Shooting large 6×6 negatives is cool. Shooting larger 6×9 negatives is even cooler. But what about having a camera that allows you to choose one format or the other? Uber cool! The Moskva 5 fits that bill.

I became aware of this camera when I was researching 6×9 medium format cameras. I have an Ansco Viking 6.3 (actually two) which shoots that format, but I’m horrible at zone focusing. Because of this, I consistently get shots that are out of focus when using it.

I was seeking a camera that offers a coupled rangefinder and shoots 6×9. Enter the Moskva. And then I learned that it also shoots 6×6 ? Count me in! As you’ve probably already guessed, the Moskva 5 is a Soviet camera. It was loosely based on the post-war Zeiss 6×9 Super Ikonta (which carries a bigger price tag).

I found a Moskva 5 on eBay at a reasonable price. The description said that everything worked properly. The camera even comes with a case and a shutter release cable. In true transparency, the seller pointed out some rust on the film advance rollers. I’d already had experience with ruining film with dirty rollers in a TLR camera. While I was able to easily fix the issue with that camera, I was leary about spending money on a camera with not just dirty rollers, but rusty rollers.

So, I messaged the seller and expressed my concerns. He quickly responded and said he’d take care of it. Not much later he sent me some photos showing he’d been able to clean up the rust. He’d also run a roll of test film through the camera which had come out with no scratches. I was appreciative of his quick response and his willingness to put me at ease. But at the same time I also wondered why he hadn’t just cleaned up the rust before listing it for sale in the first place.

Be that as it may, I bought it. The seller was in Dnipro, Ukraine. This wasn’t my first time buying from overseas, or even from Ukraine. I’ve never had a problem and hoped for the best. I knew shipping would take a while, and I was okay with that.

Only after I completed the sale did I realize that the camera likely wouldn’t come with the 6×6 mask. Without it, I wouldn’t have the option of shooting 6×6 frames. Being able to shoot two different sized negataives is one of the things that drew me to this camera in the first place. This caused me to research obtaining a replacement mask. I found some used ones for sale on eBay starting at around $25. I also stumbled upon the files necessary to 3D print a mask. This was on the Thingiverse website. I contacted a co-worker who I knew had a 3D printer. He agreed to help a brotha out. I agreed to pay for materials and a lunch of fried chicken. “I’ll bring it in tomorrow,” he said.

The camera was delivered 16 days after I bought it. Fun fact: It took almost as long to get across town as it did to arrive to the states from Ukraine.

The camera was as clunky (and beautiful) as expected. It came in a near-mint leather case with a neck strap. The promised shutter release cable was missing.

The first order of business was to see if the 3D printed mask would work.

The next order of business was to have the Russian words translated, more out of curiosity than necessity. I uploaded a photo of it to ChatGPT with instructions to tranlate. In a brain fart, I accidentally told ChatGPT the text was in German. This mistake was caught.

With no context at all, ChatGPT caught the fact that this text was Russian not German. AND, it told me the dial was likely a film speed or film type selector. Incredible! And I also liked the fact that ChatGPT was witty and a little cheeky.

Next up was to take the camera out for a test run on a photowalk/drive. The camera had arrived on a Saturday. As luck would have it, there was non-stop rain through the whole weekend. My first go with the camera had to wait until Monday, which was a really nice day. I was eager to shoot in 6×9 format. I loaded a roll of Arista EDU Ultra 100.

I told myself that I would wait a full three hours “before fucking with them.”

There’s no way around it, this camera is awkward to use. There are two different viewfinders; one for focus, the other for composing your shot. A few times I actually looked through the focus window to compose. Once was when I had an unwitting human subject walking toward me and I inadvertenly looked through the wrong window when actually taking the photos. The shutter release is on the left side which I found difficult to get used to…and to find when I needed it. When focusing and actually taking the photos, I found it impossible to find a natural way to hold the camera. Carrying the camera around was no problem. Just fold it up and use the built-in handle/strap.

But I really enjoyed the overall process of taking a single shot. Like many other cameras I own, it’s a multi-step process:

• Determine the appropriate f-stop and shutter speed. (Use Sunny 16 or an external light meter)
• Unfold the lens and bellows.
• Set the f-stop using a lever on the lens.
• Set the shutter speed using a dial on the lens.
• Retract the rangfinder.
• Focus your shot using the focusing window and coupled rangefinder and focus knob.
• Move your eye from the focusing window to the view finder to compose your shot.
• Cock the shutter. (This step can actually be thrown almost anywhere into the process.)
• Depress the shutter button.
• Open the rear film window.
• Manually advance/wind the film until the next frame number shows in the rear film window (make sure you’re using the proper window of the two depending on what size frames you’re shooting).
• Repeat the entire process for the next shot (or close the lens and bellows).

With only eight frames on a roll of 120 when shooting 6×9, it didn’t take long to plow through the roll. Back at home and ready to develop, I pondered which developer I had on hand would be best to use. I had four options and left it up to ChatGPT.

Then, I decided to let the AI chat-bot tell me how to agitate the film during processing.

I developed in Kodak D-76 1:1 for ten minutes at a smidge of 68°. I agitated just like ChatGPT suggested. After a thorough rinse, I removed the film from its reel to hang it for drying. I took just a very brief look at the frames. Each one was so big! And all the shots turned out. And the negative density looked great. I was very pleased and audibly said out loud, “Oh. My. God.”

Once hanging to dry, I told myself that I would wait a full three hours “before fucking with them.” I stayed true to my word and they were dry and ready to be scanned four hours later.

Here are all eight frames: