Start (SLR)
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The Start is an SLR camera that was made in the USSR between 1958-64 by KMZ. The Start cameras have a unique lens mount, the Start breech-lock bayonet, and a cloth focal plane shutter with a wide range of speeds from 1 to 1/1000 second. The aperture release lever on the lens is pressed together with the shutter release, in a way similar to that of some old Exakta lenses on Exa and Exakta cameras. The viewfinder screen has a dual prism rangefinder in the central area. The camera's pentaprism finder is detachable, it slides off to the rear.
Comparing the Start to its contemporaries
The Start is an early 35mm SLR camera introduced by KMZ in 1958. Its design is remarkable and clever, being of such early Russian origin. The mechanical construction is quite ambitious. A few features may be traced back to Exakta Varex, while some similarity exists to several 35mm SLR cameras introduced at that time, and therefore not likely to have been of influence.
Although quite different, there is a general but striking similarity to the 1957 Topcon R and the 1958 Zunow. However, the 1952 Praktina and 1955 Miranda T could certainly have been studied closely at KMZ, as well as by the other camera designers in Japan. Seen are the slide-off finder prism and the front mounted shutter release. The breech-lock lensmount hails from the Praktina, but is narrower. The film cutting feature is surely from Exakta, while the back locks are of Zeiss design. The external Exakta lens aperture mechanism is identical.
The shutter and mirror design is presumably a continuation of the Zenit's, but extended to 1/1000 sec, flash synchronized at 1/30 sec. The surprisingly bright viewfinder has a central split-image rangefinder. The standard lens is a bright aluminium barrelled Helios-44 2/58. Cameras for export have the name written in Roman italics, Start, while those for the domestic market have Cyrillic style, Старт.
The Start takes 24x36mm frames on 35mm film, including using two Kiev cassettes, and is equipped with a knife to cut the film[1].
Sources
- Start on rus-camera.com
- Start on Sovietcams.com
- Andrzej Wrotniak's review A Vintage Russian Start SLR Camera
- Start User Guide on zenit.istra.ru (Russian)
- Start User Guide (PDF English translation of Russian)
- Start on www.collection-appareils.fr by Sylvain Halgand
