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Soviet Camera Exhibition:

History of the Soviet Photographic industry 1930-1992

Kiev Street Fashions

My own personal favourites:

I seem to have many of these, but mostly for different reasons. My non soviet favourites include the Agfa Super Sillette, Taxona, Pentax Spotmatic, Pentax ME Super, Mamiya C330, Yashica Mat 124G, Ricoh Super 66, Kodak Retinette 2B Kodak Retina, Olympus Trip 35, Contax RTS, Contax 139, Contax G2, Bronica SQA, Yashica FR & FD Quartz. I'm listing my soviet favourites in no particular order, but will endeavour to explain what I like about each one, and why.

Cameras:

Junost:                     When I first saw this camera I knew this was something a little different. Gomz/Lomo in Leningrad had a reputation throughout the soviet union for producing quality cameras, and this was one of the gems in their catalogue. The quality and finish of the metal and leather are instantly noticeable, and the simplicity of the design is very attractive. When you hold it you discover other reasons to covet this camera, it is lighter than most soviet cameras and feels like quality in your hands. the rangefinder is tinted rose and blue and is easy to use, and once you have your light meter reading you set the number with a clip that locks shutter speed to aperture setting. After twenty years of working with slide film only I find I never need a light meter, but for those who do its easy to carry this camera along with a metered SLR or a pocket meter. Fixed 45mm lens is perfect for street reportage.

Lomo LC-A (Lomo Compact) This is a classy little compact with a sharp 32mm lens. Although I sometimes get some vignetting it is excellent for candid street photos and general reportage.

Lomo 135m & BC    Super little compact with clockwork motor drive and a very sharp lens. 5-8 shots from one winding, easy to use and to load. Bright line frame is coupled for parallax correction.

Leningrad               Another real gem from Gomz/Lomo. Even without the clockwork motor drive I would love this camera. Viewfinder is superb and is framed for all lenses 35mm - 135mm. Rangefinder is clear to see in all light conditions, very nice.

Sokol 2                  Nice street shooter with an extremely sharp lens, this model has a hot shoe. Rangefinder is accurate and easy to see, nice bright viewfinder with coupled parallax correction. Auto or manual.

Fed 2                       I'm not a big Fed fan I must admit, but the Fed 2 appeals to me, and though I sometimes use the Fed 3 or Fed 5 I always come back to the 2. Usually I stick a Jupiter 12 or Industar 61 LD lens on it and I've made many fine pictures with this camera and enjoyed using it. Nice wide spaced rangefinder and the shutter makes a truly joyful sound in action.

Fed Micron 2      Compact rangefinder with CDS meter, Nice size and weight.

Fed 35A             More modern version of the Micron 2.

Moskow 4 & Moskow 5               6x9 rangefinder that folds and fits nicely in your pocket. Mine has adapter plates for 6x6 and 6x4.5, the latter being a modification that I find useful. Superb lens and simple to use.

Drug               Cross between a Winchester rifle and a camera. great fun. Has lever below camera which folds out to cock the shutter and advance the frame. Zorki 3M-C shutter with all slow speeds B, 1-1000. Very rare now.

Electra 112

Kiev 2A                  I must admit I like all the Kiev rangefinder cameras, with or without light meters, but these three models that don't have meters are my favourites. The Kiev 2/2A/4A were the better made versions, though the 4AM has some nice features it is prone to problems with the shutter and winding mechanism. All lenses made for this range, apart from the Helios 103, were copies of the Carl Zeiss equivalents and perform as well if they are properly cleaned and adjusted. Many of my best photos from the last 2 years have been made with one or another of the range.

Kiev 4A                                       Kiev 4AM            

Kiev 5          coupled parallax correction and nice bright viewfinder make this rather bulky Kiev nice to use, it also has lever wind.

Kiev 10                  Nice semi automatic SLR that always attracts attention. Nice to look at, nice to hold and a range of super lenses available. I usually carry just the Mir-1 and Jupiter 9 with mine. I never use the automatic function, though it seems to work fine. has aperture indicator in viewfinder. Not as heavy as it looks.

Kiev 15TTL Last version of above range with CDS metering.

Kiev 35A  'The little Iskra' A lovely little compact 35mm with superb lens. I prefer this now to my Lomo LCA.

