FotoQuelle 1971: Russian cameras

Extract from the German FotoQuelle catalog from 1971. The title says:

<i>"Russian space technology is well known - like Russian camera technology.
Only from the PHOTO-QUELLE you can get these cameras of the best Russian precision technology.
Top models in the age of space travel - for you at unbelievably small PHOTO-QUELLE prices!"</i>

http://www.ussrphoto.com/resize/resize_image.aspx?ImgWd=800&IptFl=/UserContent/432018_FotoQuelle-1971.jpg

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/432018_FotoQuelle-1971.jpg


Regards, Alexander

I can see Jupiters 9, 11, 12 sold as Revue lenses.
What engravings had they ? Jupiter or Revue ?

Thanks Alexander! Great material! Very interesting logos on Revue 3 and 4, never encountered these particular ones in real life..

Cheers,
Vlad

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="MS Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Alfa2</i>
<br />I can see Jupiters 9, 11, 12 sold as Revue lenses.
What engravings had they ? Jupiter or Revue ?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
These lenses were also sold with German M42 cameras.
Quelle as the biggest catalog-seller in Germany didn't want to confuse own customers with soviet lenses on German cameras. So it was decided to sell them under own "Revue" brand.

Regards, Alexander

Really nice ad! My first SLR was a Revueflex B from 1971 :-) I also havn't seen the logos of the Revue 3 and Revue 4 before. Maybe they were only faked for the catalogue? And for the lenses, I think Quelle sold them with latin engraving, "Jupiter". Foto-Porst has selled Praktica cameras under his own name in that time.

Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="MS Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by uwittehh</i>
<br /> I think Quelle sold them with latin engraving, "Jupiter".
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
You are right Ulrich, Quelle sold of course "Jupiters" with latin engraving, but offered them in catalog without name "Jupiter", but simply as different lenses for cameras Revue-3/Revue-4.
There were of course many other German ads of soviet cameras with lenses with original names, but not in Quelle-catalogs.

Regards, Alexander

I am not sure if it was Quelle/Revue, but I have had nameless lenses: lenses without the soviet name written, but only specs. Not hard to make by leaving the engraving undone.

Best regards,
Juhani

I have never seen Russian lens with engraving "Revue" or sth like that.

Juhani, that's great you have the lenses.
Could you please share the photo ?

First that I found

http://www.ussrphoto.com/resize/resize_image.aspx?ImgWd=800&IptFl=/UserContent/632018_cosmorexEM.jpg

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/632018_cosmorexEM.jpg

Best regards,
Juhani

The pics of real Revue-4 (not mine) can be seen here https://cloud.mail.ru/public/9XrS/rniTArZQh
The Revue-4 with different logo is on avito.ru right now
https://www.avito.ru/kaliningrad/fototehnika/redkiy_apparat_revue-4_fed-4_na_eksport_-_sssr_1113125042

Very interesting.

From the '60s, Italy (my country), was a strong importer of USSR made cameras, through a company associated to Olivetti (once a famous maker of typewriting and calculating machines), being part of the export agreement with the USSR, receiving part of the balance, with cameras and optics.

Earlier, the company was known as "<i><b>F.O.S. - Foto Ottica Sovietica</b></i>" (Soviet Photo-Optics), then, <i><b>Antares</b></i> and <i><b>Atemsa</b></i>.

From the late '60s until the mid-'70s, our photo magazines where usually presenting detailed advertisements, stressing the extremely favourable prices with extra-discounts for workers, peasants and students. The importers, als organized a well-distributed network of repair and maintenance laboratories.

It still happens to see Soviet cameras bearing the lithographed metal, round escutcheon with a red star and the achronym "<i><b>F.O.S.</b></i>".

Recently, I've found a fine, illustrated catalogue of <i>Atemsa</i>: in this later period (1975-'79), the firm was also importer of cameras and lenses made in the DDR, once imported by "<i><b>Fotoexakta</b></i>" of Turin.

In my country, USSR/DDR-made cameras and lenses were widely diffused, especially among young people and beginners, although being often despised and accused of being ureliable and prone to defects and various problems (part of this opinion, perhaps due to our "side" in the so-called Cold War).

My first "serious" camera, was a Kiev-4A, bought back in 1975, when I was 16 years old, being very similar to my grandfather's Contax-II, with which, under his guidance, I've learnt the "fundamentals" of practical photography (by the way, my Kiev still works flawlessly, together with the now mine, 1937-made Contax).

In the early '80s, until 1992, a lot of USSR-made photo-optics arrived in Italy via-emigrées and Russian tourists, being available at prices that were a minor fraction of the pieces of regular import.

The last importers, were the "<i><b>Pentacon Italia</b></i>" and "<i><b>Exakta Italia</b></i>" of Genoa, later united under the brand "<i><b>Investimenti Cattaneo</b></i>" These three companies, owned by the Cattaneo family of Genoa, once importers (from before WW2 and until 1979) of Leitz cameras.

In my country, USSR-made cameras and lenses, never changed their name; only, the lenses made by Carl Zeiss, Jena in the GDR, when officially imported, were signed "aus Jena" only.

I think that the history of how this material was exported to the non-socialist countries, could be an interesting sector of research.

Best wishes,

E.L.

Pretty much the same here in Finland, except that the FSU-camera importer was Soviet-owned, and DDR-importer was a "normal camera company".

Best regards,
Juhani

Great info, Elmar! Thank you for that!

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="MS Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Elmar Lang</i>

It still happens to see Soviet cameras bearing the lithographed metal, round escutcheon with a red star and the achronym "<i><b>F.O.S.</b></i>".


<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I'm very curious to see this emblem on the Soviet camera, do you have a photo of that by any chance?

Thank you!

Vlad

My "soviet Revue" collection:

http://www.ussrphoto.com/resize/resize_image.aspx?ImgWd=1200&IptFl=/UserContent/1132018_Soviet_Revue.jpg

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1132018_Soviet_Revue.jpg



Regards, Alexander

http://www.ussrphoto.com/resize/resize_image.aspx?ImgWd=800&IptFl=/UserContent/1132018_Revueflex-B.JPG

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1132018_Revueflex-B.JPG

And in some cases also the case was different from original.

Best regards,
Juhani

WOW!! Alexander, fantastic! You have them all I believe! Congratulations! [:)]. I am still missing the straight logo FED-3 and the 135! [:)]

Cool case, Juhani! Never seen one!

Best regards,
Vlad

Alexander, cool, I have them all except the Revue 135 Symbol. Vlad, I've that case for the Revueflex B, but it is gone. Juhani, yours looks like mine :-)

Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

The Revue/Fed 3 and 4 are all in the wiki.
But the exception is the Revue 3 showed by Alexander in his first post. I have never seen such an inscription "alive". I doubt it really existed.

Amitiés. Jacques.