"ISKRA" Medium Format Russian Camera: The Best Kept Secret of USSR

Text and Photos: J.M.Serrano

 

              This extraordinary Russian folding 6x6 rangefinder medium format camera, fundamentally inspired on the formidable elite camera Agfa Super Isolette, made between 1954 and 1957(known as Super Speedex in United States), owes its name to the underground newspaper founded by Lenin in 1900, whose letters in cyrillic characters appear engraved in red colour and in a prominent size on the front of the camera, just on the block constituted by lens and bellows.

         A total of 38,722 units were made between 1960 and 1963.

         The "Iskra" is a folding camera for 6x6 format and 120 spool, equipped with a coupled rangefinder, not rectangular but square, working through the very accurate  system of overlapping of two images in one.

         Its fabulous lens is the Industar-58  75mm f/3.5, coated, Tessar design of four elements, central shutter and shutter speeds between 1 sec and 1/500+B, with flash synchronization at all speeds, an enourmously useful feature for fill-in flash and creative and artistic effects with flash.

         Itīs an utterly mechanic camera, without a meter, displaying automatic film advance by means of a round knurled button.

         Undoubtedly, one of the most outstanding features of the "Iskra" is its almost imperceptible noise on firing the shutter at any speed. It seems incredible that Russians, traditionally with far fewer means than Japanese and Germans, have been able to attain such a super loud noise on triggering the shutter, specially if we realize that the unutterable "Iskra" is a medium format camera, with a 6x6 negative being a 400% larger than a widespread 24x36.

         In fact, regarding this aspect, it is only slightly inferior to the marvellous rangefinder Leicas M(including the current flagship Leica M6) and the Konica Hexar RF.

         Probably, the "Iskra" is the highest quality level camera(above all from an optical standpoint) ever made in USSR and used by great photographers as Galična Loukianova, specialist on Russian rural nostalgia and R.Ostrovskaïa.

         There is another version of the "Iskra", the "Iskra 2", identical to the standard model, but with an uncoupled selenium meter and the word Iskra engraved in red, with smaller letters, just on the right of the accessory shoe.

         There was also even a subvariant of the "Iskra 2": the Iskra 2 "Microscope", in which the bellows was replaced by an adapter plate for the combined microscope viewfinder.

         To sum up, the "Iskra" camera is the historic Jewel of the Crown of the KMZ factory at Krasnogorsk, in the suburbs of Moscow.

         The body is entirely metal, made in aluminum.

         Itīs a rangefinder camera featuring a very light weight and a great ability for hand and wrist shots without a tripod at slow shutter speeds, due to the lack of a tilting mirror and pentaprism.

         Its relevant portability and convenience of transport becomes rather enhanced by the fact that both the lens and the bellows are retractable, noticeably folding towards the inner camera body and lens remaining kept enough by the metal protective plate with latch.

         The minimum focusing distance is 1 m and the manual focus is made by rotating towards the left or towards the right a grooved silver focusing ring(1 mm in front of the metal ring in contact with the bellows) that allows a very precise focusing when you achieve to merge in one the two initial images appearing in the viewfinder.

         The image quality is excellent at all the distances.

         An unnusual innovation is the very practical interconnection between the rings of shutter speeds and f stops, letting to maintain an initial exposition, modifying speeds and f stops.

         After the manual advance to the next frame using the round knurled button of the right top side, it is necessary before each shot to cock manually the shutter lever, situated immediately behind the shutter speeds ring.

         The fact of being bound to cock the shutter lever of the five blades FXCh-18 shutter of the "Iskra"(a gorgeous copy of the mytic shutter Synchro Compur RMX/RMXV of the Solinar 75mm f/3.5 lens of the Agfa Super Isolette) is a currently almost non-existing feature, with the exception of the Hasselblad Arcbody, in which before every shot you must cock the shutter with the help of its lever situated just before the diaphragms ring of its RODENSTOCK Apo-Grandagon 45mm f/4.5 lens and the same applies to the other two available lenses.

