unknown camera, no lens

That's an interesting piece.. What indication does it have that it was Soviet manufacture? Any writing anywhere?

Vlad.

Except that shatter is Moment and story from seller, camera has no indication about it origin. Camera only has few numbers pouched inside, presumably serial number.
The seller story such: in 90-th they bought military warehouse in Moldavia (as I remember). Warehouse was full of old military close. No weapons or other equipment. Only old military uniforms, buckles, shoes(sapogi), coats, heats, etc. On one of the shelves they found 7 cameras as shown. Probably because warehouse belong to Air force they tell me that this cameras from Russian bombers. They move all what they found to US and merely put all on eBay. I lost track of this seller. He probably still selling old military gear from USSR: “pilotki”, “gimnosterki”, “sheneli”... No more cameras.
But camera most defiantly Russian. But the way it made and tons of grease("solidol":) I found inside.
I’m only not sure that camera was used on airplane. It was so dirty and it is very heavy - probably 5 kg(10 lb). Better suited for a tank. I was asked on few forums about this camera. Have no replays. May be someone here can put a light?
I have question to the experts who may read this post: why this camera designed only for round pictures? And why it has red glass permanently installed behind the shatter?

Okynek
Welcome to our group! This camera is really unknown to me! Very interesting. Moment shutter and red filter. The red filter means that this camera was designed for red and infra-red photography spectrum. - Pehaps a life surveying camera meant to discover hidden people or special vegetals. This same technique is still used by police to denote cocaine or merijuana fields. These emits particular infra red wave lengths and it is always used through flight research method, so this stresses the camera possibilities to be used on planes. Acording to the pictures I did see no film advance control so this probably should be coupled in an external motor drive for cadence serial pictures.
LP

Yes, you right, on the front of the camera special coupling for electric drive or handle. I made primitive handle for this coupling. So when you move handle down it advance the film, and on the way back it cocked the shatter and fire. Shatter is modified a little to fire right after it cocked. On the bottom of the camera special gear to change shatter speed. And on the side is frame counter, up to 50 frames. Mechanically camera pretty simple, it literally has 10 gears and pulleys. Probably to be easy to serve on the field. Round pictures maybe for fisheye lense. It all I can say.

Round picture cameras not necessary for fish eye.
Ophtalmologig cameras, Microscope cameras, Powerfull telephoto for observation, Astronomic cameras, Endoscopic cameras for medical and metallurgical research, also used to take round pictures. When kodak put in the market its first camera, it also took round pictures, so the photogapher had no needs to exact frame the picture. Our eyes also have a round field of vision.
LP

It’s so true. But it put me back on squire one in my investigation. Actually on squire two, because now we know that camera was used for infra red photography.

This isn't the camera is it? Shape looks similar



Photo courtesy of Georgiy Abramov (www.photohistory.ru), page http://www.photohistory.ru/AirCameras.html

Vlad
At first my congratulations for your "Sherlock" abilities. I believe you are very close to the truth. But....
The camera shown in your picture is a MAFA 13 from the middle of the '30 years- GOMZ production with center lens shutter. The camera of Okinek is clearly much more modern. "MOMENT" shutters begun to be made only after 1950 by KMZ. KMZ might probably be the maker of the "Okinek camera". I can't see the attachment (four screws), the counter and the two levers, but GOMZ produced in the pre-war period a very similar shutter to MOMENT I can't remember the name now.
The "Okinek camera" might be a more modern but similar production.

Thanks Luiz! I always love when you congratulate me ! Are you thinking of the GOMZ shutter on Fotokors?

Yes you are right if it is a moment shutter, but this may be a new model of this GOI camera... just a thought...

Vlad

No! It is a shutter from 1 to 250 exactly the same manner of Moment. Both derived from The Rim-set Compur. I must re-read my Spravochnik Fotoliubiteliya....

I have many more pictures of the internal parts of the camera if anybody interesting. I made them when I did complete overhaul of the camera.

Post them if you can! I'm very intrigued about this camera!

But can you resize them to 800x600 first? Thanks!

Vlad.

Vlad I'm not sure how to post pictures? How to put pictures inside the message? Or should I put them somewhere else and provide link?

Just edit your catalog entry that your posted for this camera and upload more images there.

So click on this:

http://www.ussrphoto.com/Wiki/default.asp?WikiCatID=19&ParentID=1&ContentID=387&Item=unknown+camera%2C+no+lens

Then Click on Edit this Entry on the top right

Thanks,

Vlad

I can do this. Only one objection, are you sure Wiki catalog should have pictures of all this gears and internal parts and insides of the camera?

I got one answer for that Okynek - HECK YEAH! The more details we have about the camera in catalog the better!!!

Thanks,
Vlad

I put more pictures. Just for you

Wow! Very nice thank you! It IS a very simple camera mechanically, but I am amazed how mechanically complex the moment shutter is! I've never seen it disassembled.

Moment 24-S denotes production pf 1958/1959

Now it is clear why round pictures. The shutter stays in the path of light rays coming from the lens so this limit the coverage. The red filter in inbuilt in the shutter.

Two other cameras what I poses have Moment 1 shatter. Other then this they are the same. Red filter go when lens should be on Moskva camera.
This camera definitely just a piece of the bigger system. I believe camera was interchangeable. After all film exposed you put new camera in and old go to the lab for processing and reloading. Kind like one-time cameras for military