Iskra

Iskra is a family of Soviet cameras, produced from 1960 to 1964 in the city of Krasnogorsk at the KMZ plant. This family included only two cameras, and the difference between the second model and the first was solely in the presence of an uncoupled selenium light meter.

In fact, the Isra cameras were clones of the Agfa Super Isolette and Zeiss Super Ikonta IV cameras. But it should be noted that Iskra is in no way inferior to the original German and Japanese cameras either in terms of manufacturability or in the quality of the images produced.

Iskra cameras began to be produced after the production of Moskva cameras was curtailed. Unlike Moskva, Iskra was a more compact, convenient and much more technologically advanced camera. The only drawback in comparison was that Iskra only shot in 6×6, while Moskva also shot in 6×9.

The camera was made of metal and has a retractable lens. It was easy to use and took great pictures, making it one of the most popular cameras among Soviet professional photographers.

Both cameras were made for 120 film and shot in 6×6 format. This frame format was very common both in the USSR and outside this state, and it is not difficult to find a film of the desired format even now.

Both the first and second models of Iskra were equipped with the Industar-58 f3.5/75 lens, which is rightfully one of the best, if not the best Tessar clone produced in the Soviet Union. This lens creates a beautiful image and can impress even an experienced photographer with its sharpness and bokeh.

Unlike the Moskva cameras, Iskra had a more advanced shutter capable of working out shutter speeds from 1 to 1/500 sec. A faster leaf shutter, combined with the shorter focal length, made it possible to shoot handheld at shutter speeds from 1/500 to 1/30 and even 1/15 if the photographer had sufficient experience in photography.

Iskra rightfully earned the respect of professional photographers and remained in their hearts as one of the symbols of Soviet photographic equipment.