Introduction/ new member + some of my interests

Hi.
I am a new member, living in the UK. My name is Dave. I've been collecting a few Soviet cameras for the last three or four years. I think this site is a great source of information and thanks to you all who've set it up and developed it.

I have some bits of information about one or two cameras I have that might be of interest, which I'll feed into the site in due course - although I think I am going to have lots of quesions for you too. By the way, I use both film and digital cameras.

My interests include comparisons between Soviet cameras and the German originals some of them copied, and how the two really match up in terms of performance. I am also interested in some of the political/economic/historical context in which the Soviet cameras were produced and possible explanations for their production (e.g., including the 'market' for particular cameras and who bought what). I realise we may be only able to speculate about some of this but I would be pleased to know who else is interested in these sorts of questions. I am also interested in the use and 'misuse' of photography in the Soviet Union and what cameras particular Soviet photographers used. I think some of this may be outside the scope of this website in itself but it does indicate some interesting questions I think about exactly who bought and used Soviet cameras. It looks to me as if one or two well-known Soviet figures actually used Leicas quite openly during the Stalin era, e.g, the famous photographer Rodchenko and Stalin's bodyguard Vlasik 'who never went anywhere without his Leica' (according to expert on Soviet posters and photogrpahy, David King).

I don't know if any of these interest are outside the scope of this forum but if so, please advise me, as I'm keen to stick to the forum's remit.

Best regards
Dave.

Hi Dave,
welcome here! I think it is really very interesting to compare some German originals with the Soviet copies, BUT there were also many original Soviet cameras in the USSR, which had no analogs anywhere else.
Anyway, you are exactly right here .

Regards, Alexander

Thanks, Alexander, for your comment.

Yes, that's true - I should not underestimate the number of original camera designs in the Soviet Union.

However, regarding the Soviet-German copies and their comparisons, I find the comparison of the lenses interesting in that I wonder if SOME of the German lenses are not quite as superior to the Soviet equivalent lenses as we normally think. I don't know too much about this but I find it an interesting question and I'd be pleased to hear any further comments from you and others about this question.

A few years ago I bought some Soviet cameras from someone who worked a lot in the Soviet Union and he said to me that he wondered if some of the sands used to make the glass for some Soviet lenses were actually of higher quality than some of the sands used to make the glass for some German lenses. However, I don't know how valid this point is.

I might buy a micro four thirds camera sometime soon and do some systematic tests of equivalent German and Soviet lenses but I suspect others must have already had a go at this.

Best regards
Dave.

Hello Dave,

Very interested by what you say.
I am a collector of Leica/Fed/Zorki and of Contax/Kievs. No more, so quite specialized...
In the background, the history of the thirties, WW2 and the postwar years. And of course the comparison between the German cameras and their Russian cousins...
But I confess I know absolutely nothing about sand used to make lenses. And concerning Russian lenses, it seems admitted that some of them are as good as German ones, or even better.
I try to find the link about that.

Amitiйs. Jacques.

Here it is:

http://www.collection-appareils.fr/avoscrayons/html/50mm.php

You are lucky: it's a French site, but you even have a translation!

Bonjour Jacques.

Merci beaucoup! The information on the website you identify in response to my question about German/Soviet lens comparisons is very interesting and a thorough test. I have just read though it quickly for the first time but will spend a sometime going through it more thoroughly. It seems to indicate some quite convincing evidence that some Soviet lenses are indeed better than some of their Leica equivalents.

The comments on this website on the excellent quality of pre-War Zeiss lenses are also interesting, and the impact that Zeiss had on the best Soviet lenses.

Who knows about the quesion I raise about different sands used in the glass production for German and Soviet lenses, or whether (as this website might be suggesting) that it was more to do with the lens construction in the partiuclalr cases where the Soviet lenses seem to be better. If I come across any more information about the sands used I'll post it up on the USSRPhoto site.

Thanks again for your help.
Amities.
Dave.

A good explanation was done by Prof. Marlon Kelly at:
http://www.novacon.com.br/lenses08.htm
There one should be about the cooperation with Zeiss well before WW2
Regards to all
LP

Thanks very much, Luiz. The website you suggest re the quality of Soviet lenses and history is very good.

Best regards
Dave.