Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Film Cameras
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The title is nonsense. It should read KMZ Moskva-5 Range Finder Medium Format 120 Film Camera. It is a Moskva-5 type 2a from 1956/7. I wanted a 6x9 format camera that took up the minimum of room and didn't cost the £750 plus that a good Voigtlander would fetch from the same period. I like the quality of the photographs made with this camera and find the lens amazingly good considering it has a bubble in the front and rear elements of the lens. It is light at only 880g yet sturdy enough to allow a good hold when making hand-held exposures. The focusing is easy once you get the knack of twirling the little wheel under the rangefinder's swing-out front lens. It is easy to load the camera but the back comes off completely so it is easier to do this job at a table rather than just in your hands. The camera is built in a very strong manner and this probably accounts for everything still being in good working condition after 56 years. The bellows for example is made of quite thick material and as a consequence has no leaks even now. I glad I bought it. It is not as sharp as my Fuji GSW690III but it's not far off!Read full review
This camera is, in the current state of the art, a special tool for high resolution photography. In other words, film shot with this camera should be sent out for high resolution scanning by a photo service which offers it for an economical fee. 35 million pixels is the minimum that justifies the use of a camera like this one. (Search for "enhanced scanning". And don't bother with less than about 35 million pixels or about 2400 dots per inch. Don't pay $5 per frame.) With 35mm film, for comparison, 17 million pixel scans can be had from the same services. But this size of film has a vulnerability to grain appearing on prints from underexposure. Be sure to use fine grain film. This means a slow ISO rating. This camera and lens is thus useful for high resolution photography, I judge, from an aperture of f/5.6 down to f/19. A 120 film camera with a three element lens would be restricted to further than 30 feet and f/8 or less. A 35mm camera would yield less than 17 million pixels below f/12 due to diffraction. Every folding camera, and every solid body film camera of less than first rate manufacture , should be checked for focus accuracy at infinity. (Search for instructions.) This camera has no back focus problem, and it seems sharp at infinity when checked. Another folder that I tested must be focused using the "4" DOF mark. And an inexpensive rangefinder camera has sharp focus over between the "8" and "11". The rangefinder is accurate at infinity, and is entirely accurate again at a distance of 1.5m. Some Leicas being an exception, all rangefinders require a fine tuning table. The rangefinder on this camera front focuses by 1m at 12m, and .5m at 6m. The camera seems mechanically sturdy and lightproof. The film is held to the focus plane against the pressure plate by a line of knobs on the edge of the frame opening on the body. This allows air flow when unfolding the camera. There is a double exposure lock operated by winding the film. This Moskva-5 camera is the economical solution to my specific goals in photography.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned