Sport (camera)
Encyclopedia
The "Sport" camera is the series production model of a prototype camera called Gelveta. The Gelveta was designed and built by A. O. Gelgar between 1934 and 1935. It is the earliest known 35mm SLR camera ever to be built, but less than 200 examples were made. The actual launch date of the "Sport" is somewhat uncertain, however it must undoubtedly be one of the two earliest generally available SLR cameras using the 35mm film format, the other being the German Ihagee Kine Exakta
, launched in 1936. It was manufactured by the Soviet
camera factory Gosudarstvennyi Optiko-Mekhanicheskii Zavod, The State Optical-Mechanical Factory in Leningrad. GOMZ
for short. The camera name is engraved in Cyrillic
on the finder
housing above the lens: „Спорт“. The manufacturer's prism logo in gold on black with the factory initials ГОМЗ (GOMZ) is shown behind a circular magnifying window on the top left camera front. An estimated number of 16,000 cameras were made before Leningrad
was besieged in September 1941 and suffered heavy damage. The design concept was not continued later.
The development of the "Sport" was a lengthy process. It started out as the MINE in 1929, named after its designer A. A. Mine. The MINE inspired the pre-production Gelveta design that possibly also was engraved "Sport", which turned into the "Sport" production model. The B and 1/25 to 1/500 second focal-plane shutter
employs a pair of metal plates, which form a vertical rising slit during exposure
. The slit width determines the exposure. The shutter operation incorportates a quick-rising non-returning reflex mirror
. The combined shutter speed dial and wind-on knob, situated on the right-hand side, is stationary during exposure. The film transport is from cassette to cassette, no rewind is provided. The original pair of cassettes would take enough film for fifty exposures. A manual-reset frame counter is at the base of the wind-on knob. The camera has an eye-level vertical viewfinder for looking down onto the focusing screen
, as well as a built-in direct vision "action finder". The integral camera base and back is removed for film loading. The only lens
available was the Industar И-10 1:3,5 f=5cm lens. There is no serial number on the camera body, the lens serial number is used for identification. The camera bayonet lens mount
incorporates the focusing
helix with an infinity
catch, and the mount itself is similar to that for the Zeiss Ikon Contax
.
Kine Exakta
The Kine Exakta was the first 35mm SLR still camera. It was presented by Ihagee Kamerawerk Steenbergen GmbH, Dresden at the Leipziger Frühjarmesse in March 1936. The Exakta name was already used by Ihagee on a roll film SLR camera line since 1933, among these the Vest Pocket Exakt Model B from...
, launched in 1936. It was manufactured by the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
camera factory Gosudarstvennyi Optiko-Mekhanicheskii Zavod, The State Optical-Mechanical Factory in Leningrad. GOMZ
LOMO
LOMO or Leningrad Optical Mechanical Amalgamation is a manufacturer of advanced optical instruments, medical equipment, consumer still and movie cameras, projectors, lenses, film editors, splicers, professional sound recorders for motion-picture production based in St. Petersburg, Russia...
for short. The camera name is engraved in Cyrillic
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
on the finder
Viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...
housing above the lens: „Спорт“. The manufacturer's prism logo in gold on black with the factory initials ГОМЗ (GOMZ) is shown behind a circular magnifying window on the top left camera front. An estimated number of 16,000 cameras were made before Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
was besieged in September 1941 and suffered heavy damage. The design concept was not continued later.
The development of the "Sport" was a lengthy process. It started out as the MINE in 1929, named after its designer A. A. Mine. The MINE inspired the pre-production Gelveta design that possibly also was engraved "Sport", which turned into the "Sport" production model. The B and 1/25 to 1/500 second focal-plane shutter
Focal-plane shutter
In camera design, a focal-plane shutter is a type of photographic shutter that is positioned immediately in front of the focal plane of the camera, that is, right in front of the photographic film or image sensor.-Two-curtain shutters:...
employs a pair of metal plates, which form a vertical rising slit during exposure
Exposure (photography)
In photography, exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value and scene luminance over a specified area.In photographic jargon, an exposure...
. The slit width determines the exposure. The shutter operation incorportates a quick-rising non-returning reflex mirror
Reflex finder
A reflex finder is a viewfinder system with a mirror placed behind a lens. The light passing through the lens is reflected by the mirror to a focusing screen, usually ground glass...
. The combined shutter speed dial and wind-on knob, situated on the right-hand side, is stationary during exposure. The film transport is from cassette to cassette, no rewind is provided. The original pair of cassettes would take enough film for fifty exposures. A manual-reset frame counter is at the base of the wind-on knob. The camera has an eye-level vertical viewfinder for looking down onto the focusing screen
Focusing screen
A focusing screen is a flat translucent material, usually ground glass, found in a system camera that allows the user of the camera to preview the framed image in a viewfinder. Often, focusing screens are available in variants with different etched markings for various purposes...
, as well as a built-in direct vision "action finder". The integral camera base and back is removed for film loading. The only lens
Photographic lens
A camera lens is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically.While in principle a simple convex lens will suffice, in...
available was the Industar И-10 1:3,5 f=5cm lens. There is no serial number on the camera body, the lens serial number is used for identification. The camera bayonet lens mount
Lens mount
A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is confined to cameras where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the single lens reflex type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge...
incorporates the focusing
Focusing
In psychotherapy-related disciples, the term focusing is used to refer to the simple matter of holding a kind of open, non-judging attention to something which is directly experienced but is not yet in words. Focusing can be used to become clear on what one feels or wants...
helix with an infinity
Infinity
Infinity is a concept in many fields, most predominantly mathematics and physics, that refers to a quantity without bound or end. People have developed various ideas throughout history about the nature of infinity...
catch, and the mount itself is similar to that for the Zeiss Ikon Contax
Contax
Contax was a camera brand noted for its unique technical innovation and a wide range of Zeiss lenses, noted for their high optical quality. Its final incarnation was a line of 35 mm, medium format and digital cameras engineered and manufactured by Kyocera, and featuring modern Zeiss optics...
.