In the mid-60s, Soviet photographic equipment has been actively exported. Numerous models of the Smena scale family were among the best-selling cameras both in the USSR and abroad. The list of countries who imported cameras of this type was quite impressive - it included about 70 countries.

The most popular ‘Smena’ was the ‘8M’ model which even got into the ‘Guinness Book of Records’ as the best-selling camera in the world. There were several reasons for this: the camera was simple, reliable and unpretentious as it was intended for novices and amateur photographers. The average price also played its role: it only cost 15 roubles, which made it extremely affordable.

Smena-8M was produced in Leningrad from 1970 to 1995. She had a central shutter with six exposures including manual, and separate cocking and film rewinding devices. More than 21,000,000 copies were produced in total