Comparison of Soviet cameras. Remembering the USSR Soviet cameras and photographer's equipment. Things essential for a Soviet photographer

13.03.2020

Today, almost every person has a camera - this is SLR cameras, amateur soap dishes, or simply built-in mobile phones. Now you do not need to develop films, run to the store for chemicals and photographic paper .... We take thousands of shots by sharing our footage on blogs or simply by sending e-mail. But not so long ago, that was not the case...

In Soviet times, many were fond of photography, but then everything was a little different. Remember how we captured our most memorable moments with a camera, closed ourselves in the bathroom, turning on the red light to develop the film, and then took the photos, hanging them up to dry immediately ...

For some, it was difficult, but for gourmets of this business, it was a pleasure. For those who did not want to mess around with all this, there were photo studios where you could give the film for development and print photos there.

Each photo was very valuable for a Soviet person - after all, our memory was captured on these pictures. Many home albums still contain these pictures dear to the heart and memory.

In the assortment of everyone who was fond of photography in those days, there should have been a mandatory set in addition to the camera itself - various films, a photo tank, a photo enlarger and a photo gloss, a photo flashlight, as well as photo paper and photo chemicals.

First, the film had to be developed, intermediate washed, fixed, rinsed and dried.
After that, the photographs themselves were printed - with the help of a photographic enlarger, the image was projected onto the exposed photographic paper.

Black and white photographs were taken with a special red light, color - with a special green. The processing steps for photographic paper are similar to the processing steps for photographic film. At the very end, the developed photographs were neatly hung to dry in the same room.

Some models of popular Soviet cameras

I've only highlighted the ones I've worked with...

Lubitel 166 - Soviet medium format twin-lens reflex camera aimed at amateur photographers. The case of the device is plastic. Lens frames, viewfinder shaft and mechanisms are metal. Built on the basis of the "Amateur-2" camera. Produced in various modifications from 1976 to 1990.

Moskva-2 is a Soviet rangefinder camera from the Moskva family. It was produced from 1947 to 1956 by the Krasnogorsk plant in the city of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region. A total of 197,640 pieces were produced.

The German camera Zeiss Super Ikonta C served as a prototype. The camera is foldable, the lens is connected to the camera with leather fur, it extends automatically on the lever system when the front cover is opened. The case is metal with a hinged back cover. Lens "Industar-23".

Moscow-5 is a further improvement of the second version of Moscow-2. It has a more durable and rigid body, a larger aperture lens with a shorter focal length. It was the last production model in the Moscow family of scale and rangefinder devices. Produced from 1956 to 1960 by the Krasnogorsk plant in the city of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region. A total of 216457 pieces were produced.

Photokor No. 1 (also "Photokor-1", often simply "Photokor") - Soviet folding plate camera of the 1930s-1940s. It was a universal rectangular chamber of 9×12 cm format with a retractable front wall and double fur extension. The first Soviet mass camera - over 11 years of production (from 1930 to 1941 inclusive) more than 1 million copies were produced.

Smena-8 (my first) !, 8M - a scale Soviet camera produced by the LOMO association since 1970. Smena-8 and Smena-8M were produced in total in the amount of 21,041,191 (through 1995 inclusive).

"Change-8M" became known as "Change-9", but in a modified case and differed in that focusing could be carried out not only on a distance scale, but also on a character scale. Lens - "Triplet" T-43 4/40 (3 lenses in 3 components), non-replaceable, coated. The angular field of view of the lens is 55°. iris diaphragm

Smena-35 is a scale Soviet camera produced by the LOMO association since 1990. The camera was a restyled version of Smena-8M in a new housing with a central sync contact. Lens - "Triplet" T-43 4/40 (3 lenses in 3 components), non-replaceable, coated. The angular field of view of the lens is 55°. iris diaphragm

Etude is the simplest medium format camera produced in the USSR by the BelOMO association. The lens is a single-lens plastic 9/75 mm (11/60 mm) mounted at the hyperfocal distance.

Lomo-135 is a scale camera manufactured by LOMO. Since 1975, 85,902 copies have been produced. The model marked "M" differed only in symbolism. The latter were produced 89,500 copies. Lens "Industar-73" (2.8 / 40). Focusing on a scale of distances.

Lomo-Compact Avtomat (LCA, LCA) is the first Soviet pocket camera equipped with a wide-range automatic electronic shutter controlled by an electronic exposure meter. The camera is durable, light and compact, and easy to use.

Sokol-2 is a rare rangefinder film camera produced in the early 80s. Lens "Industar-702 F=50 mm 1:2.8. The camera worked in two modes: manual and automatic. Automation takes into account all installed filters and nozzles.

