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Topic

Topic author: Vlad

Posted on: 20080116124002

This is pretty old, but just posting for archival purposes:

http://shop.lomography.com/mf1/

Vlad.

Replies

Reply author: Zoom

Replied on: 20080117090027

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Vlad
 This is pretty old, but just posting for archival purposes:
http://shop.lomography.com/mf1/
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
The History section of this page has many errors.
One error I found in the Specifications:
"Lens: Multicoated MSOF 28/2.8"
Must be:
"Lens: MC OF-28T" or simple "MC OF-28"

Reply author: Vlad

Replied on: 20080117103605

Thanks Zoom! So is KMZ really rebranding these cameras still into Zenits?? Or someone else is doing that?

Reply author: Zoom

Replied on: 20080117114053

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Vlad
 So is KMZ really rebranding these cameras still into Zenits?? Or someone else is doing that?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
"Zenit" is the plant trade mark (of course, slightly known, but known ;)...
The real name of this camera was "AYaKS-12" (not "Ajax"! This is the abbreviation!). The KMZ production neutral name: "MF-21" (MF == Mikro-Fotoapparat == micro-photocamera; 21 == 21 mm film width). Production was started in 1952 year.
Btw, cameras were exported, and not to the socialist countries only...

Reply author: Vlad

Replied on: 20080117123725

Thank you, but were they exported secretly? Was the production secret for special services? Or public did know about these cameras? When did it become Zenit MF-21 and open to public? After the collapse of USSR or earlier? Was Zenit MF-21 a result of left-over production?

Reply author: Luiz Paracampo

Replied on: 20080117184446

Must be:
"Lens: MC OF-28T" or simple "MC OF-28"
______________________________
This is the same lens of Horizont cameras OF 28-P (Panoramic) Right?

Reply author: fedka

Replied on: 20080118062509

This Lomography shop is not shy, asking $1000

Reply author: Zoom

Replied on: 20080118073355

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Vlad
 Was the production secret for special services?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
This camera was for a law machinery (a police shadowing etc.), not for a espionage in a foreign countries.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Vlad
When did it become Zenit MF-21 and open to public?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
At first: "Zenit MF-1" -- not "MF-21". "MF-1" was "MF-21" without "sredstva prikrytiya" (camouflage).
In 1992. See http://www.zenitcamera.com/archive/spycams/to-market-with-mini-camera.html

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Vlad
Was Zenit MF-21 a result of left-over production?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
(MF-1) Initially? No.

Reply author: Zoom

Replied on: 20080118073527

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Luiz Paracampo
 This is the same lens of Horizont cameras OF 28-P (Panoramic) Right?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
YES!

See also:
http://www.zenitcamera.com/archive/horizon/horizont-secrets.html

Reply author: Vlad

Replied on: 20080118100733

Thank you Zoom! This is all very interesting, since we know so little about this camera. Excellent article! It still does not answer the question which non-communist counties it was exported to. Article says it was never picked up, but that was 1993 after all [:)].

This article also introduced me to two new cameras I have not heard of before - Ofort and Journalist. Do you have any more information about those? If you do or have any links, could you please create a separate thread for them in this forum, I don't want to mix it into this one.

Thanks!

Vlad

Reply author: Zoom

Replied on: 20080118114739

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Vlad
 It still does not answer the question which non-communist counties it was exported to.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Yes. But I know the history of all AYaKS cameras... ;)
Some information is there:
http://www.photohistory.ru/Ajax-series.html

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Vlad
This article also introduced me to two new cameras I have not heard of before - Ofort and Journalist. Do you have any more information about those?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Ofort -- was a medical equipment... Not interesting... (for example: Ofort-ID is camcorder+stand+PC+software)
Journalist -- was a night viewer with a camera. See http://www.zenitcamera.com/archive/zenit-12/index.html#zenit-312m (ZENIT-312m with NV-400) for example (this is not the "Journalist").