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Getting the camera

A project log for Digital Super-8 camera

Future proofing an old soviet Avrora 215 Super-8 camera

xabi-zXabi Z 04/06/2021 at 15:390 Comments

As this is a project I considered very likely to fail due to the precise optical and electronical tuning involved I didn't want to spend too much buying an iconic Super 8 camera (such as an old beautiful multi-lense Bell & Howell or some spring-loaded Bauer camera). After a quick research on my favorite second-hand marketplaces I found out that early '80s soviet cameras have the best price-quality value.

A kind gentleman from Latvia was indeed selling an apparently fully functional (I never checked it) Avrora (Аврора) 215 camera for a fair price including lense and carrying bag accesories.

This camera was manufactured in the Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association (ломо) between 1978 and 1981, the same place the now hipsterly known lomography takes its name from. There were two versions, one labeled and marketed for the 1980 Summer Olimpic Games in Moscow and the other one branded for export. The one I acquired belonged to the latter series.

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