My first Iskra photos

[Diomedes]

First roll from my new Iskra 6x4.5 . I’ve got these prints from the lab (Fuji Frontier) and they are originally too much cropped unfortunately. The rf alignment has been also slightly off :bang: .

 

[Diomedes]

...and more...

 

[Nachkebia]

Nice and sharp
btw what does

rf alignment has been also slightly off

mean?

 

[Diomedes]

It means that photos have been misfocused because the horizontal rangefinder alignment has been set slightly too far.

 

[stephen_lumsden]

Hi

They are lovely. Where did you get the Iskra from? I saw one in Fedka.com and was wondering about them, but was wooed into getting another Rolleiflex from the classifieds here instead...

rgds
Stephen

 

[Ash]

Very classy photo's, great

 

[c.poulton]

Nice shots - maybe it's my screen, but they look pretty sharp to me?

Ah, it reminds me of my holidays past - around the Med...

 

[Diomedes]

I've got it from Alex-photo for fair amount of money. This is the first roll and I'm planning to use it more often when I’ll learn developing my own b/w film. It will be soon.

 

[leica M2 fan]

Diomedes, those are all great shots ! I had an Iskra for about 3 weeks recently. I had to send it back 'cause it had too many things wrong with it. It makes me sad that I could have had something that takes wonderful pictures like yours. I'm still hoping to find another folder in very good condition.

 

[sockeyed]

6x4.5?

6x4.5?

6x4.5?

Does it have a mask added and red windows on the back for winding?

My Iskra is 6x6.

 

[Phoenix Phil]

Diomedes,

These are very nice photos. Are they from your listed hometown, Zadar, Croatia? If they are, I didn't realize Croatia was so beautiful and near the sea. Is it tourist friendly, meaning that are there reasonable places to stay, easy for an english-only speaker to visit, etc?

 

[Diomedes]

Yes, it is properly masked and back-holed. I’ve bought it for about 60$ because it has been converted to 6x4.5 and back-holed. I’ve read lots of things about Iskras, especially about their infamous winding mechanism and decided to buy one which is already converted to bypass those problems. Before shooting the first roll, owing to Ruben from this forum, I’ve done some minor cleaning and light sealing. I like the 6x4.5 format because it’s economic and so versatile. I hope that my Iskra will last at least like my willingness to use it .

Phil, these photos aren’t from my hometown Zadar. I’ve took them during my short trip to island Rab. Croatia is wonderful and very photogenic country, especially the Adriatic coast (Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia). We have about 1000km of coast and more than 1200 islands, so there is enough space for everybody. Croatia is totally tourist friendly because it’s one of the most important economic activities for last 50 years. You can chose probably everything, from the big noisy Ibiza-like tourist centres, lots of historical towns, cultural events… to silent and intimate deserted island with girlfriend which I ordinary chose to escape from tourists… Come and see (or try with Google Earth)!

 

[SCOTFORTHLAD]

Really impressive pictures,of an equally impressive location!!

Brian.

 

[Buze]

Iskra rocks; enough said ! This week-end, wide open, handheld at 1/15s
(TriX 400 @ 400, Ilfotec DDX 1+9)

 

[Diomedes]

Buze, your shots all over the net have provoked me to go with Iskras. I’m totally overjoyed with capabilities of that beauty. I must find a way to equip it with enough 120 ammunition. First I must learn to develop b/w film by my own. I’ve bought couple of last rolls of 35mm Ilford PanF+ and Delta 100 and a 250ml bottle with Ilfosol. What do you think about that combination? Any tip? I’ve planned to use my Iskra with Efke R25 and Efke R100 almost exclusively, so this is the first step. My Exaktas, Yashica 35 GTN and Zorkis will be very busy this summer .

Vjeko

 

[P C Headland]

Buze, your shots all over the net have provoked me to go with Iskras. I’m totally overjoyed with capabilities of that beauty. I must find a way to equip it with enough 120 ammunition. First I must learn to develop b/w film by my own. I’ve bought couple of last rolls of 35mm Ilford PanF+ and Delta 100 and a 250ml bottle with Ilfosol. What do you think about that combination? Any tip? I’ve planned to use my Iskra with Efke R25 and Efke R100 almost exclusively, so this is the first step. My Exaktas, Yashica 35 GTN and Zorkis will be very busy this summer .

Vjeko

The Iskra along with Efke 25 & 100 works really well. I use Rodinal diluted at 1+100 for these, developing for 17 to 20 minutes. Rodinal is cheap, lasts for ever and I prefer the longer development times of the higher dilutions.

For something a bit faster, I use Neopan 400 rated at around 600 and TriX at 1000 and develop in Diafine.

If you check my Fotopic gallery (see sig) you will see quite a few Iskra (I and II) shots. They are my favourite cameras, and if I only have room for one camera, I always take the Iskra.

Once you get going with the larger negative, 35mm looks like submini film

 

[optikhit]

Very sharp and lively photos.
You can hold the camera @1/25s? Great...

 

[jano]

Excellent shots you have. I'd like to go see croatia someday, I know a couple people from there (some of the best looking girls I've met also came from there).

Oh, by the way, can we get some iskra pictures of marta?

 

[Buze]

Wow I didn't know I was inspiring people into getting Iskras, no wonder the prices are going up !
I'm quite new at B&W so I can't suggest anything on film or use; I use /mostly/ 400 film (TriX, TMax 400, Delta 400 and some HP5) because on 6x6 the grain is totaly negligible on a "normal" photo...
Altho I also did some TMax 100 and the results were mind blowing. I bought some Delta 100 too but I still have to try that...

I develop everything in DDX 1+9, DDX because it's easily available, and 1+9 because I save 1/2 of the volume and I haven't seen any notable difference in the result comoared to the "stock" 1+4; also gives longer, more manageable development times since I do the dev at 24C.

Keep on shooting Iskras and post photos !

 

[Diomedes]

I've downloaded a manual for Agfa Super Isolette. There is a warning to first set the exposure time and then to wind the shutter, especially at 1/500s. Is it necessary to do with Iskras too?