I had a great opportunity to test the Horizon Kompakt camera. It shoots on 35mm film and features an ultra-wide format, allowing you to capture a huge amount of space in the frame and take cool panoramic shots.
When the camera lands in your hands, the first thing you notice is the packaging. The packaging is not simple; it consists of two parts. The first is a branded Lomography box. You open it and find the second part of the packaging – the camera lies in an old box like the ones in which "Horizons" were sold back in the Soviet Union. Besides the camera, you’ll find an instruction manual and two filters in the box. The only downside is that the set does not include a strap for the camera; for some reason, this is a "feature" of all Lomography cameras. I had to take a strap from another camera.
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Horizon Kompakt is made of very pleasant matte plastic that doesn’t leave fingerprints on the body. Plus, in winter, the camera doesn’t feel cold to hold.
The camera is very easy to use. Really easy. It has only two shutter speed modes: during the day, you shoot at 1/60 second, and in the evening or indoors at 1/2 second – and that’s it, it’s that simple. The shutter is cocked very easily with your finger. If you don’t cock it all the way, it will return to its place and won’t take a shot. If you hear a click while cocking, the shutter is cocked, and the shot will be taken. At 1/60 second, it happens very quickly, but at 1/2 second, you hear a long characteristic crack. For the "long" exposure, you need to use some support...
Loading the film is quite interesting; I recommend that the first time you do it, don’t rely on intuition but carefully read the instructions, which describe the process in detail.
Cameras often have a little window through which you can see what kind of film is inside: color, black and white, its sensitivity, and the number of frames. But in the Horizon, instead of this window, there is a special pocket. You tear off a corner from the film box and insert it into this pocket.
The frame counter has its quirks. It spins freely and doesn’t lock anywhere. It’s easy to catch it accidentally, and it will turn in any direction. This is a bit inconvenient, so I just shot while the film was rolling without paying attention to the counter.
The viewfinder on the Horizon is very cool. It’s quite bright, has a nice wide view, and what you see in it will be on the frame.
Compared to the Soviet Horizon, in my opinion, this new one shoots much better in quality. Very nice fine grain, tone reproduction. I really liked the camera. It’s easy to use and relatively compact, which allows you to carry it with you all the time. And the shots with beautiful panoramas won’t leave anyone indifferent.
Camera tested by: Dima But
Review prepared by: Olena Protsak