my new hobby - buying old Soviet cameras for cheap

[Andrushka]

not really sure where to post this, but it was raining outside when i shot it :-)

Anyway, this is a picture of my newest hobby, (i think...) - collecting old Soviet cameras. So i was at the open electronics market (in Sevastopol, Ukraine) with a friend who was visiting from California and we were looking for some cool non-touristy souvenirs for her to take back... anyway, we stumbled across a guy with a good stash of old Soviet SLRs and Rangefinders - so we scooped them up on a bargain i got these three for less than $10 - cool huh?

321379

I think i will continue this perusing of the market for old cameras, they are super cool - all metal, really heavy - if film wasnt so expensive i'd throw a roll in... but the film would cost more than any of these did!

If you care the middle and left cameras are from the "ZENIT" factory and the one to the left is a "F.E.D." apparently from the 1980 olympics as per the inscription on the left of the lens.

I'm about to head back to the States and i will try to snag a light tent to bring back with me to photograph these in a more appealing light :-)

[Dirtydragon]

These are cool

[Andrushka]

hey thanks Dragon, i think so too! If nothing else, they are definitely different than what you usually come across :-)

[Livinthalife]

35mm???

As I tell my wife "shopping is NOT a hobby!" lol!

These cameras rock! And for $10, What a bargain! I spent way more than that on some real crappy stuff :(

[Andrushka]

yep, 35mm!

haha, well if you saw the "radio market" as its called - its amusing/interesting enough that going there to hunt for a bargain could be called a hobby :-) i'm not usually much of a shopper myself - see it online, research the alternatives, compare prices, and buy that particular product. My wife is like yours, wanting to go look at all the possibilities... haha... if i have a coffee in my hand its not so bad! if not, than i better find a chair :-)

yay for buying something cool for $10!

[randerson07]

Awesome score.

The FED cameras are the poor mans Leica, I believe some of them mount Leica lens. Some people really like them. I say you shoot a roll through them. You might like what happens. I dunno about Ukraine but getting expired film or buying it on clearance from stores getting out of film processing is actually pretty easy.