Moskva advice

[Becoming]

Hello there. I've never shot MF before and was wondering if I could have a little advice.

I'm looking to buy a Moskva folder and am a little torn between the number 4 and 5. I have found both here: [Disclaimer: No relation to the seller]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....5&Category=710&_trkparms=algo=LVI&its=I&otn=2

I was wondering about the dis/advantages with each model, if any? I have read-around online but am still unsure and always trust this forum for advice.

PS: Also has anyone ever bought from this seller? I ask because this is my first ever online auction purchase 😱 and am a little apprehensive. I think the price seems reasonable and they have good feedback blah blah. I'm feeling pretty naive here so I'll shut up.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Mablo]

Price is ok and the camera looks good, but these are old cameras and if you can get one that works well out of the box consider yourself lucky. The seller is a known eBay professional seller. That is a good sign because they value their customer ratings. Moskva versions from 2 to 5 are pretty much the same IMHO.

See: http://www.ussrphoto.com/Wiki/default.asp?WikiCatID=68&ParentID=1

 

[raid]

The lens on the Moskva 4 is supposedly better than the lens on the Moskva 5. The focal length is slightly different.

 

[Mablo]

Raid, thank you for the information. This is good news to me because a friend of mine promised to give me his Moskva 4 - provided that I'll take care of the bar tab next time ( might become costly for me... )

 

[Proteus617]

The Moskva5 has the viewfinder built into the top deck; small and squinty. The 4 has the flip-up viewfinder. I have a 5 and wish it was a 4.

 

[summar]

I have a Moskva 5 and agree with Proteus. The flip-up finder on the 4 is located more or less above the lens; the built-in finder on the 5 is way off to the side. Parallax can be a big problem.

 

[raid]

Raid, thank you for the information. This is good news to me because a friend of mine promised to give me his Moskva 4 - provided that I'll take care of the bar tab next time ( might become costly for me... )

I sold a Moskva 5 which had a lens made for the Moskva 4, and it worked well. It appeared to have been done by the factory with left over lens from the Moskva 4. I used the camera with one roll only, so I sold it. It was in red leather!

 

[Muggins]

In my experience - and I've only shot an early 4 with the flip-up finder - the awkward bits are mostly those that are common to old cameras in general - ie awkwardness! It's big, prone to shake in the wind and it's not particularly simple to hold easily.

The finder is good, but you need to perfect the art of putting your eye just far enough that you don't snag the top of the finder on your eyebrow. It's also a pain if you wear a hat with a brim.

The left-hand shutter release is not very intuitive (at least not to me as a right hander), and I have stubby fingers so I find I need to hold the camera with one hand and adjust the RF with the other, which is awkward when you are peering into the little window. The double-exposure prevention is also annoying as if you forget to cock the shutter before you press the button, it will not let you re-cock. However with a little practice you can reach round the front and trip the shutter at the lens end, as the gubbins are all in the body.

Having said all that, I love it and was gutted when it developed a pinhole. The best thing about it is that it will fit in the map pocket of a waterproof, and with 6x9 negs you can take stunning photos of hills. Plus I find 8 shots to a roll concentrates the mind wonderfully - I get much higher hit rate than on 35mm.

Hope that helps,

Adrian

 

[Becoming]

Thanks so much for all the advice everyone!

I had a gut instinct for the 4 anyway and after reading your comments I'm sold. I had read that some people think the lens on the 5 is slightly inferior and I definitely think the viewfinder seems better on the 4.

I can't wait to get this camera as my first venture into MF, even with all of its little quirks...

It's also a pain if you wear a hat with a brim.

Damn, I've just bought a new brimmed hat! 😉

If anyone else has any imput please feel free to comment, even better, if you have any sample images from either camera I'd be over the moon!

Thanks again everyone.


Michael.

 

[Mael]

I regularly buy Moskvas in the east through eBay.

About 1 camera upon 4 is in relative good working order.
Exc+++ or serviced by camera repairman, like they say.🙄

Common troubles are :

loose front standard, loose folding mechanism rivets, bent cissors, bad lens film alignment, non stabilized shutter speeds, leaking bellows or back, incorrect film flatness.

