Smena 8M (CMEHA)

Smena 8M (CMEHA)

The word “Smena” literally means “Young Generation” in English – an apt name for a line of cameras produced by the esteemed LOMO factory in St. Petersburg, Russia – as it was designed to make photography affordable and convenient to the hardworking young Soviets at the time. Introduced in 1952, the Smena line proved to be very popular, sustaining production until the late 1980s.

The Smena 8M, a fully manual 35mm shootbox, came to light in the early 1970’s. It was lightweight and boxy, feels like a toy camera in your hands.

Surprisingly, for a plastic camera, it’s capable of producing sharp pictures. While the viewfinder is rather useless – it’s just a lens-less, clear frame that’s pretty inaccurate – it has a coated “Triplet” lens that delivers nice saturation and contrast. The fully manual controls (aperture, shutter speed, and focal distance) allow you to create your images as you please. It’s even equipped with a leaf shutter and PC flash sync – enabling flash syncing at various shutter speeds.
This camera is my giant leap to become a camera collector, I was looking for a new Lomo but sudenlly end up with several vintage camera to collect.

my works with SMENA 8M / ASA 200 Superia in BKK

Courtesy of danielbrokstad.com

Self Collection