INTRODUCTION

The Lomo Smena 8M is a simple 35mm film camera made in USSR between 1970 and 1995.

BEST SUITED FOR:

Street

Lomography

PERSONAL NOTES

The Lomo Smena 8M is a very simple camera, with very few features, but has everything to make nice photography. This is a Lomo, bug with an ok lens made out of real glass, that has 3 elements, and make much better quality images that other lomographic cameras. This is not a superbly sharp Zeiss, but it cost less than a meal!

It has no light meter, so you have to use manual mode all the time. If you know the Sunny 16 rule, then you can easily use this camera outside. I used this camera for about one year to train my eye to light. I printed a chart on the back on my Smena 8M with lighting conditions so I could expose correctly.

The Lomo Smena 8M was for me a nice camera to learn about lighting conditions, as it is quite light and reasonnably compact, I carried it everywhere.

Everything on this camera is rudimentary, but it's all there. The film take up spool is loose, like a Leica, do not loose it. The film transport, both forward and reverse, feels cumbersome. The film counter is cheap but works fine. There is no hot shoe, but you have a cold shoe with a regular PC sync port. The leaf shutter mechanism is so simple, it's the first model I have serviced. There is a release cable socket on the shutter button and tripod socket so night photography is possible. The shutter times are changed directly on the lens, we can see some drawings that are supposed to mean something for the speeds, but if you turn the camera upside down, you will see the real speeds ranging from 1/250s to 1/15s plus bulb. And finally, the aperture is set on the front of the lens, a bit cumbersome, but still usable.

I had many cameras from USSR: Zenit, Fed, Zorky, and a lot of Kiev, and they all broke, except the Lomo Smena 8M.

Even if the Smena 8M is weird, it's probably the most reliable Russian camera ever made. Adn if it ever breaks, it's very cheap.

Most of all, I had a lot of fun with this camera.

CONCLUSION

The Lomo Smena 8M is really rudimentary but reliable, if you want to slow down a little and force yourself to learn about light and exposure, this cameras is fun.

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