BPW Limited's
Soviet Camera Page
Photograph of sign at Checkpoint Charlie
(Circa
1974)
Scvietska Photoapparat
(Sovietska Photoapparat)
Banner from Soviet Newspaper Pravda
National Anthem of the Soviet Union
Dobre Utra! Hello! Thank you
for visiting our Soviet Camera pages. If you look at our listings
you will see that we offer some Russian, Ukrainian, and Soviet Cameras.
We feel that many of these items will become future collectibles as
many
were made in low numbers. According to a Russian friend of mine it
could
take two months salary to be able to afford a decent camera so not many
are of the better pieces are readily available.
This page is for your information and the
possibility
of interesting you in purchasing a camera. From us we
hope!
We previously posted what we had available in stock on this page but we
have changed our policy for this page and henceforth, this page will
only
be used for information. If you want to check our stock on any of
these items, please check our main pages or e-mail us.
We are always updating the pages with new
photos
and descriptions and hope to replace most of the line drawings.
Don't forget to check our list for these and
other
Soviet / Ukrainian / Russian pieces. Please feel free to ask
questions
about these cameras or any others. Our e-mail address for these types
of
cameras is classiccamerasus@yahoo.com.
If you cannot see the Russian words on this
page,
you need a Cyrillic (Russian) font. It is called
tlhlpcyr.tiff.
You can get it by emailing us and we will email you the font,
free.
Don't worry, it's been checked with a virus checker (AntiVir) and the
Yahoo! virus checker. It works fine. Email us to get the font.
After you get the font, install it just like you would any other new
font.
Krcsmall
Krystall
The Krystall is very similar to the Zenit Zm
but was made during the 1961/62 period when the Soviet Union was having
minor financial problems so the top of the camera was not chromed brass
as others were but was cast metal with an unusual five strip prism top,
and painted in a hammer tone silver paint. Again a fairly
low
production number of 65433 pieces.
Almaz
Almaz 103
The Almaz (Russian for Diamond) 103 is a copy
of the Nikon F-2 with a Pentax K mount. As you can see the
Soviets
kept the general look of the Nikon F-2. It comes with a Volna 50
mm 1.8 lens and has a removable prism. Shutter speeds are from
1/1
to 1/1000. According to the information available, only 9
were
made.
Zorki
Zorki 12
The Zorki 12 is a unique 1/2 frame camera that
used the 35 mm "Rapid" loading system. Rapid cassettes can be reloaded
with standard 35 mm film.
kiev
Kiev 2, 2a, 3, 3a, 4, 4a, 4am, 4m and 5
The Kiev range finder cameras were the product
of the separation of Germany beginning in 1947 after World War II. The
camera was named after the town in Ukraine in which they are
made.
Obviously having all of the looks and features of the Zeiss Contax
range
finder cameras, the Soviets added in the later models the convenience
of
electronic flash synchronization (under the viewfinder window).
They
kept the original roller curtain although improving the mechanism.
The Kiev 2 is actually the first model.
It most closely copies the Contax II. It has no flash
synch.
The model name, Kiev, is in block letters.
The Kiev 2a is the Contax II with a p/c flash
synch added below the viewfinder window. The model name, Kiev, is in
block
letters.
The Kiev 3 is the same as the metered Contax
IIa, again without synch. The model name, Kiev, is in block letters.
The Kiev 3a is the same as the 3 but with added
synch. The model name, Kiev is now in script with block below.
The Kiev 4 has the more modern tripod socket
(without the swing out balance device), cleaner base plate as the
opening
screws have been set into the base and a built in meter.
The Kiev 4a is the same as the 4 except it does
not have a light meter.
The Kiev 4am has had changes to the wind knob
(lower and flatter) and rewind knob (with a crank inset into it)
additionally
the knobs are black as opposed to the normal chrome. The self
timer
lever has a plastic insert and the pivot screw is leather covered.
The Kiev 4m is the same as the 4am but without
the light meter.
