Wabi-Sabi or the Discrete Charm of the FSU Camera

[Jocko]

Our Friend Mike Goldberg recently commented of the "aloneness" of photography. Most people seemed to like it.

That would have been no surprise to the great artists of the Renaissance, to whom Melancholia was the essential basis of all creative work. But it seems to me that FSU users have a special melancholy, a perverse solitude all our own...

With the exception of one camera (from Alex-photo) I have never bought an FSU which worked "from the box". All needed a CLA, and some much more. So why does the fascination remain - why does each package bring with it hopes we know will be disappointed no later than the return of the first negatives? Why do we even persist in using hopelessly obsolete cameras? Almost anything else would be preferable - but persist we do.

"Bokeh" may or may not have enriched our photographic vocabulary, but another Japanese term - Wabi-Sabi - seems to me to explain the whole enigma of FSU enthusiasm - perhaps even the charm of all RFs. The feeling was familiar but the word was new to me and I thought the concept might interest others 🙂 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

Cheers, Ian

 

[Marc-A.]

Thanks a lot for that interesting post, Ian. I didn't know the word either and I'm most grateful that you drew my attention on it.

I can't help adding that ... mate, you're not lucky!!

With the exception of one camera (from Alex-photo) I have never bought an FSU which worked "from the box". All needed a CLA, and some much more.

Only one? definitely you're not lucky. I haven't had one single problem with my purchases; my FSU camera were spot on.

Best,

Marc

 

[lushd]

Mixed bag for me - many have worked well and I have one Zorki 4 in mint condition. Others have had to go straight off to Oleg.

I don't really know if it's authentic or not but Phillip K. Dick's novel "The Man in the High Castle" develops a number of ideas about the visual and aesthetic quailites of physical objects, particularly those produced by a fallen great power in it's heyday. It could almost feature a Zorki or a Zenit.

For me initially the appeal of USSR made cameras was visual. They looked so exotic to me - the product of different eyes and different ways of seeing and I got very excited by this until I discovered how many were copies of western designs.

For me the appeal currently is partly ideological - these cameras were made for use rather than consumption, so they were well made and constructed so they could be maintained and would therefore have long lives. This seems like a very respectful and correct attitude in an age where it is cheaper to buy new than repair.

They are also tokens of engineering and manufacturing ingenuity in a system that was not always frieindly to manufacturing high quality goods.

 

[wolves3012]

For me the joys of FSUs is that they're (relatively) simple, they make me think about things before I press that button (except when I forget to set the aperture or some such!) and there's a pleasure in taking pictures with a cheap camera that turns out results far beyond its price justifies.

Since I'm also something of a perfectionist and compulsive tinkerer I also spend time setting them up properly. As regards working out-of-the-box, I don't mind if they need some fettling. Most of mine turned up in a usable condition, even if not perfect. Some demanded CLA, or a bit of tweaking, before I was happy to put a film through. Only two have turned out to need anything significant doing, one having curtains that have lost patches of rubber coating and another that has obviously been bodged by someone.

 

[RML]

I think Bill M. coined the term wabi-sabi here first some years ago. 🙂

 

[Jocko]

I think Bill M. coined the term wabi-sabi here first some years ago. 🙂

Gosh, so he did, three years ago! Which just goes to prove the point - memories fade, certainties crumble and the giants of yesterday are lost in the dwarves of tomorrow...

We are as dust 🙂

Cheers, Ian

 

[payasam]

Confused: "discrete" or "discreet"?

 

[mtbbrian]

I don't know anything about the FSU camera, but this aestetic is certainly true for toy camera photography.
Is this camera as low tech as a toy camera?
Brian

 

[Jocko]

Confused: "discrete" or "discreet"?

Hallo Mukul!

Both! The title was a little play on Bunel's film and I meant it to suggest that Wabi-Sabi perhaps summed up the discreet (unspoken, subtle) appeal of FSUs and their discrete (distinct, characteristic) charm.

Just a tiny joke 🙂

Very Tiny! 🙂

Cheers, Ian

 

[zuikologist]

Jocko - nice thread developing here. I think some of the charm of FSU cameras might be the possibility that you might get one that works and when it does it is great - a connection to Leicadom for a fraction of the price, but with the thrill of a gamble thrown in.