Kiev 20   definitely the best of the Nikon mount Kiev SLRs, the Kiev 20 was a failure due to being overpriced for the soviet pocket. Withdrawn after a short production run and replaced with the Kiev 19. Rare camera now and well worth buying if you see one.

Kiev 60TTL  'The Mighty Hulk' 6x6 SLR with attitude. I've never really liked the Hasselblad format and my Kiev 6C and Kiev 60's get a lot of use.

Zorki 3                   All Zorki 3's are cool. while a lot of people rave about the 3 and 3M I tend to use the 3C more often because it's synced for flash. This was the one real class camera from Zorki, with slow speeds, nice viewfinder window and a shutter that's very smooth.

Zorki 3M                              Zorki 3C               

Zorki 6                    No slow speeds but nice design. This camera should have had the Zorki 3 shutter. The body was used as the platform for the Kristall and the 3M Zenit. Nice wide rangefinder, which the Zorki 3 should have had....

Zorki 10 compact 35mm rangefinder with space age styling. I enjoy using my Zorki 10, cos its different enough to be a lot of fun, winder on the baseplate and takes very sharp pics....

Iskra                     Superb 6x6 coupled rangefinder. I also have an Iskra 2 with a built in light meter but I prefer the first Iskra because it looks cooler.

Sputnik: A 6x6 stereo camera based on the Lubitel. Excellent quality but delicate construction.

Voskhod although heavy for a pocket compact the Voskhod is interesting to use and has a very sharp lens, central shutter and vertical format makes it a favourite for shooting in sub zero temperatures

Lubitel 166     

This is my favourite lubitel, with auto advance winder and a beautifully sharp T22 lens. It's simple, light and makes great photos.

Zenit TTL  Though I like the Zenit E for its rugged construction, this camera combines that feature with through the lens metering and looks a little more stylish.

Zenit 3M  & Kristall                Most soviet SLRs don't impress me, probably because I've been using Contax and Pentax for many years. But these and the Kiev 10 I use when the mood grabs me. They don't have an exposure meter but have the body of a Zorki 6 and a superb range of lenses, in particular the Helios 40 and 44, Jupiter 9 and the Mir 1.

Start Like the above cameras only with a full range of speeds and some interesting features and accessories.

Zenit Automat  it's not like me to like anything that is 'automatic' but I did fall for this camera, maybe because of the Pentax bayonet system and because everything on this camera seems to be right where it should be. Very nice..

Lenses:

All the Jupiter rangefinder lenses were soviet copies of the pre war Zeiss equivalents and I find the quality excellent.

Jupiter 3                       50mm   1,5

Jupiter 8/8M/17                 50mm    2

Jupiter 9                       85mm    2  (Kiev RF, Kiev10/15, Zenit 39mm& 42mm)

Jupiter 12                     35mm

Jupiter 11                    135mm    4    (Kiev RF, Kiev10/15, Zenit 39mm& 42mm)    

155*mm  4  (Kiev 10/15 only)

The next five Helios lenses were developed at Arsenal in Kiev and are all superb performers

Helios 103                   50mm    1,8

Helios 61                     50mm     2

Helios 65                     50mm     2

Helios 81                     50mm     2

Helios 94                     50mm      2

Helios 40 (below) is probably the finest portrait lens available, and although heavy its the nicest 'bit of glass' for the money, you can get. I was using one with my Pentax and Contax systems long before I started buying Soviet cameras.

Helios 40                    85mm      1,5  (39mm & 42mm Zenit only)

Jupiter 6                    180mm

Helios 44                    50mm       2   (39/42mm Zenit, Pentax-K)

Mir 1                          37mm     2,8 (Kiev 10/15 and 39/42mm Zenit)

Mir 20                        20mm      3,5  (Kiev 10/15, Nikon bayonet and 39/42mm Zenit)

Mir 24                        35mm     2     (Kiev 17-20)

Industar 61/61L/D        50mm      2   (Kiev*, Fed, Zorki, & Zenit 42mm)

Kaleinar 5/Arsat             100mm       2,8

Tair 11                           135mm      2,8

Medium Format lenses:

Zodiac- 8               30mm

Mir 26                   45mm

Mir 3                     65mm

Mir 38                   65mm

Volna 3                  80mm

Industar 69             80mm

Vega   12                90mm

Vega   28               120mm

Kaleinar 3             150mm

Jupiter 36              250mm

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