I bought a Zorki 4k this summer (a soviet all-mechanical rangefinder) and shot 2 rolls of Kodac gold 200 with (using a Jupiter 8 f2 lens). It's not the easiest camera to use, you have to use an...
I bought a Zorki 4k this summer (a soviet all-mechanical rangefinder) and shot 2 rolls of Kodac gold 200 with (using a Jupiter 8 f2 lens). It's not the easiest camera to use, you have to use an external light meter to setup the exposure (thankfully a phone does it very well) and focusing is a bit tricky so I had no idea if anything would come out of it.
Then I looked for a lab to develop them but I struggle to find one that had a functional website (most of them look designed in the 1998 and are dysfunctional) or some clear instructions on how to send your films. I forgot about it for a while and finally sent them before Christmas, it took forever to come back but to my surprise most of the shots were pretty decent.
The lab did a cheap scan and it wasn't looking so great, so I made a DIY scanner with my phone, a cardboard film holder and my camera (30MP EOS R with RF 85mm macro), which produced higher resolution negatives with better dynamic range. I'm still not too sure about processing the negative (I'm using RawTherapee, which is fantastic and FOSS), but I love the results, looks very summery. I wasn't very careful with dust on the first batch tough.
I highly recommend getting a vintage film camera, the process is a lot of fun and they are still very cheap. It's a bit technical but I think anybody can do it. It's also quite astonishing how well 50 years old gear still works.
Interestingly, they are also pretty much copies of Leica cameras from the 30's. USSR was a bit like China today when it comes to intellectual property it seems : steal and make it cheaper.
Interestingly, they are also pretty much copies of Leica cameras from the 30's. USSR was a bit like China today when it comes to intellectual property it seems : steal and make it cheaper.
I bought a Zorki 4k this summer (a soviet all-mechanical rangefinder) and shot 2 rolls of Kodac gold 200 with (using a Jupiter 8 f2 lens). It's not the easiest camera to use, you have to use an external light meter to setup the exposure (thankfully a phone does it very well) and focusing is a bit tricky so I had no idea if anything would come out of it.
Then I looked for a lab to develop them but I struggle to find one that had a functional website (most of them look designed in the 1998 and are dysfunctional) or some clear instructions on how to send your films. I forgot about it for a while and finally sent them before Christmas, it took forever to come back but to my surprise most of the shots were pretty decent.
The lab did a cheap scan and it wasn't looking so great, so I made a DIY scanner with my phone, a cardboard film holder and my camera (30MP EOS R with RF 85mm macro), which produced higher resolution negatives with better dynamic range. I'm still not too sure about processing the negative (I'm using RawTherapee, which is fantastic and FOSS), but I love the results, looks very summery. I wasn't very careful with dust on the first batch tough.
I highly recommend getting a vintage film camera, the process is a lot of fun and they are still very cheap. It's a bit technical but I think anybody can do it. It's also quite astonishing how well 50 years old gear still works.
Fascinating read about the camera on Wikipedia! It looks like you had a lot of fun with it, too. Nice pics!
Interestingly, they are also pretty much copies of Leica cameras from the 30's. USSR was a bit like China today when it comes to intellectual property it seems : steal and make it cheaper.