Difference between revisions of "Almaz"

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The '''Almaz''' (Russian: Алмаз - 'Diamond') cameras are a series of 35 mm [[SLR|single-lens reflex]] cameras made from 1979 to the late 1980s by [[LOMO]] in Russia. They are broadly copies of a Nikon F2, with a detachable prism viewfinder which can be exchanged with different viewfinder types. They have a Pentax K bayonet lens mount.
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The '''Almaz''' (Russian: Алмаз - 'Diamond') cameras are a series of 35 mm [[SLR|single-lens reflex]] cameras made from 1979 to the late 1980s by [[LOMO]] in Russia. They are broadly copies of a [[Nikon F2]], with a detachable prism viewfinder which can be exchanged with different viewfinder types. They have a Pentax K bayonet lens mount.
  
There are four models. Only one was produced in large number. The others are really prototypes, and the exact specification varies even within the small number made.
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There are four models. Only one was produced in large numbers. The others are really prototypes, and the exact specification varies even within the small number made.
  
  
 
* '''Almaz 101'''  
 
* '''Almaz 101'''  
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This camera, made only as a prototype in 1979,<ref name=PH0>George Abramov: article in Russian: [http://www.photohistory.ru/1207248190560165.html Almaz camera series] at [http://www.photohistory.ru/1208091119011489.html History of the Soviet Camera Industry (PhotoHistory.ru)]. Very informative article (and system translation handles Russian quite well).</ref> has a focal-plane shutter with overlapping metal blinds travelling vertically, giving shutter speeds from 8 - 1/1000 second, plus 'B'; (according to George Abramov at PhotoHistory.ru;<ref name=PH1>George Abramov: Notes on [http://www.photohistory.ru/index.php?pid=1207248179533843 Almaz cameras] at PhotoHistory,ru, with some photographs.</ref> other sources give the slowest speed as one second, or 30 seconds). It has a lightmeter (which is in the body, not in the prism unit). The film speed is set on a dial around the rewind crank, between ISO 12 and 1600. There is an exposure compensation control, from -1 to +2 stops. There is a capstan in the base, where a motor drive could connect to the film advance. There is a self-timer on the front left hand side of the body. The shutter is synchronised at 1/125 second,<ref name=PH1></ref> with a single [PC socket] (on the front of the top housing, by the rewind crank).
 
This camera, made only as a prototype in 1979,<ref name=PH0>George Abramov: article in Russian: [http://www.photohistory.ru/1207248190560165.html Almaz camera series] at [http://www.photohistory.ru/1208091119011489.html History of the Soviet Camera Industry (PhotoHistory.ru)]. Very informative article (and system translation handles Russian quite well).</ref> has a focal-plane shutter with overlapping metal blinds travelling vertically, giving shutter speeds from 8 - 1/1000 second, plus 'B'; (according to George Abramov at PhotoHistory.ru;<ref name=PH1>George Abramov: Notes on [http://www.photohistory.ru/index.php?pid=1207248179533843 Almaz cameras] at PhotoHistory,ru, with some photographs.</ref> other sources give the slowest speed as one second, or 30 seconds). It has a lightmeter (which is in the body, not in the prism unit). The film speed is set on a dial around the rewind crank, between ISO 12 and 1600. There is an exposure compensation control, from -1 to +2 stops. There is a capstan in the base, where a motor drive could connect to the film advance. There is a self-timer on the front left hand side of the body. The shutter is synchronised at 1/125 second,<ref name=PH1></ref> with a single [PC socket] (on the front of the top housing, by the rewind crank).
  
