki 4.  And while the weather and the film mishaps are not the fault of the Zorki, the result is a fairly sparse Zorki 4 gallery. Still I do see enough in the pictures that once fair weather returns I plan to spend more time using the Zorki 4.  Hopefully my Zorki 4 is not some mysterious cold war artifact, intended to inflict permanent heat and drought on Central Illinois, that I have inadvertently activated.  

Seems like the heat has inspired me to take a lot of pictures of little wagons lately.  Zorki 4 Gallery




Some more info about the Zorki 4:
Zorki 4 at Matt's Classic Cameras
Zorki 4 Owner's Manual 
A listing of the many Zorki 4 models. 

FED 2

Fed 2B Type I
Viewfinder: coupled rangefinder
Shutter speeds: B, 1/25-1/500
Lens:  39mm mount Coated 50mm f3.5 Industar-10 Tessar design (4 elements in 3 groups)
Weight: 1 lb 5 oz (604g)
Shutter: double cloth curtain







The best I can tell the FED 2 that I have was made somewhere between 1955 and 1957.  Altogether there were 12 types and 17 sub-types of the FED 2 made during its production run from 1955 to 1970.  Like many photo products made in the USSR the FED 2 suffered from the prejudices that many in the West had against the USSR.  And it didn't help that in an effort to get hard currency the USSR tended to dump large quantities of products on the West which had not been subjected to rigorous quality control. Still I believe that an honest appraisal of the FED 2 would show that it was among the best rangefinders of its time.  I even found one guy who argues that it was the best rangefinder of its time.

Now I don't want to give another account of the merits of the FED compared to other cameras of its type. Nor do I want to repeat the long and sometimes interesting history of the FED series.  Instead I will provide some links to info that I found interesting and after that concentrate on my experience with the FED 2.

FED 2  PENULTIMATE  RANGEFINDER
FED CAMERAS A SHORT HISTORY
FED 2 at Matt's Classic Cameras

I bought my FED 2 last summer, however other than to run a roll of film through it to make sure it was working I hadn't used it much.  I know I remember being impressed by how sharp some of the images were. Lately I decided to spend a little more time with some of the cameras I do have and to stop looking for more at least for a while.  The FED 2 came up first.  One thing that is striking about this camera is that although it is as old ad me it still functions quite well.  The shutter still seems accurate and the controls are fairly smooth.  The FED 2 also feels comfortable in my hands and has enough weight to feel solid but not enough to be a bother.

With the collapsible Industar 10 lens the FED 2 is small enough to easily carry in a pants pocket. Unlike most the other cameras that I have encountered from the USSR the FED 2 has lugs should you decide to attach a camera strap.  Focusing at least in my example is easy with the bright contrasty rangefinder spot. The rangefinder seems to be usable in even fairly dim light.  I have to admit that I am surprised that the rangefinder still seems to be in good alignment after all these years.

Just felt the urge to stick an image in at this point.













There is no lever for the film wind, however the knob turns easily.  To load the film it might be best to get the FED 2 manual and read about the standard way to do it. I didn't do that and came up with a non-standard way to do it that doesn't involve removing the thing that the film winds onto.  I just slide that leader under the thing that appears to be there to hold the film down and then wind.  It seems to work okay for me, however I may discover eventually that there is a benefit to doing it the way it says in the manual. After the film is loaded you need to set the film counter manually.  You want to make sure that the film is fully wound before you set the shutter speed.  That is because winding the film cocks the shutter.  And you never want to mess with the shutter speed unless the shutter is cocked.  It is said that all kind of bad things can happen if you set the shutter speed without the shutter being cocked.  Fortunately I have never found out since the process of winding the film and cocking the shutter before changing the speed seems pretty natural to me.  If you think that might be a problem for you than you might want to avoid the Russian cameras since the cock before setting the shutter speed is common in all of them.

Although I think one of the strong points of the FED 2 with the Industar 10 is its B&W images, this color one is one of my favorites so far from the FED 2.











If you need glasses to read then you will need them to set the controls on the FED 2.  At least I do.  In a pinch I can see the shutter dial, however the aperture settings on the Industar 10 are very difficult for me to see.  One wonderful feature on the FED 2 is the diopter correction lever.  It is located at the base of the film rewind knob and is a godsend if you have less than perfect vision. And speaking of the film rewind knob it is about the only thing that I really don't like on the FED 2.  It is kinda small and hard for me to get a grip on.  Still it does eventually get the job done.

So I definitely would recommend a FED 2 to anyone interested in the classic rangefinders. I am already seeing the benefit from spending more time with my cameras because I think I kinda missed what a fine camera the FED 2 is at my first brief encounter with it.

A good test of if a camera can become a good American is to see what kind of picture it can take of corn.  I think this former commie camera passed that test.











FED 2 Gallery.

KMZ Helios 44-2 58mm F/2

Optical Formula: 6 elements in 4 groups.
Lens Mount: M42
Aperture Range: f/2 - f/16.
Minimum Focusing Distance:  0.5 meter
Aperture Blades: 8












Last summer I went on a small kick for getting cameras and lenses made in the USSR.  The Helios 44-2 is one of those purchases.  Strangely other then when I first got the Helios I haven't used it much.  I say strangely because the quality of the images from this lens is mostly excellent. I rediscovered that when I decided to do a few posts about equipment from the USSR.  I was very impressed by some of the results that I got with the Helios 44-2.  I was also stuck by the idea that it would be best if I spent more time getting to know some of the cameras and lenses that I have gotten in the last year or two and spend less time working to get more.  Seems like I have been in a pattern of testing out the newest thing and then moving on to the next newest thing.  I think my new pattern will be to spend more time with what I already have.  


The Helios 44-2 was the standard lens for many of the Zenit SLRs.  It appears that it was made from the mid-60's to early 80's in the M42 mount. After that is was made, possibly even to the present day, in the K mount.  The Helios 44-2 is copy of the design of the carl zeiss biotar 58mm f2, This design it said to work well in reducing optical aberrations.  The Soviets appear to have done a good job in their use of this design because from my experience and from reviews that I have read the Helios 44-2 seems to be a very good lens.  Probably the main problem you might have is that the Soviets are said not to have been very concerned with quality control. So if you do get a Helios 44-2 and get poor results it is likely that you have been unfortunate in having gotten a clunker.  

The Helios 44-2 is said to have excellent bokah.  I also find that it is pretty sharp wide-open.

Colors seem very natural with the Helios 44-2.  














Because the earlier versions of the Helios 44-2 probably have just a single coating lack of contrast and flare could be a problem under some lighting conditions.  I haven't run into such problems so far although so far I haven't used it much in conditions that might bring out that problem. 


I believe that the Helios is my favorite purchase from the USSR.  Although to some degree I have been pleased with all the items that I bought during my USSR phase.  I also found the Ebay sellers from the former USSR countries to be excellent. Maybe I was just lucky however without an exception their descriptions of their items turned out to be accurate and their packaging and shipping speed was first-rate.  


My plan now is to slow down and get to know some of my cameras better.  I think that next in line is a couple of FEDs and a Zorki.


If you would like to see a little more of the results from this lens here is the KMZ Helios 44-2 58mm F/2 Gallery.