Fotopribor SKF-1 Stereo Adapter Lens Accessory

Fotopribor SKF-1 Stereo Adapter

Lens Accessory

The Crappy Commie Camera Party is over now, but that doesn't mean that all those Soviet cameras and lenses go back into the cupboard. No, there's still plenty that can be done with these fabulous beasties. Back in the 1980s, the companies CFC Novacon do Brasil and Fotopribor of Ukraine created a stereo adapter that would allow users to make 3D images on a single frame of 35mm film, and quite amazingly, thanks to the Kamerastore, I managed to  get my hands on one for the princely sum of 20€.

Of course, it was in the 'Not Passed' category, with 'flaws that will affect typical use', but I'm used to that now, and I'm sure a little  haze won't be an obstacle? 'There are major haze and fungus on the mirror and lens/glass surfaces, which affects image quality, and it has a very strong smell of mold (sic).' Major haze? Hmm. And a mouldy smell? Well, it can't be that bad, and I've tackled a smelly camera before with that old Sirene (https://keithdevereux.wordpress.com/2024/06/28/a-smelly-old-ica-sirene-135-a-9x12-folding-camera-from-the-1920s/). (For the record, that post was written in June 2024, and the darn thing still smells of, I reckon, years of nicotine exposure.)

When the Fotopribor arrived it was in a lovely little custom made box. Tucked into the lid was an instruction manual in Russian that showed the adapter was bought in 1991. There was a blue viewer, with two nice clear lenses, screw adapters that fix the adapter to the lens, and a slightly yellowed diffuser for the viewer. In a lovely zipped bag was the adapter itself, and underneath this two 25mm slide frames and a mask that slip into the adapter when viewing the stereo images. 

It was evident where the haze was, both the glass in the front and rear of the Fotopribor was really cloudy. Fortunately, the front of the adapter was easily removed with two small screws. And that's where my problems began (not really 'problems', but perhaps a little snag). When the front was removed, it was difficult to access the rear glass. Looking at the innards of the adapter there were four small screws, that I thought were holding the back of the adapter in place. So I removed them.

Oops! Turns out, these four screws were the adjusting screws that make the Fotopribor split the image properly down the middle. I didn't realise that at the time, so proceeded to clean all the glass with glass cleaner and cotton buds. With the glass cleaned, I reassembled the adapter and prepared to mount it onto my Zenit 11 SLR camera from the Crappy Commie Camera Party. 

The Fotopribor SKF-1 stereo adaptor was produced specifically for the Helios-44M 58mm lens. Fortunately, I have one of these, which I bought more for flipping the front lens than for the Crappy Commie Camera Party, and attaching the adapter was straightforward enough. It was at this point that I realised the mirrors were way out of alignment, and I spent a good half an hour trying to realign the mirrors again using the little screws that I had removed. Hopefully, now the Fotopribor is ready to try out.

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