Belomo Chaika II Half Frame Camera

6

I like half frame photos due to Diana mini, and this old Russian camera – Chaika II is a birthday gift from my overseas friend.

When I open up the parcel and saw this dusty Russian camera, I felt surprised and excited. My friend knew that I am into analogue photography but he has no knowledge about film cameras. Besides, I had never told him about my love for half frame photos, so it is really a pleasant surprise to receive this gift!

My friend bought it in a flea market in France, it is really dusty throughout…(I used an air blower to clean it for a long while…) As there is no instruction manual, I used a roll of problematic film to practise loading, shooting, and rewinding. In the end, I realised that there are rewinding problems despite me trying several methods. The only way is to rewind the film manually in a changing bag.

Besides the rewinding issues, other functions operate normally, and the images are sharper than I had imagined.

Aperture︰ f/2.8 – 16
Shutter speed︰ 1/30s、1/60s、1/125s、1/250s & Bulb mode
Focal range︰ 0.8m till infinity

It is easy to operate Chaika II, and the effects of the half frame is great.

written by bigbird on 2011-02-03 #gear #review #half-frame #user-review #chaila-ii #konica-minolta-100-vx

6 Comments

  1. sobiksaabik
    sobiksaabik ·

    Wow!

  2. herbert-4
    herbert-4 ·

    Chaika II's are generally sturdy and reliable. To rewind, pull the little flat knob thing out on the bottom and turn it to the right!! It goes to the film by a little gear train, and the pulling out resets the frame counter. Good review and Gallery!

  3. woosang
    woosang ·

    I have a red one, you rewind the film (Slowly) using the winder in the bottom.. Although your method would be quicker.

  4. bernarduus
    bernarduus ·

    Thanks ever so for the rewind info, I was wondering, although I haven’t finished shooting my first roll yet. I loaded it over a year ago and forgotten what’s on it.

  5. bernarduus
    bernarduus ·

    Thank you . . .

  6. malsicuro
    malsicuro ·

    Great to read lovely ChaikII.

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