Moskva 5- world's most awkward camera?

[emmajanefalconer]

I have one I bought in Estonia in lovely condition, for a great price, but wow

is it badly designed! It seems like they started designing it for left-handers

and then changed their mind halfway through, so half the controls are in the

same place you find them on most rangfinders, but others (such as the aperture,

and shutter button) are round the other side, so you need both hands just to

cock the shutter and take a photo unless you fancy doing lots of awkward

reaching around the lens.

 

Does anyone else find the same thing with theirs, or have I somehow got hold of

an odd one intended for left-handers?

[carbon_dragon]

I'd like to nominate the Zeiss Contarex.

[emmajanefalconer]

What makes the Zeiss awkward to use?

[bueh]

Well, since it is direct evolution from the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta C, you know who is to blame...

<p>

And yes, the left-hand shutter release IS annoying... but a lot of cameras feature one (<abbr style="border-bottom: 1px blue dashed;" title="fomer Soviet Union">FSU</abbr> <abbr style="border-bottom: 1px blue dashed;" title="single-lens reflex cameras">SLRs</abbr>, anyone?).

[emmajanefalconer]

The button on my Moskva is also stiff, and sometimes you can't push it down with your hand. If you use a cable release it works great, but sometimes I don't want to faff about with the cable release!

[emmajanefalconer]

I *AM* lefthanded, and I find it irritating! I have a little 120mm German box camera (Vredeborch Felica) that is totally left-handed, and that is really nice to use, but somehow the left-handed bits on the Moskva are just irritating ..

[mskovacs]

The release on my Moskva-5 is not stiff. It was before I properly serviced the camera!

[jenny_jaques]

Dear Emma Jane, if your real interest is photography, eBay the stupid thing and buy something to better facilitate the interest.

 

Jenny.

[johan_de_groote]

I often wonder why people find little differences between 2 pieces of gear so irritating, just because they met one of them first.

[steve m smith]

<I>I often wonder why people find little differences between 2 pieces of gear so irritating, just because they met one of them first.</I><BR><BR>

It's like opinions. The first one you hear is likely to be the one you believe.

[emmajanefalconer]

Jenny I like the camera, and it has a good lens, it's just very unergonomically designed, it's not like I use it as my main camera, just something I get out now and then with the tripod.

[User_503771]

If you get great photos with it, and use it enough, you'll get used to it.

 

But, about the question: I'd say the world's most awkward camera would probably be something along the lines of the huge old studio cameras; I had one that I used as an 8x10 (film) enlarger for a while.

 

It was huge (but not as huge as Carlton Watkins's 16x20 or William Henry Jackson's 20x24, both of which were taken into and through mountain ranges, etc.) and hard to adjust properly. Great prints, though!

[christopher_graham1]

I found that I got used to it pretty quick. It was my first medium format camera so that may help but it takes such excellent pictures that I can easily say that it is easier to develop a system around the camera than get pissed that the camera doesn't fit my system. I tend to set the aperture with the camera facing me so I can read the numbers so for me it is on the perfect side for that. Once the exposure is set I keep my left finger up around the shutter button which helps to keep it out of the way of the left rangefinder window. Then I focus and finally look through the composition window and snap. That easy. Ok so it is different from about any camera I have ever had. But I find that the parts are actually in perfect position for using the camera a certain way.

 

Now I had a hard time with the double exposure lock. For some reason mine got to a point where it wouldn't stay unlocked when the film was wound so it would stick in the shutter button and not allow it to fire. SO I ended up disabling the double exposure lock. At first I had a few accidental double exposures but I got used to it. Also the suggestion that you wait until your setting up your next shot to wind the film is great.

 

It isn't the best camera in the world but it sure is a good one and fun to use once you get used to it. I love the 6x9 format and the lens is pretty sweet too. I am sure there are many better ones but the Industar 24 does a nice job I think.

[dennis_oconnor4]

Well, awkward is when you are shooting autofocus, mixed with manual Nikkor, Olympus, Mamiya, and TLR... talk about confused reflexes on which way to focus and which hand <wait, wait, don't tell me!>

 

denny

[jenny_jaques]

Ok Emma Jane - that clarifies the situation a bit better.

 

Cheers, Jenny

[Brian]

<P>I've had a Moskva-5 for a few years and have only put a couple of films through it. Yes, it is pretty awkward. The results are barely worth the effort. Maybe I have a bad one -- images are fairly sharp centrally but quality falls away towards the corners. And I have the same problem with the shutter button; the cable release works much better. I think the linkages from the button are sloppy and just don't produce enough force.</P> <P>It's an interesting camera, and something of a conversation piece, but there are easier ways of making pictures.</P>