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Hello,
I quite like fake Leicas, for some reason :-) But not the ones with swastikas or strange engravings, nor the modified Zorki C.
But some of the ones that pass themselves off as Leicas do look rather pretty and imaginative.

Here are a few photos of my ‘Leicas’:

First, one of the loveliest ones I received just the other day. The wooden panel is beautifully crafted, and the brass has a lovely shine. It was made from a late FED 1F or 1G
Tip: Place the brass parts in an ultrasonic cleaner and add a teaspoon of citric acid powder.





This one was converted from a Zorki 1D. The Leica engraving is too big.





The next one is from a Zorki 1C. I like the black paint.





This one was made from an early FED S. The Leica engraving looks very good.





And the last one was made from an early FED 1a, maybe in the numeres around 7000. It has no serial number! :-)





Feel free to add your own Leica fakes to this thread :-)

Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

i recently bought some etone shutter curtain to replace the old ones in my zorki3.
I noticed because the etone curtains are only 0.15mm at speed 1/1000 the curtain dosent create a gap, i had to make the drum thicker by adding extra curtain material.
now the gap for 1/1000 at the begin of the travel is about ~1,2mm and at the end ~3,4mm.

So im looking for a better source for zorki curtains since the last post discussing is already over a decade old.

I uploaded it to my Google Drive because of its large capacity. I only scanned six rolls because of the funding limit, but I think it is the most interesting six rolls.

Here is the rink But there is a human face, I will get off if someone makes a claim.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VH853QKXTLYEcWBhjvxTmSxt1Wpexal-/view?usp=drivesdk

Although I know that this is about Soviet cameras... the Contax III is the predecessor of the KIEV III, but this Contax III is very special.
The light meter cover has holes, the light meter setting looks like a Contax IIIa or a Kiev 4, but also somehow different.
I've never seen a camera like this before, what might it be? A conversion in the 50s, because, yes, why? Or a prototype? It is from 1938, as you can see from the G serial number.
Have a look at the pictures, I will take it apart soon to see more details:











Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

note :
a "no-name" factory design Lubitel (black front paint whith original rivets) may be to be silk screen rebadged in export or just for International exibition ? (never used)
and an original Kristall whithout usual hammered grey enamel.Seem to be factory made like this : soft matt aluminium (whithout any scratches or cracks)...I can confirm never painted.
serial number : 61018045

Hello everyone!
The export version of the Industar-61 lens with a distance scale in feet is very rare.
I know of only a few examples:
I-61 #6591212 (1965)
I-61 #8519490 (1973)
I-61 #8697161 (1974)
I-61 #8715502 (1975)
I-61 #8864961 (1965)
Does anyone have this lens or camera with documentation?
I'd like to know which countries they were exported to?

Someone posted this photo on Facebook, I've never seen anything like this, any ideas what is the purpose of this? Seems like a technical camera but for what?

fuji positive film rvp100,my son

This is a preface to a preface. On May 31, 2026, I met Greg Prior at a camera show in Detroit, Michigan. We had a very pleasant conversation and soon discovered that we shared an interest in Isaak Maizenberg. Greg had known Isaak personally, while I knew of him through his reputation and through many people in the camera collecting community who had known or worked with him.

Isaak was a prominent figure in the Soviet photographic world. He authored numerous articles for Soviet photography magazines, books on camera repair and was a renowned camera repairman in both the Soviet Union and the United States. He was also one of the pioneers of Soviet camera collecting and restoration, helping to shape the hobby and preserve its history for future generations.

After the show, Greg and I continued communicating and agreed that it would be a great idea to write an article about Isaak. The article below was written by Greg and is accompanied by an article from Shutterbug magazine. Together, they serve as a tribute to Isaak's life, his contributions to photography, and the lasting impression he made on those who knew him. I believe this site would be a perfect place to host this article. Thank you @Greg Prior!

https://ussrphoto.com/modern/Wiki/default.asp?WikiCatID=50&ParentID=49&ContentID=1738&Item=Memories+of+my+friend+Isaak+Maizenberg++

Hi all,
I added this supposedly rare Smena Symbol to my collection, does anyone have this one to compare serial #? Mine is 79250290


Best regards,
Vlad

Hey all,

Does anyone know much about repairing the Zenit 16 shutter? Does it need specialist repair or could any film camera repair store do it?

The shutter is only firing at 1/1000 no matter what shutter speed i set it too.

Hello,

I fell on this very curious GOMZ Industar 7 some days ago. It is here now.









I don't know when, nor by whom it was made. But that does not look like a "home made" work. I am astonished too by the very early serial number... If anybody has an idea...

Thanks! Jacques.

Hey,

Does anyone happen to be selling a working Zenit 18?

Hello,

I have received lately a proxi device for Fed 1.



It was certainly prewar made, when the "macro" 3,5/50mm Fed did not yet exist, so before 1938.
An interesting device, with an additional +2 lens which fits only the 3,5/50mm lens, and a very well made correcting finder with two optical parts. All that is connected to the rangefinder, of course. As to make correct photos with all that...🤔

Hello,

I think this might be of interest to you all too, so I have put all my repair instructions, which were scattered all over my website, together on one page.
All pages are still in German, but I will translate them into English in the future.

If you are interested you can have a look: http://ritzelkiste.de/kameras/repair/index.htm

Have fun
Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

All,

Due to a recent massive spammers attacks on this forum, I am temporarily closing new member registration.

It can be opened by request if you would like to register and participate - please email me at ussrphotohelp@gmail.com with a short introduction of yourself and why you want to join and I will open it for a few hours so you can register in the forum.

I will reconsider reopening it in a couple of months to see if spam subsides.

Thanks for you understanding and I apologize if anyone got any spam emails from this site.

Best regards,
Vlad
USSRPhoto.com Admin

Hello,

I want to trade my Contax S 1949 type A s/n 890 with a Sonnar 2,8/18cm s/n 549900V60-2, march 1949, M42 prototype, against a Fed b (1/1000th, slow speeds, 2/50mm lens) of course original.

The reasons: this Fed b misses my collection. I am not such a SLR Contax fan to keep it: other collectors will keep this camera alive much better than me. And I don't sell it because I am very reluctant to mix money and history...



Amitiés. Jacques.

Hello to all,

take a look at this 88-year-old FED 1c. It’s almost unbelievable how good the vulcanite and chrome look.
The vulcanite has a different grain than usual, and the chrome shines exceptionally well.
This camera is likely one of the last ones to still have the small bolt on the bottom cover.









Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

After a long time, something interesting to post: Zenit APk with MC Zenitar-K 1.9/50

Hi guys,

I bought it recklessly a pistol hand grip handle for Kiev 88/Salyut ... but it was sold to me without the metal fixing platform !!!

Can any of you help me with the dimensions/diameters/thickness etc? Maybe with a simple drawing with dimensions.
many thanks to everyone.



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Only dead fish follow the stream ...