         The grooved button(that must be rotated towards the left or right until getting the two images of the viewfinder overlap in one to obtain an exact focus) makes the whole block shutter/lens move forwards or backwards, being attained with Iskra a great quality and resolution from 1 m to infinity.

         So, in this aspect, the improvement is patent as regards to classic folding cameras as the Zeiss Super Ikonta IV, whose focus is made moving only the front element of the lens, leaving the shutter still.

         Another interesting aspect of the Iskra is the fact that the advance and rewind mechanism doesnīt work without a film inside the camera. This system avoids casual exposures.

         The "Iskras" were made in USSR as heirs of the Moskvas cameras, a vast range of copies of the Zeiss Ikonta(retractable folding medium format cameras, some of them with a rangefinder and others without it), whose production came into being in 1947.

         But when Moskva-5, the last of the series, was discontinued in 1961, it was obsolete. In that period, professional photographers used 35mm cameras as Leicas M3 or Nikons F, and not cumbersome, big and heavy medium format folding cameras with small viewfinders and odd rangefinder coupling devices.

         Because of it, KMZ engineers created the "Iskra" in 6x6 square format(Moskvas were 6x9 models), much more easily handled and portable and with a lens of superior quality.

         Besides, the introduction in the "Iskra" of the previously cited FXCh-18 shutter, of outstanding accuracy and reliability, entailed an important breakthrough.

         Not in vain, the Russians had already a vast and long expertise, knowledge and craftsmanship in mass production of very good quality shutters for medium format cameras, mainly due to the fact that with great practical sense and professionalism, they knew to accept from the beginning the German superiority in photographic cameras bodies, lenses and shutters.

         This way, in 1946, just after the end of the Second World War, when KMZ factory in Moscow couldnīt make all the parts for a camera, they used the thousands of Zeiss-Ikon units captured in Germany as a booty and they did consent being advised by a number of knowledgeable and deft German technicians and opticians, undoubtedly the greatest worldly pundits in the subject, chosen for that purpose.

         So, within a short time, the USSR could make the Moskva-1 6x9(1946-1949)(with parts from the Ikonta 6x9, Zeiss tooling, folding Newton viewfinder and original German Compur shutter at the beginning and a very good Russian copy afterwards) and the Moskva-2(1947-1956) equipped with a coupled rangefinder(featured with a folding Newton viewfinder, parts of the Super-Ikonta 6x9, Zeiss tooling and Compur shutter and much more frequently Moment-1).

         Thatīs why the Iskra FXCh-18 shutter, silent as few and born in 1960, was a great achievement and the digest of nearly two decades of endeavours and own designs, evoultioned from top-notch original German concepts, both mechanical and optical, with which before the appearance of the "Iskra", the Russians had already a reputable prestige in the making of superb shutters for medium format cameras(together with the previously cited, we should add the Moment-5D shutter of the Moskva-3(1950-1951), the Moment-23S of the Moskva-4(1956-1958), the 24S of the Moskva-5 1956-1960, the ZT 13 central shutter of the Estafeta-Gomz(1957-1958), the ZT 14 of the Vympel "Ensign"(1958-59), the ZT-5 of the Lubitels 1 and 2, the ZT-11 of the Neva(1956-58), and so forth.

         Furthermore, it must be underlined that the FXCh shutter can practically compete on a par with both the Compur Rapid and Synchro Compur featured by the prestigious uncoupled rangefinder folding medium format cameras Agfas Isolettes III(getting ahead of them in terms of shutter triggering smoothness and super low noise on shooting) and itīs far superior in quality and reliability to the Prontor-SVS worn by many celebrated rangefinder folding cameras.

         And the same happens from an optical viewpoint. The Industar-58  75mm f/3.5 lens of "Iskra" is even slightly superior in quality to the Solinar 75mm f/3.5 lens of the Agfa Isolette III, with an even bigger difference if the comparison is made taking as a reference the three element Apotar lens which was available as a second lens choice for the Agfa Isolette III.

