In the 1920s, a lot of people in the USSR were interested in photography. However, amateur photographers had at their disposal either foreign models or homemade ones of low quality. In this regard, it was decided to start producing domestic photo cameras based on recognized Western models.
The device was designed by specialists at the Leningrad State Optical and Mechanical Plant. They used a German Vario camera as a prototype.
It took from 1928 to 1930 to produce the “Photokor-1”. The first folding plate camera had been presented a year earlier by the “Phototrud” workshop, but it was produced in small batches only. The “Photokor” was the first device to be mass-produced: in eleven years, up to 1941, about a million cameras were made. It was promoted as a universal camera: it performed equally well when used for studio photography on a tripod as well as in less comfortable conditions with varying degrees of light.
The camera had a practical feature: the lens could be moved both vertically and horizontally in the lens stand.
For the first few years the “Photokor” retained the memory of its foreign “ancestors”: it was equipped with imported Xenar shutters and lenses. In the 1940-1941 batches the new “Temp” shutter of “Compur” type was already available. A release cable was sometimes required when using the camera. Its main purpose was to prevent the camera from vibrating which the photographer’s hand would almost certainly produce to some extent when he pressed the shutter-release button. The camera came with a folding tripod. Three brown wooden legs were mounted on a round base with screws. Screws held the three legs together — the middle leg folded out and the lower one extended out of the middle leg. The tripod could be stabilized by driving sharp metal tips into the ground at the lower ends of the legs.
The “Photokor” was designed to take photographs in the field. Apart from the tripod, the camera was equipped with four cassettes and a heavy cardboard camera case. The case was covered with black leather on the outside and black cotton cloth on the inside. A short tarpaulin strap was attached to the case.
The device was designed by specialists at the Leningrad State Optical and Mechanical Plant. They used a German Vario camera as a prototype.
It took from 1928 to 1930 to produce the “Photokor-1”. The first folding plate camera had been presented a year earlier by the “Phototrud” workshop, but it was produced in small batches only. The “Photokor” was the first device to be mass-produced: in eleven years, up to 1941, about a million cameras were made. It was promoted as a universal camera: it performed equally well when used for studio photography on a tripod as well as in less comfortable conditions with varying degrees of light.
The camera had a practical feature: the lens could be moved both vertically and horizontally in the lens stand.
For the first few years the “Photokor” retained the memory of its foreign “ancestors”: it was equipped with imported Xenar shutters and lenses. In the 1940-1941 batches the new “Temp” shutter of “Compur” type was already available. A release cable was sometimes required when using the camera. Its main purpose was to prevent the camera from vibrating which the photographer’s hand would almost certainly produce to some extent when he pressed the shutter-release button. The camera came with a folding tripod. Three brown wooden legs were mounted on a round base with screws. Screws held the three legs together — the middle leg folded out and the lower one extended out of the middle leg. The tripod could be stabilized by driving sharp metal tips into the ground at the lower ends of the legs.
The “Photokor” was designed to take photographs in the field. Apart from the tripod, the camera was equipped with four cassettes and a heavy cardboard camera case. The case was covered with black leather on the outside and black cotton cloth on the inside. A short tarpaulin strap was attached to the case.
