Kometa

Kometa was developed specifically for demoing at Brussels World Photofair of 1958. The designers were given a task to made the best, the most advanced camera in the world which according to Krasnogorsk Factory they had achieved successfully.

But since this camera was mostly a prototype that was an demonstration of capabilities of Soviet technology, the actual mass production of this camera was not considered seriously, even though it was mentioned in the plans for the early 1960ies.

There was a full range of optics prepared for Kometa: 20, 28, 35, 50, 85 and 135mm. By its advanced design and technical flexibility this camera had been light years ahead pretty much everything that ever was developed at KMZ..

It is a 35mm rangerfinder with unique design with various automatic modes of setting exposure. The shutter and aperture dials were mechanically coupled with selenium light meter and were controlled by it.

Frame: 24x36mm
Bayonet lens mount
Lens: Mercury-1 2/50
Shutter speeds: from 1s to 1/1000 s (1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000 s, with possiblity of setting "in-between" speeds
Multiple frames in the viewfinder for 50, 85 and 135mm

Designers: G.M. Dorskiy, A.P. Orlov, V.I. Pluzhnikov

Source: KMZ - http://www.zenitcamera.com/archive/kometa/index.html