Finally,
The Kiev 5 was completely redesigned on top.
It has lever wind, the light meter is built into the head and the
rewind
knob is on the left side, at a 90 degree angle. The lens is
physically
larger although still an F:2, it is 58 mm.
Kiev Lenses and Finders
We have a large selection of cameras, lenses
(35 mm, 85 mm and 135 mm) and finders (individual and multifinders) for
these cameras. For those of you with Original Contax range finder
cameras, you may want to know that all of the lenses and finders for
the
Kiev will fit and operate properly and are usually less expensive than
Contax/Zeiss Ikon lenses and accessories. It should also be noted that
the wide angle lenses and finders will work with the Nikon range finder
cameras as well. We are fully stocked on the cameras, lenses and
accessories for them.
kiev-10
Kiev 10
The Kiev name was used for 35mm range finder,
single lens reflex and 6x6 single lens reflex cameras. The Kiev
10
is a single lens reflex camera and was made from 1965 to 1974. It
was the first Automatic Diaphragm Control camera that the Soviets
made.
It came with a 50 mm 2.0 Helios-65 lens in the beginning and was
changed
to a 53 mm 2.0 Helios-81 lens in the later production. Some we
have
seen have a 50 mm 2.0 Helios-81 lens. The camera has very unique
Art Deco styling with a large selenium exposure meter directly above
the
lens. The mounting system is similar but not the same as the
Retina
Reflex.
Moskva
Moscva
The Moskva (Russian for Moscow) cameras were
copies of the Zeiss Ikonta and Super Ikonta line. Models 4 and 5
had the benefit of being either 6x6 or 6x9 format.
The Moscva model 1 is a loose copy of the
famous
Zeiss Ikonta model A. The Moskva was 6x9 format as opposed to 6x6
for the Ikonta. The camera had a 110 mm 4.5 Industar-23 lens in a
Moment-1 shutter, however some of the early models had Compur and
Compur
rapid shutters! The Moscva was made between 1946 and 1949 with a
total quantity of 31632 pieces made.
Model 2 (a copy of the Super Ikonta C), similar
to the 1 but again in the 6x9cm format with the addition of a range
finder
which was coupled to the lens. Manufactured between 1947 and 1956.
Model 3 which was a 6.5cm x 9cm folding plate
camera with a 110 mm 4.5 Industar-23 lens. The camera had a
ground
glass back and was manufactured between 1950 and 1951 with a quantity
of
11385 pieces.
Model 4 has the same lens as the Model 2 but
the Soviets finally added flash synch with the Moment -23c
shutter.
This camera could shoot either 6x9 or 6x6 format. It was made
between
1955 and 1958 with 62632 units being made..
And finally the Moskva 5, most like the Super
Ikonta III with a molded top with a 105 mm 3.5 Industar-24 lens in a
Moment-24c
shutter.
Iskra
Iskra and Iskra 2
The Iskra (Russian for Spark) is a beautiful
copy of the Zeiss Super Ikonta IV. It has a 75 mm 3.5 Industar -58 lens
and a 1 to 1/500 shutter with p/c synch and a self timer. These
were
made from 1960 to 1963 and 38722 of them were made.
The Soviets also manufactured the Iskra 2 which
was the same as the Iskra except for the addition of a selenium cell
meter.
Only 6118 of these cameras were made from 1961 to 1964.
Zarya
Zarya
The Zarya (Russian for Dawn) is a stripped down
Zorki, without the range finder or self timer. It has a 1/30 to
1/500
shutter and p/c flash synch. This camera was made from 1959 to
1961
and a total of 141228 units were made.
Zenit
Zenit 5 motorized
The Zenit (Zenith) 5 is a motorized 35 mm SLR
camera and only 11,600 were made between 1964-68!
