Iskra 2: best folding camera ?

[LOOP]

I have read on the net that only 7000 iskra habe been produced.
I can't go on e-bay (as with safari on mac os 10.4 it is still impossible), where coul I buy one with confidence as I'd like the selenium still working ?
I have read that the Iskra could be "not very good" under f8, is it right ? I hope not !!
Thanks for your answers...

 

[Evgeny S]

Hello, I think you'll spend a lot of time (an money) to get Iskra-2 with working selenium meter. Iskra-2 is rather a collectible now, not the working camera. So I suppose it's not worth to go this way. It's better to find the good Iskra and use her for shooting.
As to the apertures, I like my Iskra on all of them 🙂

 

[Todd.Hanz]

look here: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16722&highlight=iskra

and here: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16722&highlight=iskra

...to debunk the f8 myth.

Try looking at "fedka.com" for the camera, Iskra II's are rare. Some Iskra's have their quirks like uneven frame spacing and overlapping frames but we learn to live with the small things. Great cameras!

Todd

 

[Todd.Hanz]

BTW, I have OSX 10.4 and run Safari, no problems surfing the web!

Todd

 

[wlewisiii]

Hello,

I'm not sure what your problem browsing ebay is - it comes up just fine in Safari on 10.4.4 for me.

Yes the Iskra 2 is much rarer than the original. If you don't want to ebay one, try the better vendors like Fedka www.fedka.com/catalog/ or Oleg www.okvintagecamera.com

When I had my Iskra, I used it wide open frequently and enjoyed the results. As for a working selenium meter, the odds are extreamly against you given the small production run and the age of the cameras.

Good luck!

William

 

[jano]

Iskra 2 is a FUN camera. 😀 Results are very good. I think my meter still works, but I don't use that part of it (maybe I should cover it in black tape to keep it that way?). Mine does very well wide open.

Issues thus far:
- I forgot about parallax error, hahaha
- the tripod mount is.. too big for any of my tripods?! (withhold jokes please 😛)
- viewfinder is not very accurate
- I don't have a way to currently scan negs for examples 😛
- overlapping frames (I've tried everything, from slowly winding to quickly winding, etc, nothing consistent).

Jano

 

[wlewisiii]

Jano, I've found that it's film thickness that is the key to fixing the frame issue. Try using a film with a thicker base for the emulsion.

William

 

[jano]

I found that if I wind it quickly, I only get two overlapped frames, but the spacing for the others is *very* erratic. If I wind slowly while pushing on the back, I get evenly-overlapped frames (all 12 of them!) 😀 So I just crank like a mofo.

Which films are thicker? I don't pay attention to this, and can't really tell from the ones I have. So far I've tried Fuji Acros and 800Z, and Kodak's 160NC.

Jano

 

[iñaki]

I would look for the original ISKRA. It will be cheaper and if the selenium meter of the ISKRA II is still alive, probably it won´t be accurate, so better go with a hand held meter (or a VC).
Mine works well wide open.
I bought it in ebay from Alex-photo an works well

 

[P C Headland]

I have read on the net that only 7000 iskra habe been produced.
I can't go on e-bay (as with safari on mac os 10.4 it is still impossible), where coul I buy one with confidence as I'd like the selenium still working ?
I have read that the Iskra could be "not very good" under f8, is it right ? I hope not !!
Thanks for your answers...

My Mac OSX and Safari work fine on eBay. You could also try Mozilla or better still Opera - both are free.

Both my Iskra I and Iskra II perform very nicely wide open.

As others have advised, if you want a good shooter, you're better off looking for the cheaper and more plentiful Iskra I and getting hold of a meter (like a Sverdlovsk 4). The II may be slightly better, but it is rarer and more expensive, and 9 times out of ten the meter doesn't work (at all or properly). I got the meter on mine sort of working by re-soldering the wires on the meter cell. You may also be able to replace the meter cell with one from say a Fed 5B, but then you'd need to calibrate it.

I've not had any overalapping frames on mine, but you can try holding the shutter release down and winding about half a turn, then release the shutter and continue winding. Be gentle though! I've used Fuji slide films, Kodak TriX, Efke 25 and 100 and APX 100 in mine with no problems so far.

 

[fgianni]

DOn't know about the ISKRA 2, but my Certo SIX is certainly some folder:

80mm f2.8 tessar lens
Coupled and PARALLAX CORRECTED RF
Proper advance lever (not a knob)
double exposure prevention

You can find more info here:

http://www.certo6.com/cam/certo6.html

 

[iñaki]

That certo six looks wonderful
i am happy with my iskra but one day I must buy another folder from jurgen; he makes a wonderful job

 

[Nickfed]

Iskra 2 is a FUN camera. 😀 Results are very good. I think my meter still works, but I don't use that part of it (maybe I should cover it in black tape to keep it that way?). Mine does very well wide open.

Issues thus far:
- I forgot about parallax error, hahaha
- the tripod mount is.. too big for any of my tripods?! (withhold jokes please 😛)
- viewfinder is not very accurate
- I don't have a way to currently scan negs for examples 😛
- overlapping frames (I've tried everything, from slowly winding to quickly winding, etc, nothing consistent).

Jano

Iskra a FUN camera? I've just gotta have a stir on this......

I don't know how you guys can even contemplate the possibility of getting a dumb toy like that when gems like this are on offer.......

http://cgi.ebay.com/Graflex-2x3-Spe...Z7586621682QQcategoryZ710QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Century-GRAPHIC...Z7586054324QQcategoryZ710QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Many years ago I held one in my hand, complete with illuminated rangefinder and a Voigtlander Apo-Lanthar, a lens about which nobody discusses the wide-open performance, in a Synchro-Compur, the leaf shutter by which all other are judged. It was cheap enuff even then, but I had not much money at the time and already had a Graflex 5x4. Pathetically insufficient excuses for not buying it.

If you want a real camera that uses real film and is real fun, there is only one place to look:

Rochester N.Y. USA​

 

[wlewisiii]

You pay your money and you play your game ... 😀

There is a place for the Graphic, but at least for me, if I'm going to that much effort anyway I'll get a 4x5 neg for my trouble and leave the roll films for the cameras they were designed for - snapshot taking folders for amatures.

Now, the Iskra just happens to have one of the finest Tessar design lenses I have ever seen. Unconfirmable rumors claim that the Soviets used the last of the war reparations glass from Zeiss to make them; from the quaility of that lens I can believe it to be plausable.

Toys are Holgas. The Iskra isn't a Holga.

William

 

[LOOP]

Iskra 2

Iskra 2

My point with Mac os 10.4 was that e bay be (belgium) is not reachable with safari 10.4 and they work at e bay to produce a soulution for the belkgian Mac user....
I am looking for a good Iskra 2 on sale NOT on e bay ...

 

[LOOP]

Now I have found a solution to go on e bay. Safari does not go but Firefox is the way.