zen and the moskva 5

after three weeks, the medium format camera from ukraine finally came. i am thankful the post office did not charge anything over the usual Php35 fee for the rickety camera. i did give the old ladies hopia in appreciation. however, i was a bit disappointed to see that the rf focus mechanism off. calmly, i wrote alex_photo about it. he apologized and maintained that he tested it before shipping. i told him that i have sent it to jay for repairs. and, during the holy week, jay healed it with the usual gratis et amore. (thanks again, jay!) he said that some mechanism got loose with shipment, most probably.
so here are some of the photos in 6x9 format:


moskva 5 has a lot of caveats. and i had mishaps along the way. in spite of the double exposure safeguard, i goofed up twice. (i swear i advanced the film, or didn't i?) it is not for those who are trigger-happy either for there are a million things one has to do before the "decisive moment".
loading the 120 film and making sure the back is secure takes some care. in this case, i used the kodak tmx 100 which costs me Php275 for 8 shots! (i am saving the ilfords a patient gifted for later when i am better at it.) then there is the focusing, the setting of aperture, speed adjustment and cocking the camera.  (and, one has to adjust speed first before cocking lest you want to shorten the life of your moskva).
handling this camera entails three major things -- Presence Of Mind. you have to have all three! and, this is how i like my camera. the moskva 5 may just be the tipitaka of my photography.