How to own a zorki during soviet era?

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newfilm

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While I thoroughly enjoy all my FSU gears, it hit me, during the soviet time, how does one buy/get a camera? From a unrelated conversation with a Polish elderly friend he does mention some form of quota was impose for each person (say, amount of meat/tobacco/alcohol/TV unit).

I'm curious if a camera is also a regulated item back in the FSU days? Anyone shine some light on this topic? I felt like a capitalist pig that currently hording multiple Zorki/kiev/FED... 😱
 
newfilm said:
While I thoroughly enjoy all my FSU gears, it hit me, during the soviet time, how does one buy/get a camera? From a unrelated conversation with a Polish elderly friend he does mention some form of quota was impose for each person (say, amount of meat/tobacco/alcohol/TV unit).

I'm curious if a camera is also a regulated item back in the FSU days? Anyone shine some light on this topic? I felt like a capitalist pig that currently hording multiple Zorki/kiev/FED... 😱
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You can get them, how many you want. Only few times in the history it rally quota for all products. One during the Soviet Union collapse and after a few years. Another one probably after WWII. But you can always get them on "black market". Also during this time you can ask your friends or relatives to buy camera for you (if they not a photographers) or they give you unused "ration stamp or ration card" 🙄
 
Also it hard to get some brand back in the FSU days. I remember time there is only Zenit and Smena is really available in camera shop.
 
No quota on cameras. Walk into the store and buy it. It was also possible to order by mail from the catalogue. I posted it in similar thread not so long time ago.

Quota was on cars.
 
Somewhat related: I remember walking into stores with camera gear in East Berlin in the mid-1980s: prices for new CZJ camera gear were crazy-high (except in Intershops, but there you had to pay with West German DMs and the prices were still much higher than for similar gear at a West Berlin camera store). Given local wages at the time, it was unaffordable for most folks.
 
mbisc said:
Somewhat related: I remember walking into stores with camera gear in East Berlin in the mid-1980s: prices for new CZJ camera gear were crazy-high (except in Intershops, but there you had to pay with West German DMs and the prices were still much higher than for similar gear at a West Berlin camera store). Given local wages at the time, it was unaffordable for most folks.
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Not entirely true; AFAIK, most East Germans had quite remarkable savings.
 
How about the Chinese counterpart (as in the FSU era, not the modern capitalistic iPhone churning machine as of today)? I wonder if they also have similar scheme and perhaps pricing.

also, I've been sporadically seeing listing of the chinese made "leica-copy", but their price has been so high I might as well get an actual leica, maybe they did not produce as many as the FSU did and only for a small specialty need that tie to actual profession (states newsman or what not)?
 
newfilm said:
How about the Chinese counterpart (as in the FSU era, not the modern capitalistic iPhone churning machine as of today)? I wonder if they also have similar scheme and perhaps pricing.

also, I've been sporadically seeing listing of the chinese made "leica-copy", but their price has been so high I might as well get an actual leica, maybe they did not produce as many as the FSU did and only for a small specialty need that tie to actual profession (states newsman or what not)?
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The "FSU era" of China(if you must call it that) ended at 1969 or 1979 by different definitions. Unfortunately I'm too young to tell how things were back then for either of them, I only know that my uncle owns a Seagull TLR, and my mother has some Japanese PS camera, both were purchased in the 80s, they both had mid-level incomes. My father's AF Nikon SLR (can't remember which model) was purchased in the late 90s, when consumerism started to boost in China.

Do you mean the Red Flag 20 by chinese made "leica-copy"? Indeed the price is insane, but it is a rare item so it is not strange.
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There used to be (may still be) a big camera store on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, but their stock was... variable. They might have lots of enlargers but no cameras, or tons of 40.5mm filters but few of other sizes. I was last in there just before the end of the Soviet Union. If they had it, you could buy it; but they didn't always have it, whatever "it" might be.

Cheers,

R.
 
newfilm said:
How about the Chinese counterpart (as in the FSU era, not the modern capitalistic iPhone churning machine as of today)? I wonder if they also have similar scheme and perhaps pricing.

also, I've been sporadically seeing listing of the chinese made "leica-copy", but their price has been so high I might as well get an actual leica, maybe they did not produce as many as the FSU did and only for a small specialty need that tie to actual profession (states newsman or what not)?
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My uncle shared his memories once about freight train full of fake Singers (sewing machine). Those were popular in USSR.
 
Ko.Fe. said:
My uncle shared his memories once about freight train full of fake Singers (sewing machine). Those were popular in USSR.
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Fake mean being sell of as if its the real thing? 😀 When I use my Zorki/Fed some pointing at it as says its a fake leica, but to me it is a copy and it works perfectly, it was never intended to be pass as a Leica.
 
newfilm said:
Fake mean being sell of as if its the real thing? 😀 When I use my Zorki/Fed some pointing at it as says its a fake leica, but to me it is a copy and it works perfectly, it was never intended to be pass as a Leica.
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It was labeled as Singer, but not made by Singer or authorized by Singer to be made.
 
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