 

[Jocko]

I don't know anything about the FSU camera, but this aestetic is certainly true for toy camera photography.
Is this camera as low tech as a toy camera?
Brian

Hi Brian - I'm sorry If my original post was misleading - FSU (Former Soviet Union) is a term widely used to denote cameras made in the USSR and the residual photographic industries of the post-soviet era.

The quality of such cameras can vary hugely and many are very old, often leading to a rather unique experience, but they exert a powerful fascination 🙂

Cheers, Ian

 

[mtbbrian]

Hi Brian - I'm sorry If my original post was misleading - FSU (Former Soviet Union) is a term widely used to denote cameras made in the USSR and the residual photographic industries of the post-soviet era.

The quality of such cameras can vary hugely and many are very old, often leading to a rather unique experience, but they exert a powerful fascination 🙂

Cheers, Ian

That makes sense!
I have looked into some of these FSU cameras before, Kiev MFs mostly, but have never heard wabi-sabi used to describe them.
From what I have seen in this post, wabi-sabi could apply, at least in terms of quality and reliability.
Along with my V-lander R2A, I shoot Holgas, so wab-sabi is something I am rather aware of.
Thanks!
Brian

 

[shadowfox]

I don't know anything about the FSU camera, but this aestetic is certainly true for toy camera photography.
Is this camera as low tech as a toy camera?
Brian

These cameras are fun, rich in history (both tragic and charming), and they are *not* toys 😀

 

[Jocko]

Jocko - nice thread developing here. I think some of the charm of FSU cameras might be the possibility that you might get one that works and when it does it is great - a connection to Leicadom for a fraction of the price, but with the thrill of a gamble thrown in.

Absolutely zuikologist - and somehow it's that knowledge of potential failure that's half the magic. In a way perhaps that explains the romance which still attaches to the idea of the USSR itself. We know the goal will not be reached, but that wonders and horrors will occur on the path. Such cameras, in their crudity, their genius, their beauty, disappointments and occasional miraculous perfection are strangely like life - strangely human......

Cheers, Ian

 

[Monz]

I've never used a FSU camera but after reading this thread and seeing an old article by Ivor Matanle in AP, I am tempted to give it a go. I was wondering about a Contax look a like. A built in meter would be nice. Could someone suggest a suitable model? Kiev maybe?
Thanks.

--
Monz

 

[wolves3012]

I've never used a FSU camera but after reading this thread and seeing an old article by Ivor Matanle in AP, I am tempted to give it a go. I was wondering about a Contax look a like. A built in meter would be nice. Could someone suggest a suitable model? Kiev maybe?
Thanks.

--
Monz

Contax look-alike with a meter narrows it down to a Kiev 3/3A/4/4M. A 4 or 4M is the cheapest/commonest option if you're not sure whether you'll like one...happy hunting.

 

[wolves3012]

a connection to Leicadom for a fraction of the price, but with the thrill of a gamble thrown in.

Not the appeal for me. I may possibly buy a Leica at some stage but not because I worship at the altar. If I do it'll be an older one that's cheap enough; I can neither afford nor justify the prices newer models can command. I don't aspire to Leica glass any more than I do to (say) a Rolls Royce.

Before anyone hires the hit-man for my heresy, I'd point out that it's a personal viewpoint and if someone else believes they are The Camera, I don't decry that...

 

[payasam]

Right, Ian. Now to find my Bourgeois MicroHumourScoponar.

Monzur, Wolves said it. All I can add is that it won't be easy to find a properly working meter: they're selenium. And yes, you'll need to have a finger or two amputated if you can't learn The Contax Grip.

 

[zuikologist]

Absolutely zuikologist - and somehow it's that knowledge of potential failure that's half the magic. In a way perhaps that explains the romance which still attaches to the idea of the USSR itself. We know the goal will not be reached, but that wonders and horrors will occur on the path. Such cameras, in their crudity, their genius, their beauty, disappointments and occasional miraculous perfection are strangely like life - strangely human......

Cheers, Ian

Ian - you summarised it better than I could. Life is like an FSU rangefinder : )

 

[Monz]

Contax look-alike with a meter narrows it down to a Kiev 3/3A/4/4M. A 4 or 4M is the cheapest/commonest option if you're not sure whether you'll like one...happy hunting.

Thanks wolves3012. Looks like I'll be doing some hunting at the next Wolverhampton Camera Fair (30th Sept I think)! All the best.

--
Monz