Using a soviet made camera is a totally different experience than using a Japanese or a German one. I think I will tell you about it in a later post and today I will concentrate on the results, aka the photos.
Beside the Lubitel 166 (special edition made for Moscow Olimpics), I own a FED 5V 35mm camera which comes with a fixed 55mm f/2.8 lens. All the photos presented in this post are taken with the FED camera using a Delta 400 film.
The first test for the camera was to bring it to the park on a sunny afternoon and try it in a contrasty situation. I have to say that I’m happy with the bright areas, happy how it retains information in the shadows. What I’m not happy with is the definition: it looks to me like the photos were taken with an old mobile phone in low jpeg and after that were zoomed in - the sharpness is extremely pushed but except for that there’s no details.
Next step was out in the open on an overcast day; again the sharpness stand out (have a close look at the water). What I’m happy with is the way it captured the fog coming down the hills.
On a different day, I brought the camera to the forest and I think those are the best photos that I got with it.
Built like a tank, a soviet tank, the FED 5V is a great camera which I’m going to use again. By knowing what kind of results I’m getting from it, I will more likely use a different film next time.
Note: I call it FED 5V and not FED 5B as the letter B in cyrillic is V in the latin alphabet.
The quality might not what you had hoped for, but I think you made some wonderful photographs here!
Excellent, they have a certain retro feel. Pin sharp focus is not necessary for the vibe.