Viliya, Viliya-auto - Soviet scale cameras. Produced in 1973-1985, BelOMO production. Improved versions were produced under the names "Silhouette-Electro" (1976 - 1981) and "Orion-EE" (1978-1983) (original names "Viliya-electro" and "Viliya-EE", respectively).

Lens "Triplet-69-3" 4/40 (3 lenses in 3 components), non-replaceable, thread for M46 × 0.75 light filter. Focusing on a scale of distances (characters). Focusing limits from 0.8 m to infinity. The four-bladed diaphragm is located outside the optical block of the lens, behind the shutter.

"Viliya-auto" is the basic model, "Viliya" is a simplified model without exposure automatics and a light meter.

Zorkiy-4. Soviet camera from the Zorki family of rangefinder photographic devices. Produced by the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant (KMZ) in the city of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region in 1956-1973. It is an improved camera "Zorkiy-3S". The most massive and technically advanced model among the Zorkiy cameras. A total of 1715677 pieces were produced.

Zorkiy-4 was sold with one of two lenses - Jupiter-8 2/50 (more expensive option) or Industar-50 3.5/50. There is evidence that a small number of devices were equipped with a Jupiter-17 2/50 lens. Allows the use of interchangeable lenses.

On the basis of "Zorkoy-4" cameras were also released:

"Mir" - a cheaper device that differed from the base model simplified design: Auto shutter speeds only from 1/500 to 1/30 s, no slow shutter mechanism. Probably, for the Mirs, shutters made for the Zorkih-4 were used, but rejected due to fuzzy working out of the shutter speed of 1/1000 s. Lenses - "Industar-50", less often "Jupiter-8" or "Industar-26M" 2.8 / 50. In 1959-1961. 156229 pieces were issued;

"Zorkiy-4K" with a trigger cocking mechanism and a non-removable receiving coil. Lenses - "Industar-50" or "Jupiter-8". In 1972-1978 and 1980. released 524646 pcs.

Various photo recorders for use in scientific and military equipment. They were supplied with a special attachment to the optical channel of the corresponding device. They did not have a viewfinder, rangefinder, or flash shoe that was unnecessary in this case. Foreign collectors call similar cameras "Labo"

Kyiv-4, 4a. Rangefinder cameras "Kyiv" are based on the design of the German devices Contax II and III. Documentation, technological equipment and spare parts for Contax cameras were taken to the USSR from Germany as reparations after the Great Patriotic War from the Zeiss Ikon factories.

The first batches of Kyiv-2 and Kyiv-3 cameras were actually relabeled Contax cameras. From their prototype, the Kyiv cameras inherited a very complex design of shutter speed, focusing and rangefinder mechanisms. The Kyiv-4 and Kyiv-4-a cameras differed in the presence and absence of a built-in exposure meter and were produced from 1958 to 1985.

Kyiv-60 TTL - SLR camera with a frame format of 6x6 cm TTL system was designed for amateur filming and was produced since 1984. The camera is designed for the use of reel non-perforated film 60 mm wide (type 120). This film produces 12 frames.

FED-1 or just FED! - Soviet rangefinder camera. Produced by the Kharkov industrial machine-building association "FED" from 1934 to 1955.

Most of the questions are caused by the numbering system (or, rather, the lack of a system that we understand) of the FED cameras from the first years of production. At the moment, the generally accepted version among collectors is that the "chrome", "zinc", "nickel", etc. "FED"s had different numbering lines.

It was produced from 1934 until the mid-50s, when it was replaced by FED-2. Under the name "FED" (namely the first model), countless options and upgrades of this camera were produced.

It is well known that "FED" was a copy of the Leica II, produced by the Kharkov Labor Communal. It had a curtain-shutter shutter made of rubberized fabric curtains with shutter speeds: B (or Z), 20, 30, 40, 60, 100, 250, 500.

The rangefinder and viewfinder (of the Albada type) had different viewing windows; the viewfinder had a magnification of 0.44x, the rangefinder had a base of 38 mm and a magnification of 1.0. The bottom cover opened to charge the camera.

There was no synchrocontact and self-timer. It was equipped with a FED lens (later Industar-10, Industar-22) 3.5 / 50 in a retractable tube with the following aperture steps: 3.5, 4.5, 6.3, 9, 12.5, 18 (the first experimental batch of lenses was produced at VOOMP, and designed at GOI). Threaded lens mount - M39.

FED-2. It was produced by the Kharkov Production Machine-Building Association "FED" from 1955 to 1970. It was completed with an enlightened lens "Industar-26M" 2.8 / 50; shutter speeds were B, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500.

The shutter speed could only be set after the shutter was cocked (in 1956 the shutter speed head was redesigned, as a result of which it became possible to set shutter speeds before the shutter was cocked), the shutter speed head was rotating.

