Cmeha Smena 8M Russian Toy Camera | Fujicolor 100

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Today's Camera:
Cmeha Smena 8M: rover.ebay.com/...
Film:
Fujicolor 200: shrsl.com/2ben8
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In this episode of What the Camera, Alex and Miranda venture into the local Apple Blossom Festival in Sebastopol, CA with the Cmeha Smena 8M Russian toy camera! Alex works hard to find some photo worthy subjects in a sea of bland, gets frustrated with the unreliable engineering of the 8M, and does his best to show anyone can do photography with any gear!
DOWNLOAD THE EXPOSURE-MAT PAPER METER HERE:
expomat.tripod....
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MUSIC:
Tonez&Re-C - Kyoto by @TONEZPRO (OFFICIAL) / tonez-pro
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported- CC BY 3.0
creativecommons....
Music provided by Audio Library • Video
What the Camera is Active Captures new series about figuring out strange cameras, and making due with whatever equipment happens to come our way. Hopefully in our travels we'll be able to prove gear doesn't matter, and the photographers vision will come through in the end. We'll use everything from $10 junk bin point and shoots to medium format cameras and the photographers get nothing but the camera itself and the manual to work from!
This will be a wild ride!
#filmphotography #cmehasmena8m #fujicolor100 #russiantoycamera #analogphotography

[@koff_mm]

Exposure meter is NOT usless. You just dont know how to use it Thanks for the video)

[@ActiveCapture]

+Koff_mm I've heard this and I'm sure you're right haha. Thanks for commenting.

[@shrllms11]

How do you use it? I still dont know if im doing it right cuz it just doesnt stop turning 😂

[@Klopizza]

Смена 8М is a cheap, but rather good for its' price soviet tourist camera. Compact, light, with good lense and sometimes glitchy mechanisms, it compensates itself at ease. Good results can be achieved with it, I tell you!

[@ActiveCapture]

I believe you. We're gonna do this episode again sometime in the future.

[@SilntObsvr]

The Smena 8M (pronounced just like it looks in Latin alphabet) has its own version of that printed exposure chart/meter: set the film speed on the aperture dial, and set the weather icon (Sunny, Hazy, Cloudy Bright, Cloudy Dull, Stormy in order) on the speed dial, adjust one up and the other down (to avoid 1/15, say, or get maximum depth of field) as with any manually adjustable camera. No meter on the camera; no meter needed! It's also got a depth of field ring just behind the distance markings, so you can use DOF or hyperfocal settings to simplify scale focusing. Easy-peasy -- at least for someone who had a very similar camera with the Kodak nameplate in 1972... Also, you have to manually set the counter to 0 after loading the film, and then it works fine (at least on mine). Honestly, for what it is and what it cost to make in the 1970s to 1990s (and where it was made) these are remarkably capable little cameras.

[@yusifaliyev3816]

Smena 8M was my first camera ever. Actually this camera can produce decent results if used carefully. It has a 3-element glass lens, too good for its crappy body. An awesome accessory for this camera is "Blik" (Блик) auxilliary rangefinder, if you hate zone focusing :) I think it can be found on the internet for very cheap. Thanks and keep up the good content!

[@ActiveCapture]

Yusif Aliyev No problem. Other commenters have recommended that rangefinder as well, sounds like a must have for me! That's really cool it was your first camera. I hope I at least sort of did it justice! I'll definitely shoot with it again! :)

[@Nikitas1978]

we used this camera back in 80s and 90s... required skills but produced smooth and warm images.

[@ActiveCapture]

Definitely misunderstood this little guy.

[@voyagersquaremuzika]

Smena 8M is a great camera, it's the king of double exposures! In fact, it is very solid, I see that your model is well preserved. Light leaks are almost impossible with this camera!

[@ActiveCapture]

We didn't appreciate this camera when this ep was filmed but it's grown on us over time!

[@FenomenTOP]

Это крутая камера своего времени, Легендарная! Привет из России

[@ActiveCapture]

Greetings, we'll have to re-do this episode. I really want to give it another shot.

[@ericpmoss]

Those explanations that flash across the screen are brilliant.

[@ActiveCapture]

+eric moss Thanks! Not everyone thinks we're funny but I try. (Too hard probably)

[@GaetanCormier]

What you had there is an original LOMO camera... this what stated Lomography back in da days! (early 90's) Cool vid yet again! Always a pleasure to watch! Keep it up guys!

[@ActiveCapture]

Gaetan Cormier Thanks dude! It was fun to play with!

[@parranoic]

It does have a meter built into it, it's sunny you set it to the sun icon, in front you have your aperture, by selecting your ASA aka ISO it sets the appropriate f number. Fool proof exposure. For the focus you approximate the distance. No nonsense camera :D

[@ActiveCapture]

We learned to appreciate this camera a lot more after the episode was filmed but unfortunately it doesn't really show here :P

[@mikem5107]

Looking forward to your next one. Keep up the good work!

