Soviet Leica
The Third Reich had fallen. Abgesehen von Geld und Land… they also have to pay other things, like, camera patents.
What went into Leica, Leica III, specifically, is in public domain now (I say “now” but it’s more like post WWII). And as popular as that camera is/was, no one would let go of the chance to skip the research and development and just copy Leica, hopefully make some money out it. The Japanese modelled their Canon IVSB, Tanacte, etc, after Leica III, and for the soviet, it’s very much the same.
Being the next door neighbor to Germany (ahh Poland…), the Soviet were also able to seize and relocate some of the Leica manufacture equipment to their territory, to the place where we now know as Ukraine. A whole bunch of Leica III-inspired cameras were made their under the brand of FED or Zorky, with similar, if not the same design.
The giant production and not-so-good quality control meant those cameras were not as well built, lowering their prices and popularity. After the fall of the soviet, however, some “wise” men had the idea of refurnishing those cameras. ‘Tis not normal refurnishing, it also includes re-painting. So, for about $200, you can get something like this:
This has “Kriegsmarine” written on it, and if you know anything about history, you might be thinking:
“Are there…”
The answer is yes.
Horra, Luftwaffe und Wehrmacht.
In fact, you can get them in many other shapes and colors as well, they are as colorful as a bag of Skittles (I really mean it, I didn’t buy bright orange or cyan only b/c they are not the model I want).
Why the Ukrainians would rather engrave Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, and Wehrmacht on these cameras rather than anything related to USSR is beyond me, as I failed to find a single camera that’s Soviet themed. But hey, if you find Leica IIIf having too dull of a color and want something with symbols that you need to tape off, they are the perfekt choice für Sie!!
And, yes, they do work and can take pictures like a normal camera.
In point of fact, their size and low price mean I have no concern carrying and using them in heavy rain or other harsh environments, something I will never do with my real Leica. As a result, they have produced some of my favorite images.
