Can you spot a Foton in there? :)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yhxfl_Vx-cQ

Vlad

I saw it! Also, I made a rough count of about only 410 cameras in that collection... I bet Vlad and Alain (and others) can beat that!

Regards, Bill

Nah.. i'm only at 210 cameras right now . Aidas and Alain got that beat for sure though...

Vlad

There is a Foton in the front a Svetozor in the back (In the begining of the show) But there is could not spot the Moment nor the Kiev 88 Polaroid back set.

Luiz,
Do you know how many Svetozor Close Up cameras were made, with the label inside the film slot written in Russian? Is it rare or common?




Regards, Bill

Unhappily there is no available data about (yet). Russian people including dislike to talk about this matter. They do not surface very often.
Regards
LP

quote:

---

Originally posted by Luiz Paracampo

Unhappily there is no available data about (yet).

---

Capacities of the enterprise are known only: up to one million pieces a year.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Luiz Paracampo

Russian people including dislike to talk about this matter.

---

"Signal" is a very boarding factory...

Thanks Luiz and Zoom,

So at leat I know there was not one million and one, but there was at least one! It seems that many were made, from what I read, but many of those made wre then exported back to the Western countries. It seems that possibly the ones that have the Russian writing on the film slot were made for use in Russia, or at least in Russian speaking countries, and I am wondering if that was many since I have read that the film was hard to get and so they were not used much in Russia.
In other words, what I would sometime like to find out is if most Svetozor - Poloroids were 'assembled in Russia' for export, or were large numbers labeled with Russian writing for use in Russia. I don't see them sold on Ebay often.

I agree Zoom ... they are very boring!

Regards, Bill

Why boring? If it was made in Russia I want it! Not boring at all! ... part of history!

Vlad

Well, the sense that I mean the company or factory is boring, is that they did not design anything or come up with new ideas the way KMZ, GOMZ-LOMO, Arsenal, FED, and others did. It seems like it was really more a business deal than a camera company, although maybe there is more to the company than I know. But ... not that a Svetozor Polaroid is boring to have for a collection of Russian cameras ... that is why I am waiting for mine to come in the mail from Belarus ;-)

Regards, Bill

Are you going to take it apart Bill? I'm curious to see what parts are inside... hehehe

Vlad

Vlad, for me it was a big deal today when I took a tiny screw out of an I-50 lens so that I could take the back casing off of it (so that I can add that casing to a MIR-1 lens, which will be used to put on a special Leningrad model that I have .. I will show it when it is done)! So take a Polaroid apart ... no way. I think the parts that are in there will be the parts that were sent to the factory to be "assembled in USSR".

Regards, Bill

All right, I got someone hunting for one for me right now in Moscow so once I get it, I'll then take it apart to see what's inside . Supposedly it's a screwless design, all snaps, I'm afraid for screws too so we'll see .

Vlad

quote:

---

Originally posted by nightphoto

...It seems that many were made, from what I read, but many of those made wre then exported back to the Western countries.

---

May be, but I'm have some doubt in this: for what the new rivals to Polariod? ;)
On the other hand, I never saw the "Svetozor"-made cameras in a shops (in Moscow)... Once (only once!) I saw one camera on Molotok.ru (the Russian Internet auction: http://www.molotok.ru/ ). Of course, I'm not a frequent visitor at this auction, but...

I don't know for sure, but I think that Polaroid was looking for a way to save money in the production of these Polaroids by sending the parts to Russia to be assembled, where labor costs were less, but then exporting the finished cameras and selling them in Western Europe.
Also, they may have been hoping that they may be able to make a market in Russia eventually, but that never happened.
This is a common practice as can be seen today with Sony TVs, where the parts are made in China, then sent to Mexico where they are assembled, and then the finished product is exported from Mexico into the United states to sell.
With Svetozor, I think huge numbers were assembled in Russia, but very few were actually sold in Russia. Those that were meant to sell in Russia had the Russian label.
It is useful information, Zoom, that you did not see them for sale in Russian stores. If millions were made for Russia, they would probably be seen in stores at the time, and later for sale in both Ebay and the Russian auction site.
So I think there are many Svetozors with "assembled in Russia" plastic embossing, but very few with the Cyrillic - Russian writing on the paper label of the film slot.


Regards, Bill

And now you have made me look inside every Polaroid for sale at flea markets in hope to find a Svetozor. And they are plenty nowadays...

Smena rules

And the fourth Polaroid that I opened at local flea markets was it



Now I have this one also, and you are to blame for the loss of ten euros

And exactly like in the previous pics, so propably these were sold in Europe but nobody even noticed that instead of China it was Russia. After all Polaroids were not expensive, and bought by laymen.

Smena rules