The KMZ Zenit ET is a single lens reflex camera introduced by KMZ in 1981 as part of a long line of SLRs that bear the Zenit name. The Zenit ET was produced by Vileiskiy Zavod Zenit, a factory just outside Minsk that came about as a joint-venture in 1969 between KMZ and MMZ (which later became BelOMO).
The Minolta Autopak 500 is a stylish viewfinder camera introduced in 1966 and designed for the 126 film cassette. Rebadged and sold as the Ilford Monarch in the United Kingdom and the Revue-matic 500 in Germany, the Autopak 500 pioneered an auto exposure system capable of automatically firing the flash in low light situations, a feature that has since become standard in all cameras.
The GOMZ-LOMO Voskhod is an unconventional 35mm viewfinder camera introduced in 1964 by GOMZ shortly before it reorganized and became the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Union, better known as LOMO. The Russian term âVoskhodâ means âascentâ or âsunrise,â an appropriate moniker since most cameras produced in the Soviet Union at the time were inelegant, utilitarian, and designed for large-scale mass production. With a relatively small production run of just a little over 59,000 units, the Voskhod is far from the average Soviet camera.
The Kodak Motormatic 35F is an automatic viewfinder camera introduced in 1962. The Automatic/Motormatic series cameras were the very first automatic exposure 35mm cameras to be made by Kodak and also the very last of their 35mm cameras to be produced in the United States. As their names might suggest, Motormatic cameras are motor-driven while the Automatic range have a manual film advance. Motormatics also have more shutter speeds.
The Voigtländer Bessy AK is a viewfinder camera manufactured by Balda on behalf of fellow German optics company Voigtländer which introduced the camera in 1965. So called to imply a (in reality, very faint) connection with the legendary Bessa name, the Bessy was a cutting edge camera designed for Kodakâs now obsolete 126 film cartridge, a format overwhelmingly popular at the time among amateur photographers who didnât want to deal with the hassle of loading traditional roll films.
The Nikon Nikkorex 35 II is the second of a new series of affordable, fixed-lens SLRs introduced in the 1960s and marketed as a budget alternative to Nippon Kogakuâs flagship camera: the legendary Nikon F. While the F was quickly gaining popularity for SLRs among photojournalists and other professional photographers, the Nikkorex line was designed to offer TTL (through-the-lens) capabilities to the general public at a much lower cost.
The KMZ Zorki 10 is a fixed-lens rangefinder produced during the Cold War by the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Works in the city of Krasnogorsk just outside Moscow. The Zorki 10 is recognized for being the very first camera with automatic exposure ever produced in the USSR as well as the first Soviet camera to disregard the government-established GOST scale by indicating film speeds with the American/German ASA/DIN systems that would eventually become ISO, the current international standard. There is also a Zorki 11 which is basically the same camera minus the rangefinder assembly.
The Agfa Optima 500 is the second-to-last model in Agfaâs Optima line and is the direct descendant of the very first mass-produced camera ever to feature automatic exposure: the original Agfa Optima. The Optima 500 is also unique because it was released in 1964 during the corporate merger of Belgiumâs Gevaert Photo-Producten N.V. and Germanyâs Agfa AG. At the time, Agfa AG was owned by pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG which eventually upped itâs 50% stake in Agfa-Gevaert N.V. to 100% and controlled the company until 1999.
The Argus Autronic II is an automatic fixed-lens rangefinders produced by Argus in 1962. Like many Argus cameras of that era, the Autronic II is fairly unremarkable at a glance with its simple but vaguely awkward styling.
