Albar

What does word Albar mean? And did I make a mistake placing it into BelOMO? The lens say "LOMO"??! Huh? Aidas you probably know most about this camera, care to share some info?

You may need to ask Victor his opinion on the origin of this. I have not seen it before. Maybe a GOMZ prototype. This lens is usually on an Almaz.

Regards, Bill

Albar was a new name choice from BelOMO when KMZ objected the Zenit name in different cameras of their own prodution. This occured around the begining of 1992.
Regards
LP

So, according to Zoom "Alba Ruthenia" in Bielorussia In Latin language means "Clear or White Red stone" ?

More information at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruthenia
LP

But what camera is this? And what factory made it? Anyone know?

Regards, Bill

The factory is BELOMO. The serial # is stamped on the inside of the film loading door to the left of the pressure plate.

The lens does not belong on this camera. Like any M42 lens it is easily changed. The correct lens is a Helios-44M-5 Zenit with the Valdai shiskabob.

The camera itself is a cosmetically enhanced(?) Zenit 15.

I have to agree with the prevailing opinion in the Soviet Union that Valdai products were second rate. It certainly is in fit, form, function and quality.

Thanks Zoom and Luiz! Had no idea Albar means Belorus ...

Bill, I would assume it's BelOMO since it's the only Belorussian factory I know of and it's Viktor's camera, he is known to be heavily collecting BelOMO prototypes due to some connections at the factory... But LOMO lens confuses me, but we know that a lot of factories used other factories lenses in bunch of cases...

Vlad.

The factory may or may not be BeLomo and the lens may or may not be the correct lens for it. I know the Albar 15 by BeLoOMO, but his camera is not the Albar 15 ... please look at the photo of the camera at the top of this page. It is some type of incomplete prototype. It just has the same name!

Regards, Bill

Bill, this one does not claim to be Albar 15, it simply says Albar, so it's a different camera. I don't quite see GOMZ in Russia naming their camera "Belarus" in translation or anyone else outside Belarus for that matter . It's only logical, and Viktor owning it just make it much more likely. Which factory of BelOMO it is I don't know (probably Vileyka since I don't know of Minsk making SLRs)

Vlad

I agree Vlad, but Nathan was saying, "The camera itself is a cosmetically enhanced(?) Zenit 15." So, I am just saying that it looks to be a prototype model ... unlike anything I have seen before. It even looks to be unfinished as many display prototypes are (missing shutter speed dial, shutter release button, mock-up wind lever). Also it has a red light indicator on the front which would indicative of a new electronic feature.
So, not so simple as just a cosmetically enhanced Zenit-15. Also, although it may be made by BeLOMO, I'm not sure why it would have a LOMO lens, since the camera obviously is not operational. Why would someone put a LOMO lens on it? Maybe just to sell, if the camera had no lens and if it was the only K Bayonet lens they had ... but it would be easy to get a Valdai lens.
So, what is it? Can you ask Viktor (you will maybe get a quicker answer in Russian than I can get from him using English;-)

Regards, Bill

Very odd prototype.
1) The ALBAR text is not same as usually in Albar-15 as it has the two B-looking letters.
2) Did BeLOMO make any lenses in K-mount? Volna is K and Albar-15 & the others so far as I can know were M42

If Aidas can't give any answer then Victor is the only one.
My opinion: one of those Belarus-time BeLOMO prototypes that never go any further, and truly BeLomo was famous for making off & rare versions

Smena rules

I will ask Viktor this week, but I think Aidas may know something as he converses with Viktor quite often . And it may be a while until Viktor will reply to me, he's a very busy man.

Hi,

Although I was holding this Albar in my very own hands, I can say nothing right now. I was told, that Viktor's book keeps it's way to finish already, so huge amount of never-seen cameras will be under our discussions indeed ...

Best Regards,
Aidas

I sent Viktor inquiry about it too, he is in Kiev now, I'm hoping he will reply when he is back.

Vlad.

This camera is a BelOMO version of the known Zenit AM - It uses the same circuitry and is totally electronic -Plus an improvement- Manual set-up of speeds. The shutter is a vertical metal focal plane type of their own conception and lhe lens used was picked from the exceeding prodution when Almaz from LOMO stoped production. So, this Albar has obviously a K mount.
The prototype dates from 1997-1998.
LP

Luiz, what is your source on this? Do you have any more images by any chance?

Thanks!
Vlad.

No pictures, unfortunatedly Vlad, but my friend Puliaev (from this forum)once was friend of the Vilieika engeneer responsible, And told his history when they changed camera production to perhaps motorcycle carburetters.
LP