Horizon 202

[bmac]

Looking for user experience and opinions on the Horizon 202 camera. I've read a little bit about them, am most worried about the build quality, and the quality of the lens.

Brian

 

[Andy K]

I know the Horizon is popular among 'lomographers' and I have seen some fantastic work with them. You can see some examples here...

http://www.toxpose.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1567&start=0&sid=de13738fce3f2bf77898cfb6c65ab8da

from what I can gather the Horizon is a very capable and robust camera.

 

[Leon]

Brian - i have and regularly use mine. It is really nice but they need a little TLC to keep them working properly. As teh lens operates on a drum via clockwork, any dirt or grit that gets into the workings can cause all sorts of problems - a weird banding can happen as the drum moves unevenly causing stripes of uneven exposure. A regular stripdown and lubrication with fine machine oil does the trick. The lens is fine for the price of the camera (best to buy on ebay for the cheapest price - they are in excess of £200 to buy here in uk shops, but I got mine for £120 from a Ukranian seller.

I found I had to spray the inside of the film chamber matt balck as I got some reflection problems - but I know of several other people who have had absolutely no problems with their 202s so I think a lot of the issue is in getting a "good" camera - the zenit factory had the usual russian camera lack of quality control approach to building the 202.

The main drawback is its lack of focus control - at min aperture (f 16) you get a DOF from about 1.5 meters to inf, but this means using the slow setting on the shutter speed - the one most likely to suffer an uneven movement.

here a few of my succesful shots .... hope that helped?

 

[pkerr]

I've had a HorizonT for about 2 months and I love it.

I got inteterested in panoramic photography after seeing Jeff Bridges, the actor, interviewed on CBS. He had an exhibition of his panoramic Wide Lux photos, all black and white, and I had never seen photos like that. Wide Lux's are very expensive, $2,000US but there are several Russian panormics that are reasonable. The HorizonT was the 2nd version and mine was built in 1969. The Horizon 202 is still being produced and retails for about $400US. There's alos a medium format Horizon 205 available. The HorizonT usually goes for about $250US but I got mine for $32US. It was advertised and having a film jamming problem and was missing the viewfinder, not unusual since it fits in a shoe and can drop off.

When I got it, I tested it with a spoiled film and isolated the problem. After two weeks of taking it apart and putting it back together again, it now works like new. It also had some light leaks and the turret had been painted black but the paint was peeling and sticky and probably caused the light seals to deteriorate so I stripped it off.

My repair experiences are documeted at

http://www.ncf.ca/~ac210/photography/horizont.html

 

[Ivo]

I have a 202s, this means one additional speed (1/500)

It is a fine camera, taken in account his low price (199$), actually, there is a new version of this camera, the 203 S3. Check Ebay, there are some Russian dealers who deliver new pieces for low price and give 'not good return' warranty.

 

[Lasse Mellberg]

Ihave use one for some years and it has work very well. On this site you find some useful tips www.rugift.com
Best wisches
Lasse

 

[mark]

Looking for user experience and opinions on the Horizon 202 camera. I've read a little bit about them, am most worried about the build quality, and the quality of the lens.

Brian

Go Here:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/kievreport/

These folks can tell you all about it. When it comes to russian cameras they are the folks to talk to, and you can beleive what they say. You can also do an archive search of the site at:
www.kievaholic.com

Look for the kiev report links toward the bottom of the page.

 

[jeanba3000]

I have a 202 since June, and I love it. 120° range, usable without a tripod, good lens with fixed focus, depth of field depending of the aperture (1 meter to infinity at f/16), a toy camera with amazing results.
The thing is to keep from direct sun to avoid flare and reflections of the sun on the side of the barrel's aperture.

I have my first photos taken with the 202 here

You'll see there some pictures taken with the sun upon the field of view and they have flare and sun reflexions marks.

 

[removed account4]

a few years ago i was on the verge of buying a 202 but a friend suggested that the "swing" mechanism tends to hang (in the center of the track ) and cause banding. is this a typical problem? or was this suggested because he knew that i was broke and it was probably a better idea for me to spend my $$ of food and shelter rather than photographic equipment.

if this sort of "hang-thing" does happen, is there a way to fix it, or is it just one of those quirky things that makes the camera akin to a state of mind ( like other lomos)?

thanks!
john

 

[mark]

John, see my post above and go to the kiev report forum. Those guys can answer all of your questions. If it has happened to them they have probably fixed it. I cannot count the number of times they have helped me with my quirky russian MF system. to top it off they are nice.

 

[removed account4]

John, see my post above and go to the kiev report forum. Those guys can answer all of your questions. If it has happened to them they have probably fixed it. I cannot count the number of times they have helped me with my quirky russian MF system. to top it off they are nice.

very cool

thanks mark -

---john

 

[jeanba3000]

a few years ago i was on the verge of buying a 202 but a friend suggested that the "swing" mechanism tends to hang (in the center of the track ) and cause banding. is this a typical problem? or was this suggested because he knew that i was broke and it was probably a better idea for me to spend my $$ of food and shelter rather than photographic equipment.

I heard about those banding issue, but if you look at the pictures I linked a few posts above, you'll see there's no such banding effect. As I wrote, the only problem is when the sun reflects on the borders of the barrel's aperture or is in the field of vue. Mostly you have to keep the sun on your back or have it hidden behind a building or tree...

 

[Leon]

I heard about those banding issue, but if you look at the pictures I linked a few posts above, you'll see there's no such banding effect. As I wrote, the only problem is when the sun reflects on the borders of the barrel's aperture or is in the field of vue. Mostly you have to keep the sun on your back or have it hidden behind a building or tree...

Hi all - here is a 202 picture where there is definite banding (seen clearly in the sky), after taking this, I took the camera apart cleaned and oiled it thoroughly - and hey presto no more banding.

 

[mark]

I heard about those banding issue, but if you look at the pictures I linked a few posts above, you'll see there's no such banding effect. As I wrote, the only problem is when the sun reflects on the borders of the barrel's aperture or is in the field of vue. Mostly you have to keep the sun on your back or have it hidden behind a building or tree...

The Horizon is a russian camera. There is very little to no consistency from one camera to the next. Yours works great, the next guy/gal's will not. That is why some call it the russian roulette of camera buying.