Is Iskra any good?

Hello,

I just found myself having bought an Iskra I on the Internet. Do you have any experience with these cameras? How do they compare to Ikonta folders, and to more serious medium format cameras?

Anyway, after having used a Voigtländer 6x9 folder from the 1930:s for a while I have been looking for a more modern folder that can produce sharper pictures. Hopefully this one will prove good.

thanks in ahead
Erik

I have one and it takes good pictures - the shutter button feels like a toliet flusher though and takes some getting used to. Quality control is lacking on most Russian cameras but I feel I got a good one. I hope you do too. Ron

Good morning, Erik;

This is another version of Russian Roulette, but the consequences of "winning" are much less serious. Usually you will be OK, but if your sample is not good, most likely the best alternative will be to get and try another camera.

Most of the recent Russian camera industry is based on the optical design technology from Germany following World War II Reparations. The lenses and the optics tend to be pretty good, if nothing is obviously wrong. Mechanically they usually will be of less than what we would like to see in their finish and fit and the way that they work. At times they can be a challenge. Often there are operating procedures that must be followed in the specified order if unexpected repairs are to be avoided. Being a photographer with FSU or Russian cameras can be much more daunting and daring than with a modern Western camera. Fortunately, the Iskra is a fairly simple design, so if there is nothing obviously wrong, it will probably work fine for you.

My Hasselbladskji film magazines have been a problem with occasionally locking up, and also with light leaks. Having spares is a good idea with these cameras. There are also "work-arounds" that are useful, such as a black hair band for putting around the camera-to-magazine joint to help with that light leak problem. There are some well known "quirks" that you just avoid, such as not focusing the Volna-3B lens closer than about 6 feet or 2 meters without taking special precautions with the known light leak at the depth-of-field preview lever.

How do I know this? I have two Kiev 6 x 6 SLR cameras; the Kiev-88 and the Kiev-88CM, and lenses from 3.5/30mm to 4.5/250mm. There are also two Zorki 35mm rangefinder cameras here; a Zorki 4 and a Zorki 4K, both with the Jupiter-12 2/50mm LTM or M-39 lenses, one chrome and one black. Both Zorki bodies had or quickly developed mechanical problems with the shutter upon arrival or very soon after (like while I was testing one after I had taken it out of the box). I have also considered a Kiev-60 6 x 6 RF camera, but have not gone any further.

There are several internet forums devoted to using these unusual cameras. One I can suggest is R. W. Denney's The Kiev Report on DelphiForums, http://www.delphiforums.com/ There are many experienced people there who can probably answer any questions you may have about the Iskra, and also provide other resources for more information.

I purchased an Iskra earlier in the year. I'm quite happy with the lens and camera over all, though it is a bit larger than the high end Ikontas like the Super Ikonta III/IV. My only real issue with the camera is the film wind auto detection. Some film works perfectly for me while with others I only get 9 shots a roll (without realizing it while shooting) as the auto film detection doesn't function consistently. Oh, and if I wind a while before shooting, I occasionally have to tighten the wind knob before shooting or the shutter button is locked.

The lens is plenty sharp for my needs though. Makes it worth using:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/5696828422/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/5859355616/

This was shot at too slow a shutter speed, around f/3.5-4. Gives a decent feeling for the bokeh. Still reasonably sharp, motion aside, as is evident by the glitter around her waist:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/5855174025/

thanks for your helpful comments. I will meet the seller sometimes this week, and as the camera was declared to be in good order, I would expect it to be no worse than yours, Brian, which would be good enough for my needs.

I already have a few Soviet cameras and am generally aware of their weaknesses. But the Iskras are supposed to be among the best of the Soviet cameras. I hope that that is true.

good night
Erik

I've got a few coupled-rangefinder folders, and for me, the Iskra is one of the best - at least when you get a working one.

It's got a very good lens, and a nice viewfinder for an old folder. The winding system, like that of with Agfa Super Isolette, can break if forced, but with reasonable care, should be fine. One of the reasons many have been retro-fitted with a red window to replace the broken auto mechanism, is that it is a decent camera, and too good to consign to the scrap-heap.

The lens is as good as any fitted to similar age western folders, but it is beaten by another iron-curtain comrade, the Certo Six. The overall build quality on the Certo is top notch.

I've got a few shots on my flickr page from these, and other, folders.

I have repaired enough Iskras to know better than to buy one. It is not only a matter of build quality and materials, but who has been tampering with / using it. Grease in the shutter blades (yes, grease, the yellow-brown stuff, and when cleaned it stopped working, just a coupled of bent pins, but the previous "repairman" left it almost useless), the shutter button linking bar replaced by a lollipop stick and lots of glue... Too much of a lottery for my taste. Bellows tend to be usable, though. I own several folders that I like best (and I think are better, but that's just my opinion, there is no "best folder ever"), and I happen to own several Ikontas. Despite I don't like Zeiss glass too much, the e.g. Super Ikonta 532 I own is far better (again, in my opinion and taste)

Actually, one of the main reasons you find Iskras with the red window, apart from dead advance mechanisms, is that owners wanted it that way: if you open the top cover and know what you're doing, it's easy to see that a wheel and/or a spring have been removed to avoid engaging the system. But, in most of these cases, there are two red windows, since it was used for 6x4.5 portraits.

Now the somewhat impulsive purchase has been finished. The Iskra is cosmetically very good, only the bellows look a little old. The seller told me that they are light-tight, and if they are not I'll just return the camera. All speeds and apertures seem to be working, but the settings are not as distinct as on my other cameras, such as Voigtländer 6x9 (from the 1930:s), and very far from my crisp Nikons.

For me the most important aspects will be the quality of the lens and accuracy of critical focus. I hope to be able to upload some pictures later.

Thanks everyone, your comments have been helpful.

One light leak warning -

If the leatherette in the front is peeling off, you end up with a light leak in either the film takeup or loading areas. The solution is to either insure the leatherette is firmly in place or to do something to seal the chambers. The symptom is a thin vertical lightleak the length of the frame. If you hit this send me a message and I'll show you where I mean as I'm not sure how to describe it.

Thanks Brian, I'll keep it in mind. (My biggest worry is still the bellows, though.)

If you didn't buy it from fedka.com, you really are playing Russian roulette.

With best regards,

Stephen

BTW: They do fix those FSU cameras at fedka also.

Unit focussing provides better accuracy on focussing, compared to front element focussing. And the lens is a 4-element design, not bad performer (it depends on what you expect ;-)

The bellows can be replaced, just drop me a line if they are not light tight and you'd rather have it repaired than return the camera.

Thanks, jnoir, I guess that the bellows will be due for replacement eventually. Where are you located?

In Madrid, Spain. I'd rather be living at Visby, but... ;-)

I hope you will decide to move to Visby, we can always use people skilled within camera repair in Sweden!

Actually, any little corner of your country will do, but if I'm to choose... Whenever my mood goes down, I tend to virtually travel there

I have an old book from the 1930s simply called "Visby", with a good set of water-colors depicting lots of locations and corners of the city. Someday, maybe for the book's centenary, I'd like to use a camera from the 1930s and take pictures from the very same spot the painter used, I think it'd be an interesting experiment (plenty of time for preparations :munch: )

btw, sorry for the OT

I've got one the them there cameras, and it takes wonderful pictures. The lens, when shot wide open, has a swirling bokeh effect. Stopped down to f/8-f/11 makes it sharp as a tack.

In fact, my profile pic was taken with an Iskra!

It is heart-warming that anyone from such a beautiful country as Spain thinks of Sweden now and then.

Thanks for your reassuring post, Klainmeister. I will test the swirl tomorrow.