Last Updated on April 13, 2025 by Michael Motha
Back in 2008, I was a student and my friend’s girlfriend bought a Nikon D40 SLR camera. When I looked at the digital images taken with the SLR, I was impressed by their color and details compared to other cameras of that time (digital soap). I really liked the entry-level DSLR, so I sold my iPhone 3G and bought the Nikon D40 kit. This started my journey into photography. I worked as a wedding and reportage photographer for several years. Now, I work in social media and photography is my passion. However, I still don’t know where my photography will take me.
Over the years, I’ve had a lot of different photographic equipment. Nikon cameras and lenses have always had a special place in my collection.A few years ago I saw large-format cameras and became interested in analog film photography. Of course I started with 35mm film.
Living in Siberia where winters are harsh, I needed a camera that could operate at -40°C. I already had some Nikon lenses, so I searched for a compatible camera. I found Nikon FM on the bulletin boards.The seller said the camera had a frost-resistant Copal square shutter, which was great news. The camera worked at -35°C, so the seller wasn’t lying.
Near my house there’s an open-air railway museum that celebrates its 25-year anniversary this year. I’d never been there before, so we decided to go with my kids and see old trains. I brought three lenses: Zenitar 16mm f/2.8, Nikkor 24mm f/ 2.8 and Nikkor 50mm f/1.8. The film was Fomapan 200.
There we saw real railway equipment on tracks that were about 3 km long. We saw steam, electric, diesel and electric trains, as well as wagons. I corrected the Zenitar shots in Photoshop to fix the fisheye distortion. Other lenses were just cropped and sharpened. It was a great day for everyone. As soon as the weather gets warmer, I want to shoot with the Intrepid 4×5 camera at this location.
If anyone knows about frost-resistant film cameras, please let me know.
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