I recently learned about Svema films, and was instantly intrigued by Svema Foto 100. Film from the most important Soviet film factory, still made in Ukraine, with punchy contrast, fine grain, and near-infrared sensitivity up to 750nm? I’m in! I promptly ordered a handful of rolls of several different Svema films from Film Photography Project to sample.
I shot multiple rolls of Svema Foto 100, mostly in an Argus C3 “Brick” rangefinder. I had been working on a review of the Kodak Pony 135 camera, and as I used the Pony I kept thinking “this feature works just the same way as the Argus Brick, and that specification is the same, and this other feature works the same too…” When I finished with the Pony, I loaded the Svema into my Brick to refresh my memory and be sure I wasn’t remembering wrongly about how it works. (It’s been a while since I shot it).
The whole experience was quite pleasurable. It makes no rational sense at all, but the Argus C3 is such a joy to use. I mean, it’s just a big heavy block of black Bakelite with fiddly little controls that are often hard to reach and set, and every feature is seemingly done “worse” than other cameras, but it’s just so much fun. It’s also not as big and heavy as it seemed in my memory. I guess a camera like that tends to loom large in the mind long after you put it away. However, I did conclude that the Pony is superior in pretty much every regard by any rational measure. I know I’m far from the only person who has fallen in love with the Brick. There’s just something about it. It’s like that John Mellencamp song, “Hurts So Good.” Sadly, both cameras are hard to find outside the USA, from what I understand.
Anyway, back to the Svema Foto 100. When I saw the negatives, I knew it was something special; essentially this film creates the look and tonality that I strive for with filters, except it does it out-of-the-box and without the loss of light caused by a deep green or orange filter. And the promise of fine grain is no exaggeration; the film is notably finer-grained than most films of similar speed, such as Ilford FP4. I’m very excited, as this film seems custom-made for me and the way I like to shoot. I plan to buy more and get to know it really well… but first I have other Svema films in the queue.
The following photos are without any post-processing and most are uncropped. All are scanned with exactly the same settings, no changes to exposure during scanning. No retouching of any kind. I developed in Caffenol-CL without restrainer (with restrainer, I got blank negatives). All of these samples are from the Argus C3 “Brick.” There’s a link to a more in-depth review of this film at the bottom of this post, but for now, enjoy the five frames!
For a deeper review, more samples, and side-by-side comparison shots to Fomapan 200, you can read a longer-form blog post I wrote on my blog.
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Comments
Charles Young on 5 Frames with Svema Foto 100 with an Argus C3
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Thanks for the report. I am fond of old cameras without batteries. I expose with the "sunny 16" rule or. an old selenium cell light meter. Your C3 photos look great! I used an Argus 21 for about 15 years.
Bummer that the shutter died. It was better looking than a C3! but no rangefinder.
The last time I bought a new camera was in 1967: an Asahi Pentax plus an off brand a tele lens.
I gave away a collection of C3s to a local college. I had the delusion that I (or they) were going to teach film photography. Then the college closed its doors! My older brother used a C3 for about 40 years.
I just bought a Kodak Pony 135 Model C on EBay. It appears to be brand new!
Chuck
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Simon Foale on 5 Frames with Svema Foto 100 with an Argus C3
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Scott Ferguson on 5 Frames with Svema Foto 100 with an Argus C3
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Gary Paudler on 5 Frames with Svema Foto 100 with an Argus C3
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Thanks!
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Alastair Bell on 5 Frames with Svema Foto 100 with an Argus C3
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Russ Rosener on 5 Frames with Svema Foto 100 with an Argus C3
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
The Argus C3 "Brick" and the 50mm Cintar lens are indeed a real joy to use. Kind of lot eating food you KNOW is too hot for you, yet you just can't stop.
I still have my Dad's 1948 Argus C3 and it works well after a simple cleaning. I have also worked on these and brought some back to life. I was told by many ARGUS collectors that the Cintar lenses made between about 1947 and 1951 are the best. Apparently Argus bought a lens factory called "Graf Optical" in the late 1930s and it was highly regarded. So the last days of the original lens grinders and finishers would have been during the production years above. Not sure what year your C3 was made but you can find the serial number and look it up online .
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Gary Smith on 5 Frames with Svema Foto 100 with an Argus C3
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Tony Warren on 5 Frames with Svema Foto 100 with an Argus C3
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Comment posted: 21/11/2025
Jeffery Luhn on 5 Frames with Svema Foto 100 with an Argus C3
Comment posted: 25/11/2025
Very impressive results! What developer and times did you use?
Jeffery