         Another very important aspect in the "Iskra" is its viewfinder, because it uses a very similar system to the one incorporated in 1956 to the 35mm Russian camera Zorki-4, with its binomial rangefinder/viewfinder and blueish tinge, albeit in Zorki-4 the rangefinder patch was the traditional rectangle while in the "Iskra" it is a slightly greenish tonality square.

         Itīs a viewfinder with great transparency, sharpness and trifling distortion.

         The mentioned rangefinder patch is coupled to the retractable lens by means of an ingenious system.

         Just as in Zorki-4, the "Iskra" viewfinder lacks framelines, though it is better delimited.

         The "Iskra" has a film advance system that blocks the spool reel when reaching the next frame, warning us that when we feel that resistance we must stop spinning round the knurled button and cock the shutter before triggering the shutter release.

         Likewise, it has an automatic exposure counter, whilst Moskvas had the old red windows system, that left in the hands of the photographer both the initiative and the advance of each frame.

         The high production cost and massive spreading of 35mm cameras were the main reason for the discontinuity of "Iskras", genuine elite Russian cameras, with an optical-mechanical quality standard very superior to the customary photographic matériel both in medium format and 24x36.

         The "Iskra" was the last KMZ mass produced medium format camera, before the subsequent prototypes Reporter(1960-1961), Zenit-70(1970), Horizon-205 pc(1994), etc.

         It is provided with a self timer.

         With "Iskra" you can obtain 12 photographs in 6x6 format with a 120 spool, not being feasible the use of 220 film.

         Itīs a very reliable and sturdy camera in line with the traditional Russian axiom of constructing photographic cameras in the T-34 tank way as a raison dīętre.

         The quality image achieved with "Iskra" is superior to that one obtained with other Russian medium format cameras both rangefinder(all the range of Moskvas, Vympel-Estafeta, Vympel, Estafeta-Gomz "Courier", etc), TLR(Komsomolets(1946-1950), Lubitel(1949-1956), Lubitel 2(1955-1980), Neva(1956-1958), Lubitel 166(1976-1986), Rassvet(1960), etc) and reflex( the Saliut(1957-72), Saliut-S(1972-1980), Kiev-6C(1971-1980), Kiev-6C TTL(1980-1986), Kiev-60 TTL(1984-1992), Kiev-80(1975-1980), Kiev-88 TTL(1980-1990), Kiev-90(1987-1990), etc), above all in big enlargements from 30x40 cm upward.

         Everything seems to indicate, including the deepest research in nineties, that due to prestige reasons, the Russians used the last hidden batch of the magnificent Carl Zeiss Jena glass taken to the Germans as a booty after the Second World War, to make the superb Industar-58  75mm f/3.5 lens(a four element Tessar design of 1900 by the optical genius Paul Rudolph Zeiss) of the "Iskra", also superior in resolution and sharpness to the classic Pentacon 6x6 and many traditional and modern medium format cameras.

         In order to actually realize the optical quality of this lens, we should highlight the synchronic piece of information that also in 1960, the Russians incorporated the Industar-58  75mm f/3.5 in the semiautomatic TLR "Rassvet", with mat lens focusing screen of Fresnel and automatic paralax correction, another of the few elite Russian cameras, with which the Krasnogorsky Mechanical Zavod in Moscow tried to achieve the mass production of a TLR of outstanding quality level, in agreement with the technical and liability standards of the "twin lens reflex" models of Mamiya, Rollei, etc, although very few units were made and they had to drop the production because of the high production cost(about 180 rubles, approximately the salary of a Russian worker in that period) and the impossibility to get  an important figure of anticipated sales so as to guarantee the amortization.

         The "Iskra" is one of the most up-to-date and advanced folding rangefinder cameras ever made.

         Some of these cameras can have problems to evenly space the negatives as also with the exposure counter functioning.

         To change f stop, itīs necessary to pull the diaphragms ring about two mm out. In the beginning it takes a bit effort to get the hang of it, but it allows us to keep a constant exposures with different apertures and shutter speeds as well as diverse depths of fields.