The viewfinder is combined in one field of view with a rangefinder with a base of 67 mm and a magnification of 0.75x. The camera was provided with the possibility of diopter correction.

The rear wall was opened to charge the camera. Both standard single-cylinder cassettes and two-cylinder cassettes were used, which, when the lock of the case back cover was closed, opened and formed a wide slot, which significantly reduced the possibility of damage to the film surface during its advancement. In subsequent models, a synchrocontact appeared (1956).

In 1958, a self-timer appeared on the camera with an operating time of 9-15 seconds, in the same year a new GOST was introduced for a number of shutter speeds - 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, since 1957 it was equipped with an Industar-26m lens, since 1963 - Industar-61l / d 2.8 / 52 with lanthanum optics (FED-2l). Since 1969, a lever cocking with an under-cocking locking mechanism has been introduced, and a new case with a reduced rangefinder base. In total, 1,632,600 models were produced under the name "FED-2".

FED-3. It was produced by the Kharkov Production Machine-Building Association "FED" from 1961 to 1979. Compared to the previous model, the shutter speed range was expanded, 15, 8, 4.2, and 1 second were added, in connection with which the vertical size of the camera increased. It could also be equipped with an Industar 61 2.8 / 52 lens.

Rangefinder base reduced to 41 mm, magnification 0.75x Viewfinder with diopter correction +/- 2 dpt. The release options differed in the shape of the viewfinder window, the presence of a cocking head or lever cocking, and the inscription "FED-3". Since 1966 it was produced with a lever cocking, since 1970 a mechanism for blocking the undercocking of the trigger has been introduced.

A total of 2,086,825 pieces were produced. In shipments abroad, the camera was called Revue-3 (especially for Foto-Quelle).

The FED-4 was produced from 1964 to 1980. The main difference between this model and the FED-3 is the presence of a selenium exposure meter. Several types of cameras were produced, differing in design features. The export version of the camera was called Revue-4.

FED-5V was produced by the Kharkov Industrial Machine-Building Association "FED" from 1975 to 1990. The camera differs from previous models in the absence of a light meter and a luminous frame with parallax marks.

The presence of a curtain-slit shutter ensures the development of shutter speeds from 1 s to 1/500 s. The camera is completely mechanical. Exposure is measured only with an external exposure meter. The viewfinder eyepiece allows you to focus within a small range, depending on your vision.

FED-Mikron was produced by the Kharkov Production Machine-Building Association "FED" from 1978 to 1986. In total, about 35 thousand pieces were produced.

The camera was designed for amateur and professional shooting on standard black-and-white and color film type 135 with a frame format of 24 × 36 mm. The fixed lens "Industar-81" provided focusing limits from 1 m to infinity.

Chaika (72 frames:) (“Chaika”, “Chaika-2”, “Chaika-2M”, “Chaika-3”) is a series of Soviet scale semi-format cameras.
Named in honor of Valentina Tereshkova (her call sign during space flight is "The Seagull").

They were produced in 1965-1974 at the Belarusian Optical and Mechanical Association (BelOMO) by the Minsk Mechanical Plant named after S. I. Vavilov.

Lens - "Industar-69" 2.8 / 28. Starting with the Chaika-2 model, the lens is removable, the connecting thread is M39 × 1, like the rangefinder FED and Zorkiy, but the working length is different (27.5 mm), so the lenses from rangefinder cameras to Chaikas (and vice versa) are not suitable.

Zenit-4 is a Soviet single-lens reflex camera with a central shutter, developed at the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant (KMZ) and mass-produced from 1964 to 1968. The basic model of the family, which also included the devices Zenit-5, Zenit-6 and Zenit-11 (the first under this index, non-serial). The first mass-produced KMZ camera with a built-in exposure meter.

Zenit-6 - differed from Zenit-4 only in its configuration: it was sold with a Rubin-1C lens with a variable focal length (for the first time in the USSR). In 1964-1968, 8,930 units were produced.

In E. Ryazanov's comedy "Zigzag of Fortune" "Zenith-6" is the dream of the protagonist, photographer Oreshnikov. He looks at a camera with a price tag of 400 rubles in a shop window.

Zenit-E is the most massive Soviet single-lens reflex camera developed at the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant (KMZ) and mass-produced in 1965-1982. at KMZ and from 1973 (according to other sources, from 1975) to 1986 at the Optical and Mechanical Plant in Vileika of the Belarusian Optical and Mechanical Association (BelOMO).

Issued in quantities of more than 8 million pieces. (3,334,540 of them at KMZ) - a world record for single-lens reflex cameras. The index "E" was assigned to the camera in honor of the director of the KMZ from 1953 to 1965, N. M. Egorov.

The camera was sold complete with one of two lenses: "Helios-44-2" (focal length 58 mm, relative aperture 1:2) or "Industar-50-2" 3.5/50.

