Snejinka ???

Not fair. You type faster than me...........
I was thinkin' Zenit's M39 too. Not sure why...

The casing still seems like a bit of overkill IMHO, to be used in a factory/industrial setting. If it was 1950's maybe... but for 1990's - I dunno. I'm still leaning toward military... and even though I can't explain the need for interchangable lenses, I'm leavin' my money on FBob's periscope wager.
 
The lens is an M39 J11, 135mm

M39 is the same as L39 (LTM) but made for an slr camera (original Zenits were M39).
The camera is not a med format though, its 35mm, but with a vertical travelling shutter.

The medical field would be a pretty good guess for it i think.
 
I'm don't know exactly how a periscope works, but my guess is that it involves a number of prisms and a focusing screen/fresnel lens (for the skipper to look at). If the camera is meant for submarine periscope use, do you really need to focus on infinity then? I'd rather say that you need a close up lens to be able to focus on the screen.

I don't have a clue about periscopes, please correct me if I'm wrong!
 
I'm not sure how medium format came into the thread. Maybe because ofthe dimensions I spouted earlier- which were a reference to the case.
 
EmilGil said:
I'm don't know exactly how a periscope works, butmyguess is that it involves a number of prisms and afocusingscreen/fresnel lens (for the skipper to look at). If the cameraismeant for submarine periscope use, do you really need to focusoninfinity then? I'd rather say that you need a close up lens to beableto focus on the screen.

I don't have a clue about periscopes, please correct me if I'm wrong!
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Good point about close focus.

A long lens on a medical camera? Not so sure about that.

Aircraft camera ?

It's a mystery. I can't locate anything in Google other than the URLs that I posted earlier and other ebay sales links.
 
kvanderlaag said:
That thing is ugly as sin. I can't help but want one.
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LOL!!
Around the casing (arrow) looks threaded. For a light ring? Medical field could be a good guess, especially with that finish. It is cleeeean. But the screws/bolts are showing some serious rust... so I'm back to military and salt water.

note numbers on ring... focus? meters? increments of 5... :rolleyes:

Seller could be wrong on age. Lens ser# is '68 vintage.
 

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Fedzilla_Bob said:
Perhaps I am mistaken. But Leicas weren't the only cameras with a 39mm threaded base.


The lens shown with the camera looked similar to an old Zenit lens rather than the J11 that FED and Zorki users recognize.

I admit my guess at it being something like an Exacta lens was was poor.
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This is correct. Early Zenits used M39 but at the same register as M42 reflexes. Don't ask why. I believe an M39 CRF wqas made in Italy with non-Leica register, and many enlargers have M39 mount. Exakta was bayonet.
 
I finally got what you meant about the use of medium formatNick. Medium format would have allowed for better resolution in arialphotography. And so the Soviets were as likely as the US to use it.

Maybe a wing camera? Similar to those used in WWII to capture a forward view- as in a dogfight?
 
Scale is 0-15 in increments of 5 = 75 divisions that wrap not quite half way round. Can't be focus. It appears the body/lens rotate inside dark casing, so not quite 180 degrees. (set screws for securing) What needs this kind of rotation?
 

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Fedzilla_Bob said:
I give up. I've stuffed my foot in my mouth a few times already.
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I'm probably going to bite off my toes, but I vaguely remember something like this on e-bay before - identified as the camera from a police speed-trap...

Off go me socks.... :D
 
Let's try some Sherlock Holmes type stuff and marshal all the known facts:

It's called Snowflake

It's white

It's powered

The lens and body are heavily protected

The bag is military green (hmm ...)

It's very bulky but has a shutter release on top so it's designed for a person to operate

It looks like it takes 35 mm film so the lucky photographer can get 36 shots without reloading in the bad weather, from a distance (long-ish lens)

All this suggests remote uses in hostile (arctic?) environments where the camera may be camouflaged.

So my bet would be on reconnaissence for the military where someone doesn't want to be seen, so they've got a snow suit on and a white camera well insulated against the cold and wind with power winding of the film from a battery pack and a long lens.

The lens could be a red herring - that mount would also take the lovely Tair 3 300mm lens. I can't figure how you would focus a lens that fitted entirely inside the barrel but you might not need to - infinity setting might do it.

Miind you, I could be totally wrong!
 
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The more I look, the more it reminds me of a washer/dryer :D

lushd said:
All this suggests remote uses in hostile (arctic?) environments where the camera may be camouflaged.
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How about Siberia? Or perhaps a specialied mountaineering camera? Maybe it was some sort of "precision instrument" used for local topography expeditions or something similar? If the camera were made for the extreme cold, I don't think it'd be motorized... but lushd's thinking here makes a lot of sense.

I was actually going to suggest some kind of automatic camera perhaps for a speed trap.. but already done! No viewfinder suggests automatic operation.
 
I have to say I doubt if this was a military camera in the sense Lushd suggests. Some Soviet cameras were modified for use in extreme weather, but as far as I know, looked nothing like this - and the lack of a finder would be crippling. I think this camera must have fitted in or on some sort of mounting or housing in circumstances inappropriate for ordinary gear.

That could mean many things. But - and this is just a suggestion, which might explain the white colour and heavy build - could it be for use in high radiation environments, say monitoring the innards of a nuclear reactor or some dangerous/ toxic industrial process? Maybe even in space?
 
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