The lens is an MC Volna-4 50 mm f/1.4 (serial no. 800001).<ref name=SC1>[http://www.sovietcams.com/index.php?-114192751 Almaz 101] at [http://www.sovietcams.com/index.php SovietCams].</ref>
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The lens is an MC Volna-4 50 mm f/1.4 (serial no. 800001).<ref name=SC1>[http://www.sovietcams.com/index6399.html?tmpl_into=middle&tmpl_id=536&_m_e_id=20&_menu_i_id=507 Almaz 101] at [http://www.sovietcams.com/index.html SovietCams].</ref>
  
According to Aidas Pikiotas at SovietCams.com only one example of this camera is known, in a collection in France.<ref name=SC1></ref>
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According to Aidas Pikiotas at SovietCams.com only one example of this camera is known, in a collection in France.<ref name=SC1/>
  
  
 
* '''Almaz 102'''
 
* '''Almaz 102'''
This camera has shutter speeds 1 - 1/1000 second, plus 'B', with flash synchronisation at 1/60.<ref name=PH1></ref>. The prism unit includes a shutter speed dial (which mates with the dial on the camera), and lightmeter information including the set speed is displayed by an LCD visible in the viewfinder. There are two PC sockets, for bulb and electronic flash. The self-timer lever is now to the right of the lens. Sixty-three copies of this camera were made (of which some were apparently sold: SovietCams gives a price).<ref name=SC2>[http://www.sovietcams.com/index.php?650412286 Almaz 102] at SovietCams.</ref>
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This camera has shutter speeds 1 - 1/1000 second, plus 'B', with flash synchronisation at 1/60.<ref name=PH1></ref>. The prism unit includes a shutter speed dial (which mates with the dial on the camera), and lightmeter information including the set speed is displayed by an LCD visible in the viewfinder. There are two PC sockets, for bulb and electronic flash. The self-timer lever is now to the right of the lens. Sixty-three copies of this camera were made (of which some were apparently sold: SovietCams gives a price).<ref name=SC2>[http://www.sovietcams.com/index365c.html?tmpl_into=middle&tmpl_id=483&_m_e_id=20&_menu_i_id=469 Almaz 102] at SovietCams.</ref>
 
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|image_text=Almaz 103
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* '''Almaz 103'''
 
* '''Almaz 103'''
This is the only version of the camera that was sold in significant numbers; 9508 copies were made.<ref name=SC3>[http://www.sovietcams.com/index.php?2042923592 Almaz 103] at SovietCams.</ref> It has an MC Volna 50 mm f/1.8 lens. It has two PC sockets.
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This is the only version of the camera that was sold in significant numbers; 9508 copies were made.<ref name=SC3>[http://www.sovietcams.com/indexcee5.html?tmpl_into=middle&tmpl_id=209&_m_e_id=20&_menu_i_id=165 Almaz 103] at SovietCams.</ref> It has an MC Volna 50 mm f/1.8 lens. It has two PC sockets.
  
  
 
* '''Almaz 104'''
 
* '''Almaz 104'''
This camera was not sold; about ten prototypes were made. It is a simplified version of the Almaz 102;<ref name=SC4>[http://www.sovietcams.com/index.php?-818642432 Almaz 104] at SovietCams.</ref> the light meter reading is shown by coloured LED lamps in the viewfinder. As on the 102, the prism has a shutter speed dial which mates with the one on the camera: however, the notes at SovietCams state that the prism is not interchangeable with the one for the 102.<ref name=SC4></ref> The 104 has the f/1.8 lens. It has one PC socket.
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This camera was not sold; about ten prototypes were made. It is a simplified version of the Almaz 102;<ref name=SC4>[http://www.sovietcams.com/index65c8.html?tmpl_into=middle&tmpl_id=506&_m_e_id=20&_menu_i_id=492 Almaz 104] at SovietCams.</ref> the light meter reading is shown by coloured LED lamps in the viewfinder. As on the 102, the prism has a shutter speed dial which mates with the one on the camera: however, the notes at SovietCams state that the prism is not interchangeable with the one for the 102.<ref name=SC4/> The 104 has the f/1.8 lens. It has one PC socket.
  
