Moskva-1

Moskva-1 is a Soviet folding 6×9 medium format camera that was produced at the KMZ plant from 1946 to 1949.

Moskva-1 is the first model of the Moskva camera series. This camera, like most other Soviet cameras, was copied from the German Zeiss Ikon Ikonta C521/2.

Moskva-1 Specifications

Type: medium format scale-focusing folding camera
Manufacturer: KMZ plant
Production period: 1946-1949
Format: 6x9cm on 120 film
Lens mount: fixed lens
Lens: Industar-23 f4.5/110
Shutter: leaf shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/250 sec.
Viewfinder: optical parallax viewfinder
Lighmeter: none
Flash synchronisation: none
Selftimer: none
Weight: 750 grams

The Moskva-1 camera was produced in fairly small quantities, since the camera did not have any devices that would help in focusing. The rangefinder device appeared only in the Moskva-2 camera, which was much more convenient in this regard.

The lack of a rangefinder is the biggest negative in this camera. In combination with the fact that the Moskva-2 camera has a rangefinder, is much more common in the secondary market and costs less, we can safely say that there is not much point in looking for a Moskva-1 camera, since Moskva-2 will be much more advantageous in all regards.

The Moskva-1 camera was equipped with an Industar-23 f4.5/110 lens, which was a clone of the German Zeiss Tessar f4.5/110 lens.

The Soviet Industar-23, like the German original, produces a beautiful vintage image, with nice sharpness in the center and a nice soft bokeh.

It should be noted that in the early releases of the camera, German lenses were installed, such as Zeiss Tessar or Novar Anastigmat. Such cameras are more of a collector’s item due to their high cost and lack of advantages over more common Moskva cameras.

The Moskva camera was equipped with a leaf shutter with shutter speeds from 1 to 1/250 sec, which is a very good value for a medium format camera with a frame size of 6×9 and a lens with a focal length of 110 and an aperture of f4.5.

Fast shutter speeds of 1/125 and 1/250 allow you to shoot handheld, while slow shutter speeds allow you to shoot in low light conditions and use smaller apertures.

Moskva-1 is beautiful in that it gives a huge image of 6×9 cm in size, despite the fact that it fits in a bag or jacket pocket.

But in order to shoot with this camera and get it in focus, you will have to carry around an interchangeable rangefinder or other device that will help you focus, because getting into focus at close distances with a focal length of 110mm using only a distance scale is a very difficult task.

The camera does not have a cold or hot shoe, which means that even using an external rangefinder will not be such an easy task.

But at the same time, the Moskva camera has two tripod sockets. This is done so that you can shoot both horizontally and vertically.

Moskva-1 like most similar cameras, does not have a frame counter. To control the film advance, you will have to look through the red window on the back of the camera.

This film camera has double exposure protection. You can only press the shutter button once after advancing the film. Once you have pressed the shutter button, it is locked until you advance the film to the next frame.

Conclusion

For us, the Moskva-1 camera seems more like a collector’s item than a camera for full-fledged shooting. Like cameras such as Zorki-12, Moskva-1 is very difficult to find nowadays at an adequate price, despite the fact that this camera does not have any advantages over Moskva-2, -4 or -5.