Smena 8M

The Smena 8M is a 35mm viewfinder camera. It was introduced in the seventies and lasted until the nineties. It was built by Lomo (Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Union, ЛОМО) in St. Petersburg in the USSR. There are several versions of the 8M, but they differ only slightly from each other.

The Smena 8M is loaded with normal 35mm film. It is equipped with a Lomo T-43 (Triplet) 40mm f/4 glass lens. The lens can be stopped down to f/16. Selectable exposure times go from 1/250 seconds down to 1/15 seconds. There is also the Bulb mode, where the shutter is open as long as the shutter release button is pressed.

There is no exposure meter, but it doesn’t need batteries for that. Small pictograms help with correct exposure metering. Or you can use an external light meter.

Small icons also help with manual focusing from one meter to infinity. The viewfinder of the Smena 8M is a simple one to look through and is not connected.

A flash can only be used via PC flash connection. The hot shoe on the top of the camera is a cold shoe only, meaning it cannot fire a flash, unlike a hot shoe.

A tripod socket (1/4 inch) and a cable release socket are also available on the Smena 8M. The Smena 8M’s mechanical shutter is not connected to the film advance, this makes for easy multiple exposures.

Films for the Smena 8M

According to the instruction manual, the Smena 8M requires 35mm film. 35mm film is still produced today and can be developed in most labs. Two great films for the 35mm camera are the Agfaphoto Vista 200* and the Kodak T-Max 100*. Both can be used to take beautiful color and black and white pictures, respectively.

The color film is developed using the C-41 process. The C-41 process is standardized and offered by most developing labs.

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