Made in the USSR as a Leica knock-off, this sweet little 35mm rangefinder came to me via eBay a little more than six years ago, back before the rest of the world (or so it seems) discovered them as well! I paid only $18.50 for it back then, and similar models nowadays will run more than three times that.
The optics are spectacular, yielding tack-sharp images, despite a somewhat tiny and dark rangefinder window (but the dioptric lever can help a lot).
I've recently replaced the original 50mm Industar lens, which was quite difficult to turn, with a 55mm model which has given me no problems whatsoever.
October 2011: Since first writing the above paragraphs in late 2008, a great number of changes have occurred to my collection. For instance, I still have this camera, but it is no longer my only LTM/M39-type rangefinder, nor is the lens mentioned above my only lens. (See Canons IIF2 & VI-T galleries.) Also, at that time I was not developing my own film, which I started doing in February or March, 2009.
Beginning with the last image on page 1, captioned "Rodinal 1+100", you'll see examples of my first attempt at a "semi-stand" developing method, which simply put is a one-hour developing time in a highly diluted soup, with a brief agitation at the half-hour. These pics ain't perfect, but it's a nice result for my first time.
The optics are spectacular, yielding tack-sharp images, despite a somewhat tiny and dark rangefinder window (but the dioptric lever can help a lot).
I've recently replaced the original 50mm Industar lens, which was quite difficult to turn, with a 55mm model which has given me no problems whatsoever.
October 2011: Since first writing the above paragraphs in late 2008, a great number of changes have occurred to my collection. For instance, I still have this camera, but it is no longer my only LTM/M39-type rangefinder, nor is the lens mentioned above my only lens. (See Canons IIF2 & VI-T galleries.) Also, at that time I was not developing my own film, which I started doing in February or March, 2009.
Beginning with the last image on page 1, captioned "Rodinal 1+100", you'll see examples of my first attempt at a "semi-stand" developing method, which simply put is a one-hour developing time in a highly diluted soup, with a brief agitation at the half-hour. These pics ain't perfect, but it's a nice result for my first time.
