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The Smena Symbol (also marked "Смена Символ" "Smena Symvol", or called Cosmic Symbol) is a 35mm camera that features a LOMO T-43 40mm f/4 coated triplet lens. It was produced from 1973-1993 by LOMO in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. Production estimates are in the 10s of millions. In essence, the Symbol is an improved Smena 8m with symbolic scales: weather symbols as additional shutter speed scale, and the distance scale with distance symbols, meter values and feet values mixed.
Below the lens tube is a second speed scale, a numeric one running from 1/15-1/250 + B. The weather symbol scale has a smart indexing system allowing double distance of the weather symbols compared to value distances on the numeric scale- that is, the weather symbols are apparently more widely spaced than the shutter speeds, which are on the same ring. The symbols are indexed by white squares appearing in holes beside the symbols; the holes are at two different distances from the body.
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| Cosmic-badged version. Aperture/film speed scale around lens |
distance scale & weather symbols | with accessory rangefinder |
The aperture scale, inside the filter thread, doubles as a film speed scale (marked in DIN and ГОСТ-ASA) when using the weather symbols to set the shutter speed.
Added features
It features a X-sync hot shoe for single contact flash.
Construction is improved, especially the shutter release, and it feels heavier than Smena 8M.
It has multiple exposure protection.
Links
- Matt Denton's page of information about the Smena Symbol
- Commie Cameras page of Soviet Simple Cameras
- Manual, Courtesy of toxpose.com
- Smena Symbol on Valdis's Antique Russian Cameras
- The Camera Site's Smena page
- Gosmic Symbol at Sylvain Halgand's www.collection-appareils.fr
- Smena Symbol on Sovietcams.com
- Smena Symvol on Antique Russian Cameras