  
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==Links==
 
==Links==
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Past sales by Westlicht Photographica Auction (now [https://www.leitz-auction.com/auction/en/home Leitz Photographica Auction]):
 
Cameras:
 
Cameras:
* [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=115988&_ssl=off#115988 Almaz 102] sold in an auction in June 2008 by [http://www.westlicht-auction.com Westlicht Photographica Auction] in Vienna.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Lomo-Almaz-102/AI-13-16761 Almaz 102] serial no. 8400308, sold at the [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Cameras/Past-Auctions/Auction-13/ thirteenth auction], on 7 June 2008.
* [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=138213&_ssl=off#138213 Almaz 102] with a magnifying right-angle finder (attached to the prism finder), in the November 2008 Westlicht auction.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Lomo-Almaz-102/AI-14-17703 Almaz 102] serial no. 8300186, with a magnifying right-angle finder (attached to the prism finder), sold at the [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Cameras/Past-Auctions/Auction-14/ fourteenth auction], on 30 November 2008.
* [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=115993&_ssl=off#115993 Almaz 103] with an '''Almaz data back''' and both prism and vertical magnifying viewfinders, in the June 2008 Westlicht auction.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Lomo-Almaz-103/AI-13-16762 Almaz 103] serial no. 8503287, with an '''Almaz data back''' and both prism and vertical magnifying viewfinders, at the thirteenth auction.
* [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=239656&_ssl=off#239656 Almaz 104] sold in the November 2011 Westlicht auction; excellent set of photographs.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Lomo-Almaz-104/AI-20-13243 Almaz 104] sold at the [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Cameras/Past-Auctions/Auction-20/ 20th auction], on 12 November 2011.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Lomo-Almaz-104/AI-14-17704 Almaz 104] sold at the fourteenth auction; apparently not the same camera as the one above (at least, the lens serial no.s are different).
  
 
Lenses:
 
Lenses:
* [https://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=163317&_ssl=off#163317 Prototype Volna-10K 35 mm f/1.8] by [[LOMO]], in a May 2009 Westlicht auction.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Lomo-Volna-10K-1.8-35mm/AI-14-17514 Prototype Volna-10K 35 mm f/1.8] serial no. N003 by [[LOMO]], at the fourteenth auction.
* [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=37099&_ssl=off#37099 Vega-13 100 mm f/2.8] by LOMO, in the May 2005 Westlicht auction.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Lomo-Volna-10K-1.8-35mm/AI-15-18789 Prototype Volna-10K] serial no N053, at the [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Cameras/Past-Auctions/Auction-15/ fifteenth auction], on 23 May 2009.
* [https://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=138687&_ssl=off#138687 MC Oberon 11K 200 mm f/2.8] by [[VOMZ]], in the November 2008 Westlicht auction.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/LOMO-f.-Almaz-Vega-13-2.8-100mm/AI-7-24856 Vega-13 100 mm f/2.8] serial no. 840010 by LOMO, at the [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Cameras/Past-Auctions/Auction-7/ seventh auction], on 21 May 2005.
* [https://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=163296&_ssl=off#163296 MC Telegoir K 200 mm f/2.8] by GOI, in the May 2009 Westlicht auction.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/VOMZ-Oberon-11K-2.8-200mm-MC/AI-14-17526 MC Oberon 11K 200 mm f/2.8] serial no. 9300041 by [[VOMZ]], in the fourteenth auction.
* [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=37100&_ssl=off#37100 MC Yantar-12 35-100 mm f/3.5] by LOMO, in the May 2005 Westlicht auction.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/GOI-MC-Telegoir-K-2.8-200mm/AI-15-18782 MC Telegoir K 200 mm f/2.8] serial no. 91074 by GOI, at the fifteenth auction.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/GOI-f.-Almaz-MC-Telegoir-K-2.8-200mm/AI-7-24855 MC Telegoir K 200 mm f/2.8] at the seventh auction.
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* [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/LOMO-f.-Almaz-MC-Yantar-12-3.5-35-100mm/AI-7-24857 MC Yantar-12 35-100 mm f/3.5] serial no. 830006 by LOMO, at the seventh auction.
  
