Meopta Admira 8F

This is another camera I found at the Sally Anne for way cheap. This one was $8.99, but like the Yashica 44A, it uses film that is not so readily available, so it's difficult to test it.

I just visited the Meopta website to get more information on the camera, and it looks like they focus more on industrial and military applications of optical technology now. There isn't a lot of information out about this camera, except that it was produced in the early 60s.

The 8F is quite a beautiful machine! I want to test it but regular/2x 8mm film is getting more and more difficult to come by and I wouldn't even know where to start to load it. It is a wind-up model and runs at 18fps (although, inexplicably, some say that it runs at 16fps...). It also has a "T" function where you can just go one frame at a time, which is probably a test function although you could probably experiment with it for stop animation. The lens is a fixed-focus Mirar 12.5mm f2.8 and the camera uses a selenium metering system with manual iris control.

The viewfinder is detached from the body and can tilt to counteract the parallax with the viewfinder! Neat, eh? It has a little dial to tell you which angle to use based on the distance from your subject.

My camera is in okay shape. Inside it is super clean and the wind-up spring seems to work. However the viewfinder has a big chip out of it and the meter is useless. These cameras have a second lens-type piece, which looks kind of like a multi-faceted bug's eye. Mine is covered with a big plastic cap which I think is glued on, so I guess it's busted. Without this the meter doesn't work. Also the 8F was sold with a handle, which I don't have. However, despite all these things, if I had some regular 8 film and an external light meter, I'm sure it would work perfectly.

Guy Maddin uses spring-drive cameras from time to time. Super-8 is coming back into style, so if you really want to stand out, grab a wind-up regular 8 camera and make some art!

xoxo Caity