Zenit
6
Zenit 6 with Zoom lens
The Zenit 6 made by the Krasnogorsk Mechanical
Factory (KMZ) and came out in 1962. It was the Soviet version of
the Bessamatic with the World's first 35mm slr Zoom lens, the 36
-
82 mm 2.8 Zoomar which came out in 1959. The Zenit has a 37 -80
mm
2.8 Rubin-1 Zoom lens and 1 - 1/500 shutter with the improvement of an
additional waist level finder. This is a beautiful camera..
Drug
Droug
The Droug (Russian for Friend) was made between
1960 and 1962 with only 23700 made. This camera has a lever advance on
the bottom similar to the Canon ViT as it was built in, not an add on
as
the Leicavit. The camera also takes standard Leica screw mount
lenses!
The normal lens is a 50 mm 2.8 Soviet J-8 lens and the shutter has
speeds
from 1/2 - 1/1000 and self timer.
Lilliput
Lilliput
The Lilliput (Russian for Little Man) was made
by GOMZ (State Optical and Mechanical Factory) between 1937 and 1940
and
is in 24 mm x 24 mm format. We understand that there are only three in
existence.
Maliutka
Maliutka
The Maliutka (Russian for Small) was made by
GOMZ between 1940 and 1941. It is 24 mm x 24 mm format and the
forwarding
of the film was noted by a small indicator on the top of the
camera.
It was made for darkroom loading only. Extremely rare camera made
during WW2 in Russia.
"lp;mol
Shkolnik
The Shkolnik (Russian for Student) was made by
MMZ (Minsk Mechanical Plant) from 1962 to 1969. It uses 120 film
and takes 6x6cm images. Even though the Shkolnik was made in
large
quantity, 550,000, they are not easy to find in good condition as they
are made from a fairly fragile Bakelite type material.
Junkor
Junkor
Junkor (Russian for Young Correspondent).
It actually was capable of shooting either 6x6cm or 6x4.5 vertical
photographs
on 120 film. It had a 65 mm f:8 "Periscope" lens in a helical
mount.
Approximately 168836 were made from 1959 to 1962 by Krasnogorsk
Mechanical
Zavod.
Moment
Moment
The Moment was The Soviet Union's first and last
Polaroid copy. We understand that under 9000 were made and that the
production
was stopped due to problems producing film. If you collect either
Soviet or Polaroid cameras this one is a must have.
Voskod
Voshkod
The Voshkod ( Russian for Sunrise) was made
between
1964 and 1968. It is a full frame 35 mm camera with a T-48 45 mm
2.8 lens with a 1 to 1/250 shutter. It is unusual as it was the
only
vertically styled camera that the Russians ever made. It was made
by LOMO and only 58000 were made.
FT-2
FT-2
The FT-2 was a panoramic camera that produced
a negative that was 24 mm x 110 mm. and used special cassettes to hold
35mm film for cassette to cassette operation. The lens is a 52 mm
f:5.0 Industar-50 with shutter speeds of 1/100, 1/200 and 1/400. It was
made from 1958 to 1965 and KMZ made approximately 16662 of them.
FED
Fed 50 mm 3.5 MACRO LENS!
Here's a rarity, a FED 50 mm 3.5 Macro
lens.
We have found no listings for this lens but it is a beautifully made
early
FED lens in Leica screw mount that focuses from 15 cm (about 6 inches)
to infinity.
Soviet matchbook cover
We have many of these cameras available on our "List" pages.
Email us at: classiccamerasus@yahoo.com
click here to go to our Main
Welcome
page.
click here to go to
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Need lenses for
your Kiev 4/4a or LSM Soviet camera?
Try Stephen Gandy's Cameraquest site!
Click it!
Some of these images were scanned from the
catalogue
"Russian and Soviet Cameras" Iskusstvo, Rostov-On-Don, Yuri Ryshkov,
Author
- Compiler; Other images were created with a Casio QV-770 and in
Photoshop
and/or Ulead Photoimpact 4.2 using the actual equipment. Image Almaz2
courtesy
of Bob Hall, Australia. Music is the National Anthem of the
former
U.S.S.R.
BPW Limited, Classic Cameras © 2005 et. al.