C41
Kodak Gold 200
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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The LOMO Narciss is a Soviet sub-miniature single-lens reflex camera produced by LOMO (Leningradskoye Optiko-Mekhanicheskoye Obyedineniye) in Leningrad from approximately 1961. It shoots ~14x21mm frames on 16mm unperforated film loaded into proprietary cassettes. Unlike the simpler viewfinder sub-miniatures produced by Arsenal in Kiev, the Narciss uses a true SLR design with a waist-level ground-glass finder, allowing accurate through-the-lens composition and focus. A built-in selenium meter provides exposure guidance without battery dependency. The camera was developed primarily for medical and scientific close-up photography rather than general consumer use, which accounts for its more complex and heavier construction relative to the Kiev Vega family. Working examples are uncommon; the Narciss is considered one of the more technically ambitious Soviet sub-miniature designs.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the minox format your camera takes.
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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Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
Soviet 16mm sub-miniature SLR with waist-level finder and selenium meter, designed for medical and scientific documentation.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | ~14x21mm on 16mm unperforated film |
| Mount | Fixed lens (SLR) |
| Years | ~1961 - ~1965 |
| Shutter | ~1/15s - 1/500s, leaf |
| Flash sync | ~1/30s |
| Meter | Selenium (no battery) |
| Modes | Manual |
| Weight | ~155 g |
| Battery | None (selenium meter) |
| Focus | Manual, ground-glass |
LOMO was established in Leningrad and became one of the principal Soviet optical and precision instrument manufacturers. The organization produced a range of scientific and medical imaging equipment alongside its consumer camera lines. The Narciss emerged from this scientific instrumentation background - its SLR design and through-the-lens viewing made it better suited to close-up and macro documentation work than the simpler zone-focus sub-miniatures produced by Arsenal.
The camera's introduction in 1961 placed it contemporaneously with the Kiev Vega from Arsenal. The two represent distinct approaches to the Soviet sub-miniature category: the Vega a simple, compact viewfinder design; the Narciss a more instrument-like body with genuine SLR capability. The Narciss does not appear to have had a direct successor in LOMO's lineup, and the sub-miniature SLR category remained a niche segment globally. The waist-level finder design connects the Narciss aesthetically and operationally to medium-format waist-level SLRs, scaled down to the sub-miniature format.
The Narciss occupies a genuinely unusual position in camera history: a sub-miniature SLR with through-the-lens viewing is an uncommon combination globally, and within Soviet production it is essentially unique. The SLR design addresses one of the primary limitations of sub-miniature viewfinder cameras - parallax error and imprecise focus at close distances - which made the Narciss genuinely useful for its intended medical and scientific documentation context.
The selenium meter is an asset for modern collectors: it requires no battery and, if the selenium cell remains functional, provides exposure readings without sourcing obsolete cells. Cells do degrade over time, however, and many surviving examples will have reduced or non-functional metering.
For the sub-miniature collector the Narciss represents a high point of Soviet ambition in the format. It is rarer and technically more interesting than the Kiev Vega family, and its SLR design makes it a one-of-a-kind piece in most collections.
Fixed lens. The Narciss is fitted with a non-interchangeable lens - likely a LOMO-produced formula covering the ~14x21mm frame. Focal length is approximately 35mm (equivalent, scaled to the small format).
The waist-level ground-glass finder gives accurate through-the-lens composition; the SLR mirror mechanism means what you see is what the lens projects. The selenium meter cell is integrated into the body and reads reflected light.
Film cassettes are proprietary to the 16mm unperforated format; bulk-loading from 16mm cinema or scientific film stock is required.
C41
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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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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