         Once you have put the correct exposure(indicated by a hand meter, the estimation metering with a certain experience or the trick of previously metering with a reflex 35mm TTL and transfer the shutter speed and f stop to the "Iskra"), if you change the diaphragm, itīll also change the shutter speed at the same time, always maintaining an identical EV, though the apertures and speeds may be different(for instance: 8/30, 5.6/60, etc). This interesting enough matching of f stop and shutter speed is a very relevant and useful feature, shared by the Hassies with central shutter CF series Carl Zeiss lenses, which speaks us clearly in favour of the "Iskra" quality.

         Moreover, the "Iskra" has a sophisticated transport mechanism that feels the end of the guide paper just before commencing the very 120 film and automatically begins counting the frames. Itīs a system akin to the "autofilm start ID" of the Agfa Super Isolette, with which the photographer hasnīt to line up the arrows on introducing the 120 film spool, being the very camera that spots the film beginning, a feature perhaps only found in Rolleis.

         Studies made on the thousands of Iskras available worlwide have revealed that in a little percentage of them the automatic advance film system doesnīt  work and they must be repaired by an expert.

         Sometimes, in some units, due above all to extensive use during decades, the grooved focusing ring is very rigid and stiff and the rangefinder is a bit misaligned, with the focusing distance varying slightly from one side to the other of the square patch of the rangefinder(the most frequent thing is that when the two images overlap in the central part of the square, the sides of it appear a bit out of focus). In these cases you must be more than ordinary careful with the focus, specially in the shortest distances, doing your best to focus with the central area of the square patch of the rangefinder.

         Nevertheless, theyīre a few cases, logical in a 40 years old camera and generally reparable, apart from the fact that the effective rangefinder base of "Iskra" was widened with regard to the existing one in Agfa Super Isolette, it resulting in a better accuracy and focusing quickness in the Russian device.

         Closed for transport, "Iskra" is more compact than many professional 35mm cameras, its measures being:

 

                  Height: 10.7 cm.

                  Width: 15.4 cm.

                  Weight: 875 gr.

                  Thickness: 4.5 cm in the central area including the lens protection and 3.3 in both sides.

                 

         On the left of the shutter release(with a hole on top of it for a triggering cable) you find the small button for releasing the block bellows/lens.

         It is true that the circular window of the rangefinder viewfinder(on the left of the back of the body) is very small, but itīs enough and reduces drastically the risk of scratches and dust.

         The knurled big round button on the right on top of the camera body, shows engraved a red colour arrow, whose sharp end indicates the direction in which you must turning it around until obtaining each frame advance.

         Another prominent aspect in this camera are the two very hard metal neckstrap lugs, a sadly negligent aspect in a lot of modern autofocus cameras made in plastic or polycarbonates.

         A very little window(situated between the shutter release button and the big round knurled button for film advance) points us out the frame number.

         The removal system of the back of the camera body is very easy and convenient. You must only press the silver metal rim situated in the lower left part of the body camera back.

         On the upper left side of the camera, we have another metal knurled button(of smaller diameter and thickness than the one existing on the right of the shutter release button). by means of it we choose the GOST(Russian terminology for film sensitivity, roughly equivalent to internationally widespread ISO), with the options 32, 45, 65, 90, 130 and 180, albeit in practice it dawns on you that it isnīt worth, cause on being a 100% mechanical camera without any meter, weīll have to calculate the correct exposition preferably through one of the three methods previously quoted.

         Unlike the vast majority of current cameras, both in 35mm and medium format, the accessory hotshoe situated on the central top area of the camera body(just on the word "ISKRA" engraved in cyrillic characters) it doesnīt also work as a hotshoe for dedicated flash(as a matter of fact, if we insert the flash, cock the shutter with its lever and press the shutter release button to shoot, the flash wonīt activate and will not emit any light beam).

         To make flash photography with "Iskra", weīre bound to insert it on the quoted accessory hotshoe, by means of the suitable standard base with synchronization cable. One of its ends must be connected to the flash unit and the other one must be inserted within the very thin golden and thin tube for synchro cable, situated on the lens, about 2 cm on the right of the shutter lever.