VINTAGE Photo clamp Photo tripod FED USSR holder for Old Photo buy devices for Kolkceoners and connoisseurs of antiquity

VINTAGE Photo clamp Photo tripod FED,

A photo tripod is a very convenient thing. It will help you make a selfie, and the waterfall will be beautifully blurred, and the evening landscape will be photographed.

One problem with a tripod: well, buy you don't have one when you need it! Because you will not constantly carry this bandura with you….

To provide the photographer with a more mobile means of fixing the camera in space, the Soviet industry offered users a photo clamp.
The photo clamp is a very compact and lightweight device. It was definitely not burdensome to carry it in a backpack or even in a pocket.

The device is about 13 cm long and weighs only 120 grams. Earlier models of these clamps were slightly heavier.

The clamp is all made of aluminum and partially covered with hammer paint.

The clamp is attached to the camera through the tripod socket.

In the place of attachment, the device would not interfere with a plastic washer - a gasket. The metal base of the mount scratches the paint on the device.
"On the ground" fixation is offered in two ways.

The first is the clamp itself.
The second - using a special wrench with a tapered thread a la screw.

The collar can be screwed into the clamp on both sides. With a drill inward or outward.

When not in use, the drill is hidden inside the clamp, which prevents any kind of accidents with this sharp piece of construction.
To orient the camera in space, the clamp is equipped with a ball head with a collet clamp.

The head allows you to turn the device and tilt it up to 90 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the clamp.
The ball in the head, alas, is not very even, which is why it has a tendency, at the slightest displacement, to suddenly detect weakness and drop the device into an uncontrollable tilt.

Zenith with a staff, the head holds normally. But starting from Jupiter-21 it becomes clear that the mount is flimsy.

The photo shows that in addition to the ball head, the device has an additional rotary mechanism (rotation around the longitudinal axis of the clamp) with a fixing screw.

Apparently, this is a rather late improvement, tk. on the copy that I had at school - this node was missing.

For me, the introduction of an additional pivot assembly did not make much sense. The ball head already made it possible to rotate the camera. But now, when you try to tighten the collet clamp tighter, the swivel ring lock begins to slip.

How functional is the photo clamp? Not very good for my taste.

As a child, I had one and honestly tried to use it.
The clamping gap is only 32 mm. In fact, there are not so many objects in the city and in nature of suitable thickness for fixing the device.

I remember that the back of a standard street bench was assembled from beams of much greater thickness.

It was also not possible to use a drill. Either it was a pity for the trees, or it was lucky for them not to come across in the places of my spontaneous photo sessions.

Where the photo clamp already feels more confident is taking close-ups at home. The edge of the table is exactly what the fixture attaches to perfectly.

But here it is not without flaws. Strong — just very strong — the rubber grommets would do the trick.

If you don't use folded paper or cloth to pave the place where the clip is attached, your home desk is guaranteed to be damaged by the clip.

Of the indisputable advantages - the fact that at the turn of the 80s and 90s such things were really worth some pennies. Therefore, even with not very active use, it was definitely not necessary to regret the purchase.