Horizon 202: The Forerunner

Now that I’m college, one of my first missions was to find a photo lab, and I was lucky enough to find one that is also a camera store. While looking through their vintage cameras for sale, I happened on something I thought I’d see in person: a near-mint Horizon 202, the precursor to the Horizon 303 that Lomography’s Perfekt is based on. Now, it’s mine! Let’s see what she can do.

The body style resembles that of the Lomography Horizon Kompakt, but otherwise it’s just like the Horizon 303 or Lomography Horizon Perfekt. Same tech specs:

- Lens: 28mm, f/2.8
- Shutter Speeds: Day Mode: 1/250, 1/125, 1/60*; Night Mode: 1/8, ¼, ½
- Apertures: f/2.8 – f/16
- Viewfinder: approximately 120 degrees with spirit level
- *note: it lacks the 1/500 setting the Perfekt/Horizon 303 has

The camera also originally came with 3 lens filters: a polarizing filter to cut down on glare, a neutral density filter to allow for the use of slow shutter speeds during the daytime, and a yellow-green filter. Sadly, mine did not come with these. Also included is a handle which mounts to the bottom of the camera and also is hollow for storing the lens filters. Originals also came with a strap and bag (mine also didn’t have these). These cameras were made by the Krasnogorsky Mechanichesky Zavod (KMZ) factory in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, from around 1989 – 2000.

Using the camera is a snap, but, like with most mechanical devices, you have to get used to the process. First, you advance the film with the thumb winder, which will reveal the little arms on the aperture and shutter speed dials. Then, make sure you set the aperture and shutter speed with the dials in front of the viewfinder. Also, check to make sure that the dial under the rewind knob is set to white for daytime shutter speeds or yellow for nighttime shutter speeds. Then, hold still (or don’t, it’s your choice) and click. There, now you have a nice panorama. Also, getting used to load the film is a bit tricky, but have some patience and make sure you start hold the film canister outside the camera when you try to pull the leader over the mask area. All in all, this is a quality camera, and if you don’t mind taking a little risk on some vintage equipment, a great deal.

written by nation_of_pomation on 2011-03-05 #gear #russian #35mm #review #panorama #vintage #horizon #lomography #horizon-202 #film-camera #kmz #user-review