C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Lomo Smena 2 Symbol is a 1973 variant of the Soviet Smena compact camera series, manufactured at the LOMO factory (Leningrad Optical and Mechanical Association) in Leningrad. Like other Smena cameras it is a fully mechanical zone-focus compact with a fixed T-43 40mm lens, but distinguishes itself through a simplified focus scale that uses pictographs (portrait head, group of people, mountain) instead of metric distance markings. This lowers the barrier to correct focus for non-technical users. The shutter and lens are unchanged from other Smena variants of the era.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Kodak UltraMax 400 is a versatile consumer-grade ISO 400 daylight-balanced color negative film with T-grain emulsion, delivering warm Kodak colors, fine-for-speed grain (PGI 46), and wide exposure latitude. Currently in production and available globally as a single-roll and multi-pack.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
Soviet plastic zone-focus compact refined with a pictograph focus scale instead of distance numbers.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Lens | T-43 40mm f/4 (fixed, triplet) |
| Mount | Fixed |
| Years | 1973 onward |
| Shutter | ~1/15s - 1/250s + B, mechanical leaf |
| Focus | Zone, symbol scale |
| Meter | None |
| Modes | Manual |
| Battery | None required |
| Weight | ~ |
The Smena series began in the early 1950s as LOMO's mass-market 35mm compact, designed to put photography within reach of Soviet citizens at minimal cost. The line evolved through dozens of named variants (Smena 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 8M, Symbol, 35) across three decades. The "Symbol" suffix was applied to variants that substituted pictographic zone markers for metric distance numbers on the focus ring - a usability improvement aimed at casual and first-time photographers. The T-43 triplet lens, shared across many Smena variants, was a standard LOMO optical formula: three-element, sharp at small apertures, serviceable wide open.
The Smena Symbol cameras are the most accessible Soviet camera for new film photographers: no battery, no meter, no rangefinder to calibrate. The symbol scale eliminates one of the friction points of zone focus - the need to estimate or measure subject distance in meters - by substituting recognizable pictographs. The result is a camera that can be shot instinctively.
The T-43 40mm triplet produces characteristic images: sharp center, some falloff toward the edges, slight rendering softness wide open that has become associated with the Smena aesthetic in contemporary lomography circles. The camera's low price on the used market ($15-50) makes it a genuine beginner entry point.
C41
Kodak ColorPlus 200 is an affordable, consumer-oriented daylight-balanced color negative film at ISO 200. Known for warm, slightly muted color rendition, fine grain, and wide exposure latitude, it is currently in production and widely available in Asia and select global markets.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →LOMO Smena 2 Symbol
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