Stash of BNIB Smena's found in warehouse...

[Ko.Fe.]

Stealing in large quantities during the collapse of the Soviet Union was a common thing. Someone was not lucky enough to work at the camera factory. Those who worked with oil and gas now own football clubs in London.

Working is exaggeration for those who were stealing oil.
True story:

On July 9, 1992, the Investigation Department of the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate opened a criminal case against Abramovich.

http://www.compromat.ru/page_12610.htm

People who actually worked on factories in end of eighties, beginning of nineties were paid not by money, but by what they made. Would it be cameras or samovars. But never the oil.

 

[valdas]

Working is exaggeration for those who were stealing oil.
True story:

http://www.compromat.ru/page_12610.htm

People who actually worked on factories in end of eighties, beginning of nineties were paid not by money, but by what they made. Would it be cameras or samovars. But never the oil.

Well, “Working” in this case was a figure of speech.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Thousands of people all over the world got rid of their film cameras of every make possible when digital came along. They all turned up in charity shops and collectors pounced on them. I can remember buying K1000's, T3's and OM's for really silly prices and lenses and XA's for pennies...

I'm not disputing what you say, btw, merely pointing out that other conclusions can be drawn from it.

It's like looking at sales on ebay, they don't mean that the cameras are NBG and that no one wants them, despite the fact that thousands sell and a proportion don't. And dozens of reasons can be given for the sales and non-sales and nothing much proved.


Regards, David

In Soviet time people were ditching soviet made cameras by very first chance. It happened well before digital came. Starting from FED factory, professionals preferred Leica.
And in nineties once economy was open, but no digital cameras yet, the ditching of soviet cameras was massive all over exUssr.
Cheap P&S cameras were giving more reliable results with much suitable than 50mm lenses.

My wife doesn't have anything good to say about Smena-8m. This was the only camera his mother was able to afford and it was with misaligned focus right from the factory. Best from very few films we have is their relative taken negatives with so called "import" camera.

 

[David Hughes]

It's strange that, whenever someone mentions a camera from the old USSR, someone will always chime in and tell about another that failed.

No one does this with other makes, yet I could tell stories of Leicas and their lenses and so on that have failed and cost a fortune to repair or had to be scrapped but I don't because I can think of a lot of reasons why they could have failed.

Equally, in W/NW people are happy to comment on how great old cars look without mentioning that restoring them is throwing good money after bad and so on and so forth.

It's the bias against them regardless of logic that I am against, btw.

Regards, David

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I might know nothing about cars you are talking about. 99.99% in Soviet didn't have cars.
We got one re-imported Lada, used from UK. After Soviet collapsed. And just like any Russian made car I had after it, it was in need in parts and service regularly.
Those were also ditched once used cars from Japan and Europe became available.
The only advantage of soviet and then Russian cars was in price and primitivity of service. But they needed constant repairs and service. Gearbox in our Niva was repaired three times.

But you are just keep on shooting the messenger who has witnessed it for real. Bias indeed, on yours side.

 

[raid]

Saying in Iraq: every Soviet product heats up except the iron”

 

[Andy Kibber]

I have yet to find a shed full of Ilford Witnesses in darkest Ilford...

Keep searching! They must be around somewhere ... 😀

 

[Sonnar Brian]

My best Russian lenses are the ones that were unusable. They have perfect glass. A couple of hours spent aligning optics, moving to a new mount, or fixing some simple mistake: ready to go.

The ones that were good out of the box often got used to death.

 

[hap]

I might know nothing about cars you are talking about. 99.99% in Soviet didn't have cars.
We got one re-imported Lada, used from UK. After Soviet collapsed. And just like any Russian made car I had after it, it was in need in parts and service regularly.
Those were also ditched once used cars from Japan and Europe became available.
The only advantage of soviet and then Russian cars was in price and primitivity of service. But they needed constant repairs and service. Gearbox in our Niva was repaired three times.

But you are just keep on shooting the messenger who has witnessed it for real. Bias indeed, on yours side.

too bad they did not import Cubans to fix cars in exchange for nuclear missiles.

 

[webOSUser]

I think that some of what people say about a class of objects, FSU Cameras or USA cars for example, is based on their experience with examples of that class.

I have had good luck with my FSU cameras so I will speak highly of them. The Chrysler automatic transmission in my minivan was a piece of trash and needed frequent replacement. I do not speak highly of that transmission.


Steve W