[@ActiveCapture]

Mike M Will do! Thanks for checking it out!

[@benjamindejonge3624]

It’s not a toy, but a tool for creativity for top nots

[@ActiveCapture]

Live and learn.

[@tangiblespace]

SHHHHMEEEEEEENA! Haha. Nice video! I actually was pretty surprised by the quality of some of those photos, I expected much less from the cheap Russian toy. Thanks for sharing.

[@ActiveCapture]

Happy to share, thanks for always watching! Always love seeing your comments!

[@OperationBlueprint]

I'm loving you channel :)

[@ActiveCapture]

Thank you so much! I'm happy to have you with us! Keep watching, see you in the next one!

[@Lawful_Rebel]

Great fun innit.. Using a little no frills camera... From time to time 😀 I myself, have the LOMO Smena Symbol (found in a thrift store for £5) .. Not sure what the differences are, if any [to the 8M], perhaps it's the single stroke thumb winder that's new. The symbol is Zone focus like the 8M.. Plastic viewfinder, glass T-43 40mm f/4 lens, shutter: B - 1/250th.. It's actually surprisingly hefty for a plastic bodied camera.. Pity no strap lugs though. I particularly like to take the smena places I'd be apprehensive to take any another camera.. even my wee Olympus Trip 35 ☺️

[@ActiveCapture]

Spehmaster G. Yeah it was a blast! I'll definitely shoot with it again. The only thing that seriously frustrated me was the exposure counter but I grew to over look it. I think with practice I could get good at zone focusing but this was my first time, it was definitely difficult for me. I also wish I had done some double exposure stuff but I didn't think of it! What sort of places do you take yours? What's the reasoning?

[@Lawful_Rebel]

Active Capture It's a great camera, totally manual and great for snap shots and any situation really (where a so called 'proper camera' isn't needed).. Last time I used it.. I was on a boating trip and I didn't want to risk damaging any other camera. Moreover, the 40mm lens is a perfect walk around prime focal length (for me anyway) and it really is surprisingly sharp. It's also possible to get a seperate rangefinder [made by Lomo] to attach to the flashshoe.. It's called 'Blik'. However, I don't bother with the rangefinder very often, I just judge the distance and I shoot with the 'Sunny 16' rule.. Very handy to know.

[@riccomuerte7227]

Well, the one thing that is crappy in Your show is that You are not capable of taking proper pictures with full manual cameras like smena (which means youth in russian btw). This camera was sold in over sixty million copies. T43, 4/40 is considered to be one of the best engineered triplet lens ever made...if You know that triplet lens means. I do not have anything about Your lack of photographic skills but c'mon: do not blame the tool for that. Cheers.

[@ActiveCapture]

+Ricco Muerte thanks for your input Ricco! 😁

[@karlja3ger]

"smena" means "change" in russian :D and the overall production of legendary Smena-8 and Smena-8M was like 21'000'000 copies. but yes, this is really the strongest camera in the world.

[@abrarafzalkhan3768]

How many pictures can you take with 12 exposure Film Roll? I am very confused with my similar film rolls

[@ActiveCapture]

12 :P

[@SilntObsvr]

@@ActiveCapture Well, depends on the camera and your loading technique. With my Smena and a couple other compact 35 mm cameras I own, I can routinely get 00 and 0, and often one past the listed maximum -- so 14-15 on a 12 exposure roll, up to 39 or 40 on a 36 exposure length.

[@greysuit17]

Great video!

[@ActiveCapture]

greysuit17 Thank you!!

[@thimotyandersen]

shot some medium format guyss! love your channel!!

[@ActiveCapture]

Thimoty Andersen Thanks so much! Medium Format is coming sooner than you think! It'll be fun to try out something new, keep watching, it's not too far off. We're borrowing an RB67 in the near future! Thanks so much for your nice comments!

[@en6598]

You have to set the expose counter to 0 when you load the film

[@ActiveCapture]

#noobfails

[@shrllms11]

How do you know when to stop turning the film advance for the next frame? 0 to 1?

[@loganmacgyver2625]

@@shrllms11 I wind 2-3 lines on that thing. but it's a bad counter imo

[@Mo-mz8mt]

Nice man

[@ActiveCapture]

CZECH Thanks!

[@Daffa18_yr]

where is the battery slot?

[@ActiveCapture]

No battery!

[@ivanryakhovskiy2482]

Only hardcore !

[@lukavukmanovic8473]

No batteries in soviet people's camera, less electronics less problems

[@mohsh44]

I already own three of it

[@ActiveCapture]

Nice!

[@markharris5771]

As always a brilliant video, this one was a bit...erm...a bit more entertaining than usual. Seriously, I really do like your videos and adventures. There is a site, www.butkus.org where you can get just about any camera manual there is.

[@ActiveCapture]

Mark Harris Thanks so much! Love reading your comments! Yes! I used that site recently to find the manual for the Minolta Instant Pro that was just in the vlog. It looks a little sketchy but it's a great resource and gets the job done.