The Moskva-5 is a medium-format camera made by the Russian photography equipment manufacturer Krasnogorsky Mekkhanicheskii Zavod (KMZ). Its body was made by injection molding, and it weighs just under 2 pounds. Folding cameras like this one are cameras in which the lens and the shutter are attached to a type of bellows mechanism. They were popular throughout the world until the 1930s. They remained in widespread use throughout Russia and other parts of the Soviet Union until the 1950s. KMZ initially copied the East German Zeiss camera in its earliest Moskva models. Unlike the Zeiss, however, the Moskva-5 incorporates a built-in rangefinder with a dual format viewfinder. This vintage camera uses medium-format 120 film that produces negatives that measure 6x9 inches. You achieve your best shots if you use this photographic equipment with a tripod. The Moskva-5 uses range-finding technology to focus images. The viewfinder initially displays two images of the subject. Focusing is achieved by superimposing the two images over one another with a calibrating wheel. Rangefinders are very good pieces of equipment for taking medium-range and long-distance photographs. Their field of view is actually slightly larger than the image that’s framed through the lens. With a rangefinder, a photographer sees what’s going on in the periphery of the frame, which can enhance photo composition. Rangefinders like this Moskva use wedge-shaped prisms to achieve the initial split-image effect in the viewing window. Rotating a lever attached to the folding shutter-lens mechanism allows you to move these prisms so that the images are superimposed. Rotating this lever also allows you to focus this piece of equipment. The Moskva-5 uses an Industar-24 lens, which has four elements in three groups. You can also focus the camera by rotating the front element on the lens. The maximum aperture of these lenses is f/3.5 to f/32. Photographs taken with these lenses are sharp and have great contrast even when the aperture is wide open. The camera uses an overlapping leaf shutter with speeds of 1 to 1/250. The shutter release is on the left side of the top plate. There is a self-timer knob on the top of the release. When you activate the mechanism to take a picture, you must advance the film. This is done via the winding knob, which is right next to the release. Set this winding knob to accommodate three types of film at four different speeds. Because this piece of photographic equipment is Russian, the calibration marks on the winding knob are in Cyrillic. These cameras take Tsvetnaya color film, Panchrom black and white film, or Izopanch black and white film. The Moskva also has a socket into which you can plug a flashgun. When your Moskva is not in use, fold it up for an easy carry. To extend it fully, you need to press a button to the right of the top plate. To close it, you must press down on the back arms of the paired struts simultaneously.