I overhaul and sell these cameras for amateur and semi pro photographers. I have lot of spare parts. I reassemble these cameras from the best parts I have, in fact I am doing quality control that was not done at the factory. I keep the very best parts, leaving used or bad adjusted ones. Sometimes I use Compur Shutter parts to overhaul the shutters. If you need a very decent one, perfectly working, please write to me.

All this began when I purchased my first Moskva 4 for a landscape project, not finished yet. They are capable of the most, correctly adjusted.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I'd prefer the Moskva 4, IF and only if, I could handle it first. You see, although if it's working well, it's great, there are two big potential problems with the flip up finder. The main problem is that it's delicate and is extremely susceptible to impact damage. The other is that about half the time the things were not put together quite right. What you need to check for is if the thing is lose and wobbly and if the secondary image in the rangefinder is aligned vertically or tracks diagonally. If the image is not aligned vertically, don't buy it. If it tracks diagonally, it's up to you; it can be fixed, but you'll be sick to death of it before you're done with it. There are two metal gears inside that flip up finder and they surround two small circular prisms. The teeth are pretty fine and if the image is tracking diagonally, that means it is off by one or more teeth. You have to take it apart, turn one of the prisms by one tooth and reassemble it. Then you check it again. If it is still off, you take it apart again, turn the prism by one more tooth, reassemble it again and test it again. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until you either get it right or succumb to the intense desire to throw it through a wall. It doesn't help that the screws are literally the size of pinheads and are painted black, so it is nearly impossible to see the slots in the screwheads without the aid of a magnifying glass. The guts of the thing are under spring pressure too, and want to fly apart whenever you take it apart. It's just a really fun repair.

 

[Mael]

(...) if the secondary image in the rangefinder is aligned vertically or tracks diagonally. If the image is not aligned vertically, don't buy it. If it tracks diagonally, it's up to you; it can be fixed, but you'll be sick to death of it before you're done with it. (...)

True. And frequently the spring loaded gear that removes play in the train gear is often missing the spring ...

But puting back all this in my opinion is easier in the Moskva or Super Ikontas rather than the tiny Contessa 35...😉

 

[hanskerensky]

True. And frequently the spring loaded gear that removes play in the train gear is often missing the spring ...

So that spring could be a part that is missing on my Mockba-5. It has an enormous backlash.

 

[Mael]

This spring often missing (or main focusing axis has been disengaged by error, making the gears to loose the tension that prevents play) : This little gear is composed of two parts, they can partly rotate in one another. The little spring creates a tension that erases play of the full train gear. It is the most important part of the RF and it is essential to have a precise distance measurement.

 

[fidget]

or succumb to the intense desire to throw it through a wall.

It's just a really fun repair.

Ah! This brings back memories! After a very promissing start and a second 5 for parts, I resolved that there must be an easier way to get the damned lens to erect solidly and reliably. As yet, it (they) await more attention when I ever regain enough patience and a little hair......

Dave....

 

[hanskerensky]

This spring often missing (or main focusing axis has been disengaged by error, making the gears to loose the tension that prevents play) : This little gear is composed of two parts, they can partly rotate in one another. The little spring creates a tension that erases play of the full train gear. It is the most important part of the RF and it is essential to have a precise distance measurement.

Thanks for showing Mael !
Just checked the photos i made during disassembly and luckily the small spring was still there 🙂

 

[Mael]

So you know what you have to do !😉

 

[Becoming]

Wow, very informative Fallis and Mael. I still haven't bought the camera as I'm waiting for pay day but I'm sure what you've said/showed will come in handy. I may wait until one appears on the market that I can get more detailed information about.

Fallis, I must say from what I've seen you've got a beautiful selection of cameras. How long have you been refurbishing cameras for? I would love to have the knack for that kind of work.

 

[FallisPhoto]

Wow, very informative Fallis and Mael. I still haven't bought the camera as I'm waiting for pay day but I'm sure what you've said/showed will come in handy. I may wait until one appears on the market that I can get more detailed information about.

Fallis, I must say from what I've seen you've got a beautiful selection of cameras. How long have you been refurbishing cameras for? I would love to have the knack for that kind of work.

Oh, I haven't been counting, but I've been collecting for a little over 15 years, and started doing my own restorations about two years into that. I started doing restorations for other people, locally, about 7 or 8 years ago. Just last year I started doing some restorations for people who contacted me through the internet. I'm not quick, but I am very, very thorough.