C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →rangefinder-35mm
The LOMO Sokol-3 (Russian: Сокол-3, "Falcon-3") is a 35mm fixed-lens coupled rangefinder camera produced by **LOMO (Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association)** beginning around 1980. It is the third and final member of the Sokol family - following the original Sokol Automat (1966) and the Sokol-2 (1979) - and represents the most refined iteration of the design, replacing the selenium photocell AE system of its predecessors with an **electronic silicon-cell AE system** that requires a battery to operate.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
The 1980 electronic-AE refinement of the Sokol-2: LOMO's final fixed-lens 35mm coupled rangefinder.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (standard 36-exposure roll) |
| Lens | Industar-70 50mm f/2.8 (fixed) |
| Shutter | ~1/30s - 1/500s, leaf shutter, AE-controlled |
| Flash sync | ~ |
| Rangefinder | Coupled |
| Meter | Silicon photocell, battery-powered |
| Exposure modes | Automatic only |
| Weight | ~590 g |
| Battery | 1x 625 / PX625 / LR9 (mercury equivalent) |
The Sokol-3 arrived in 1980 at LOMO, roughly a year after the Sokol-2, as an engineering update driven by the transition from passive selenium-based AE to active silicon-cell AE. By 1980, the limitations of selenium cells were well understood: sensitivity degraded with age and light exposure, and the passive nature of the system made it difficult to incorporate any low-light warning or additional electronic functions.
Silicon (CdS or silicon photodiode) cells require a battery to power the metering circuit but are far more stable over time and significantly more sensitive in low light. This transition mirrored what Japanese manufacturers had largely completed by the early-to-mid 1970s, placing the Sokol-3 in line with contemporary practice, if late by the standards of the broader market.
The Sokol-3 is generally considered the end of the Sokol line at LOMO. By the early 1980s, LOMO's photographic attention was shifting toward what would become the LC-A (1984), a very different compact design developed with influence from the Austrian camera designer. The Sokol family did not continue beyond the Sokol-3.
The Sokol-3 completes a technically coherent three-generation progression: Sokol Automat (selenium AE, no battery) - Sokol-2 (selenium AE, manual option added) - Sokol-3 (silicon AE, electronic). Each generation represents a specific engineering decision rather than a cosmetic refresh.
Unlike the original Sokol Automat, which can function indefinitely without any battery as a fully manual camera (with dead selenium), the Sokol-3 is dependent on its battery for all automatic exposure functions. This has practical implications for users today: finding appropriate equivalents to the original mercury PX625 cell requires attention to voltage and size matching, as direct alkaline or silver-oxide substitutes may produce slightly incorrect exposure readings due to voltage differences.
The Industar-70 50mm f/2.8 is generally regarded as a step up from the Industar-60 in sharpness and correction, though both are within the expected range of Soviet Tessar-type performance. Stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8, the Industar-70 delivers images fully adequate for prints at moderate sizes.
Fixed Industar-70 50mm f/2.8. No interchangeable lens system. The silicon cell governing AE surrounds or is integrated near the lens face.
Cold shoe for flash attachment. Leaf shutter flash sync speed unverified.
C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
View profile →LOMO Sokol-3
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