Chaika () was a series of

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

35mm half-frame cameras produced by BELOMO from 1965 to 1974. The name came from call sign of the first woman in space -

Valentina Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (born 6 March 1937) is a Russian engineer, member of the State Duma, and former Soviet cosmonaut. She was the first Women in space, woman in space, having flown a solo mission on Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. S ...

. Over 2 million Chaika cameras were produced. All models of the Chaika cameras have metal cases. Chaika cameras share the following basic specifications: * Film used — 35-mm in standard cassette (135 type) * Frame size — 18×24 mm * Lens — Industar-69 ( Tessar-type) ... mounted by LTM-like thread of 39 mm diameter. * Focal length 28 mm * Diaphragm scale from 2.8 to 16 * Focusing: 0.8 m to infinite * Leaf shutter ... behind the lens * Adjustable shutter speeds 1/30 - 1/250 sec and "B" * Flash synchronisation Flange focal distance for the lens was shorter than the standard M39 mount used by early Leica and compatible cameras - 27.5mm compared to 28.8mm for Leica - and the lens will not focus to infinity on such bodies. The intention was to use the lens to enlarge the negatives, not interchangeability with other cameras or lenses.

Camera models

*Chaika (1965-1967) *Chaika-2 (1967-1972) *Chaika-2M (1972-1974) *Chaika-3 (1971-1973) with selenium lightmeter and without "B" speed

External links

Antique Soviet Camera: Chaika camera

Chaika group at flickrChaika 3 Half Frame for the Space Age
Cameras Soviet cameras {{camera-stub