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 Foton (1958) is a 35mm rangefinder camera produced by LOMO (Leningradskoye Optiko-Mekhanicheskoye Obyedineniye) in Leningrad, USSR. Its defining feature is a **rapid-wind film advance lever or crank mechanism** integrated into the body, allowing faster film advance than the knob-wind arrangement used on most Soviet rangefinders of the period.
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 →BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The Soviet rangefinder with a built-in rapid-wind crank — LOMO's answer to faster shooting in a fixed-lens 35mm body.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Fixed (Jupiter-8 50mm f/2) |
| Year introduced | 1958 |
| Shutter | ~1s – 1/500s + B, mechanical horizontal cloth curtain |
| Flash sync | ~ |
| Meter | None |
| Modes | Manual |
| Advance | Rapid-wind crank/lever |
| Weight | ~ |
| Battery | None |
LOMO was founded in 1914 as an optical factory and became one of the main Soviet producers of cameras, lenses, microscopes, and military optics. In the late 1950s the factory produced several 35mm cameras, including the Foton, as part of the broader Soviet photographic industry expansion following the post-Stalin economic reorganisation.
The Foton appeared in 1958, a period when Soviet camera factories were iterating rapidly — FED, KMZ (Zenit/Zorki), Arsenal (Kiev), and LOMO were all producing competing rangefinder and SLR bodies. The rapid-wind mechanism was a practical differentiator, addressing one of the slower aspects of knob-advance cameras like the FED-2 and early Zorki bodies.
LOMO's camera production contracted in subsequent decades as the factory concentrated on scientific and military optics. The Foton did not spawn a successor rangefinder line; LOMO's later consumer camera fame came from the LC-A compact (1984).
The Foton is notable within Soviet camera history primarily for the rapid-wind advance, which is uncommon among Soviet fixed-lens rangefinders. It represents a branch of Soviet design thinking that prioritised operational speed — the same impulse that drove motor-drive development in Japanese cameras — rather than feature expansion (metering, automation).
For collectors, the Foton is a relatively obscure LOMO piece that pre-dates the factory's more famous products by over two decades. Bodies in working order are scarce in Western markets. For shooters, the Jupiter-8 50/2 lens is a competent optic with characteristic Sonnar rendering, and the rangefinder coupling is adequate for street or travel work. The rapid-wind mechanism, when functional, genuinely speeds up the shooting cadence.
C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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.
View profile →LOMO Foton
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