Retail price of "Zenith-E" in 1980. with the lens "Helios-44-2" was 100 rubles, with the Olympic symbols 110 rubles, with the lens "Industar-50-2" - 77 rubles.

If there was a choice, buyers preferred cameras manufactured by KMZ, rather than BelOMO, not without reason considering them to be of better quality (this also applied to other models produced at two enterprises).

Outside the USSR, Zenit-E was sold both under the original name (in Latin spelling - "Zenit-E"), and under the brands "Revueflex-E" (Germany), "Phokina", "Photokina-XE" (France) , "Kalimar-SR200", "Kalimar-SR300", "Prinzflex-500E", "Spiraflex", "Cambron-SE" (USA), "Meprozenit-E" (Japan), "Diramic-RF100" (Canada).

Zenit-ET - modernization of the Zenit-E camera, had a non-rotating shutter speed head, a focusing screen with a microraster and other improvements. The BelOMO Vileika plant produced this model in many versions, including with a push diaphragm drive, without a light meter, etc. Produced - KMZ - 1981-1988, 61099 units, and the Vileika plant - from 1982 to the mid-90s , about 3 million pieces.

Zenit-11 is a single-lens reflex camera designed for a wide range of amateur photographers.

The camera was sold complete with one of the lenses: Helios-44M, MS Helios-44M, Helios-44M-4, MS Helios-44M-4. A total of 1,481,022 copies were issued. It is an improved device "Zenit-E" (the mechanism of pressure aperture, non-rotating shutter speed head, hot shoe for flash, focusing screen with microraster, other minor changes have been added).

Things essential for a Soviet photographer

Carbolite tank for processing 35 mm film

framing frame

Film cassette

Photographic films

Positive photographic film

flash lamp

A set of chemicals for processing color photo papers

Lens Jupiter-21

Lens Industar-50

Reliever, 1983

Developer, 1988

Fixer, 1985

Photo Cutter

Time relay for photo printing Silhouette, 1985

Photorelay TRV-1

Cable for cameras for smooth button release

Photo roller. Used to smooth wet photos on glossy

photo paper

Flash NORMA1

Flashlight Electronics

Enlarger Leningrad 4

Photo enlarger Tavria

Photo exposure meters

It is installed ridiculously, although it performs its functions with a bang!

LOMO with a rangefinder from FED

Viewfinder with rangefinder

Well, a little about exposure meters: initially I did not plan to collect them, but at the last moment I changed my mind! So the following exposure meters appeared:

Leningrad-2

and Leningrad 6

And finally, the Shutter Speed Calculator for Photo Printing

Today, almost every person has a camera - these are SLR cameras, amateur soap dishes, or simply built into mobile phones. Now you do not need to develop films, run to the store for chemicals and photographic paper .... We take thousands of shots by sharing our shots on blogs or simply by emailing them. But not so long ago, that was not the case...

Each photo was very valuable for a Soviet person - after all, our memory was captured on these pictures. Many home albums still contain these pictures dear to the heart and memory.

Some models of popular Soviet cameras

I've only highlighted the ones I've worked with...

Lubitel 166 is a Soviet medium format twin-lens reflex camera aimed at amateur photographers. The case of the device is plastic. Lens frames, viewfinder shaft and mechanisms are metal. Built on the basis of the "Amateur-2" camera. Produced in various modifications from 1976 to 1990.

Moscow-5 is a further improvement of the second version of Moscow-2. It has a more durable and rigid body, a larger aperture lens with a shorter focal length is installed. It was the last production model in the Moscow family of scale and rangefinder devices. Produced from 1956 to 1960 by the Krasnogorsk plant in the city of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region. A total of 216457 pieces were produced.

Smena-8 (my first) !, 8M - a scale Soviet camera produced by the LOMO association since 1970. Smena-8 and Smena-8M were produced in total in the amount of 21,041,191 (through 1995 inclusive).

Etude is the simplest medium format camera produced in the USSR by the BelOMO association. The lens is a single-lens plastic 9/75 mm (11/60 mm) mounted at the hyperfocal distance.

"Viliya-auto" is the basic model, "Viliya" is a simplified model without exposure automatics and a light meter.

On the basis of "Zorkoy-4" cameras were also released:

"Mir" is a cheaper device, which differed from the basic model in a simplified design: automatic shutter speeds are only from 1/500 to 1/30 s, there is no slow shutter mechanism. Probably, for the Mirs, shutters made for the Zorkih-4 were used, but rejected due to fuzzy working out of the shutter speed of 1/1000 s. Lenses - "Industar-50", less often "Jupiter-8" or "Industar-26M" 2.8 / 50. In 1959-1961. 156229 pieces were issued;