  
[[Category: 35mm SLR]]
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[[Category:LOMO]]
[[Category: A]]
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[[Category:USSR]]
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[[Category:Russia]]
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[[Category:35mm SLR]]  
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[[Category:A]]

Latest revision as of 23:55, 25 January 2024

The Almaz (Russian: Алмаз - 'Diamond') cameras are a series of 35 mm single-lens reflex cameras made from 1979 to the late 1980s by LOMO in Russia. They are broadly copies of a Nikon F2, with a detachable prism viewfinder which can be exchanged with different viewfinder types. They have a Pentax K bayonet lens mount.

There are four models. Only one was produced in large numbers. The others are really prototypes, and the exact specification varies even within the small number made.


  • Almaz 101

This camera, made only as a prototype in 1979,[1] has a focal-plane shutter with overlapping metal blinds travelling vertically, giving shutter speeds from 8 - 1/1000 second, plus 'B'; (according to George Abramov at PhotoHistory.ru;[2] other sources give the slowest speed as one second, or 30 seconds). It has a lightmeter (which is in the body, not in the prism unit). The film speed is set on a dial around the rewind crank, between ISO 12 and 1600. There is an exposure compensation control, from -1 to +2 stops. There is a capstan in the base, where a motor drive could connect to the film advance. There is a self-timer on the front left hand side of the body. The shutter is synchronised at 1/125 second,[2] with a single [PC socket] (on the front of the top housing, by the rewind crank).

The lens is an MC Volna-4 50 mm f/1.4 (serial no. 800001).[3]

According to Aidas Pikiotas at SovietCams.com only one example of this camera is known, in a collection in France.[3]


  • Almaz 102

This camera has shutter speeds 1 - 1/1000 second, plus 'B', with flash synchronisation at 1/60.[2]. The prism unit includes a shutter speed dial (which mates with the dial on the camera), and lightmeter information including the set speed is displayed by an LCD visible in the viewfinder. There are two PC sockets, for bulb and electronic flash. The self-timer lever is now to the right of the lens. Sixty-three copies of this camera were made (of which some were apparently sold: SovietCams gives a price).[4]

  • Almaz 103

This is the only version of the camera that was sold in significant numbers; 9508 copies were made.[5] It has an MC Volna 50 mm f/1.8 lens. It has two PC sockets.


  • Almaz 104

This camera was not sold; about ten prototypes were made. It is a simplified version of the Almaz 102;[6] the light meter reading is shown by coloured LED lamps in the viewfinder. As on the 102, the prism has a shutter speed dial which mates with the one on the camera: however, the notes at SovietCams state that the prism is not interchangeable with the one for the 102.[6] The 104 has the f/1.8 lens. It has one PC socket.


Notes

  1. George Abramov: article in Russian: Almaz camera series at History of the Soviet Camera Industry (PhotoHistory.ru). Very informative article (and system translation handles Russian quite well).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 George Abramov: Notes on Almaz cameras at PhotoHistory,ru, with some photographs.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Almaz 101 at SovietCams.
  4. Almaz 102 at SovietCams.
  5. Almaz 103 at SovietCams.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Almaz 104 at SovietCams.


Links

Past sales by Westlicht Photographica Auction (now Leitz Photographica Auction): Cameras:

  • Almaz 102 serial no. 8400308, sold at the thirteenth auction, on 7 June 2008.
  • Almaz 102 serial no. 8300186, with a magnifying right-angle finder (attached to the prism finder), sold at the fourteenth auction, on 30 November 2008.
  • Almaz 103 serial no. 8503287, with an Almaz data back and both prism and vertical magnifying viewfinders, at the thirteenth auction.
  • Almaz 104 sold at the 20th auction, on 12 November 2011.
  • Almaz 104 sold at the fourteenth auction; apparently not the same camera as the one above (at least, the lens serial no.s are different).

Lenses: