I only have 3 of these, but they are all interesting.
1975 KIEV 4
After WW2 as part of war reparations, Russia took possession of the contents of the former Contax factory in Dresden, East Germany and moved them to Arsenal, Ukraine to continue the production of the famous Contax II/III. Early models were identical to the Contax, although the legendary build quality probably wasn’t up to the extremely high Zeiss standards. As production progressed, later examples deviated slightly from the original Contax design. Production continued until 1987 with over a million sold.
This example is mint, although the shutter failed soon after I purchased it from Etsy. The 50mm F2 Jupiter lens has a good reputation and the position of the rangefinder windows makes for accurate focussing.
1960 QUARZ M Cine Camera
This cine camera was made by KMZ (the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Factory) located in Moscow. It was one of the largest camera factories in Russia. According to the Science Museum Group “Cine camera for standard 8mm cine film in 25 foot loading reels. Fitted with a coated lens F: 12.5mm, f/1.9-16, model Jupiter 24. Clockwork motor drive, variable speeds 12, 16, 24 and 48 fps. Single frame, continuous run and lock setting wheel. Hand rewind handle. Pistol grip with provision for storing two filters. Photocell with needle visible in viewfinder. At 16fps lens can be set by aligning with two smaller frames (for telephoto attachments). Supplied with 2 and 4x neutral density filters for lens and photocell. TC-6 and BC-7 filters for colour. With three close up lenses 0.8, 1.7, 2.75. Metal lens cap”. This example has all of the above, including the original carrying case.
To see a video on this camera click here.
LOMO LC-A
The LOMO LC-A (Lomo Kompakt – Automat) is a fixed lens, 35 mm film, leaf shutter, zone focus, compact camera introduced in 1984 and manufactured in St. Petersburg by Leningrad Optics & Mechanics Association (LOMO). The design is based on the Cosina CX-2. Some LC-As were sold badged as Zenith, this label was only a sticker underneath the lens. Production in Russia ceased in 2005, being transferred to China (the LC-A+). Thanks to Rob Tarrant for giving me this camera. LOMOs have a strong following (there is a thriving Lomographic Society International!)