The first Soviet SLR camera:
"FILMANKA" DESIGN by Comrade Min - only existed as prototype.

Back in March 1931 Designer AA Min suggested camera of his design to approval board of VOOMP - "Filmanka" - an SLR camera designed to shoot on 35mm film, equipped with a curtain shutter and film for 100 frames of 24 X 36 mm. Special counter shows the number of frames filmed.

SLR "Filmanka" had a number of reviews, including military department, "The proposed camera will certainly find a use among a wide array of competent amateur photographers, travelers, scientific expeditions, as well as among the Red Army. "

Positive feedback was received from the standard commission Supreme Economic Council, Leningrad Photo-Film College, and others.

Min received the approval of VOOMP. They gave the following conclusion about it (from the minutes of March 6, 1931):. "Having considered the proposal of comrade Min, having familiarized with the presented model of the camera system and its enlarger, technical advice deparment of VOOMP decides that it offerы a lot of value and is a significant invention that very much deserves the attention. It is of highest technical quality and is indeed very well thought out. "

VOOMP, however, like his predecessors, has canned "Filmanka" project.

The magazine Proletarian Photo №3 for 1933
The article "To take the lead in designing photographic equipment"

Text by Vladimir Zverev