Krasnogorsk Mechanical Works camera company
This is KMZ Drug (Друг), a 35mm rangefinder camera made by Krasnogorski Mekhanicheskii Zavod (KMZ) in the former Soviet Union between the years of 1959 and 1962. During it’s development, a prototype of the camera was made called the Zorki 7, but it’s name was changed to Drug, which translates…
This is a Zenit 16, a 35mm SLR made by Krasnogorski Mekhanicheskii Zavod (KMZ) in the former Soviet Union between the years of 1973 to 1977. It uses the M42 screw mount and has a CdS exposure meter with over and under indicators visible in the viewfinder. The Zenit 16…
“Donut bokeh”…. …once you see it, you instantly know you’re talking about an image shot with a catadioptric lens. Catadioptric lenses are as unmistakable themselves as the images they make with their large dimeter barrel with a noticeable round obtrusion right smack in the center of the front element. Catadioptrics…
This is a KMZ Horizont (Горизонт), produced in the former Soviet Union between the years 1967 to 1973 by Krasnogorsky Mekhanichesky Zavod (KMZ). This was the first model in a long line of successful swing lens panoramic cameras that were produced until well after the collapse of the Soviet Union. …
This is a Zorki rangefinder camera, built in the former Soviet Union by Krasnogorsky Mekhanichesky Zavod (KMZ). Although not marketed this way when it was new, this example is known today as the Zorki 1C as it was the original generation Zorki rangefinder, and the third major variant. The Zorki…
This is a KMZ Ajax-12, a subminiature camera that shoots images 18mm tall by 24mm wide on bulk loaded unperforated 21mm film. The Ajax-12 was built specifically for the Soviet Union’s intelligence agencies and is commonly referred to by it’s KGB name, which is F-21. It uses a spring wound…
This review is part of the Cameras of the Dead series which I have been publishing every year on Halloween and “Halfway to” Halloween, featuring three cameras that I’ve wanted to review that either didn’t work, or was otherwise unable to shoot. I am republishing each of those individual reviews…
In October 2018, I reviewed the KMZ Zenit-E, one of the most well known and identifiable cameras to ever come out of the former Soviet Union. Millions of Zenits were produced from 1952 – 1996 and many of them were the Zenit-E. When they were first released, the Zenit used…
This is a KMZ Iskra, a folding medium format camera that shoots 6cm x 6cm images on 120 format roll film. The Iskra is a copy of the AGFA Super Isolette first introduced in 1954, and was made by KMZ (Krasnogorsky Mekhanichesky Zavod), just outside of Moscow starting in 1960. …
This is a KMZ Narciss (Нарцисс), a 16mm sub-miniature SLR camera produced by Krasnogorsky Mekhanichesky Zavod in Krasnogorsk, Russia between the years of 1961 and 1965. The Narciss produces 14mm x 21mm exposures on unperforated 16mm film loaded into specialized cassettes made specifically for the Narciss. Despite it’s diminutive size,…
This is a Zenit-E 35mm SLR camera, made by Krasnogorski Mekhanicheskii Zavod (KMZ) in the former Soviet Union between the years of 1965 and 1986. The entire Zenit (Зенит) line was extremely successful and not only sold very well, but it has become an iconic camera of the Soviet Union. Millions…
This is a Zorki 5 rangefinder camera made by Krasnogorskiy Mechanicheskiy Zavod (KMZ) in Krasnogorsk during the years of 1958 – 1959. This particular camera is an early and much less common variant with a red Zorki-5 logo engraved into the body, and a square rangefinder window. Later Zorki 5s had a…
