The camera "Viliya" (USSR) was produced by the Belarusian Optical and Mechanical Company. Several modifications were available to customers, which differed only in terms of exposure. The body and lens are unchanged.
About 3 million units were produced by Viliya-Avto and Viliya cameras.
Technical details
The Viliya-Auto camera has few functions. The manufacturer is BelOMO. It was produced for nine years: from 1974 to 1985. It is a small format camera. To work with pictures, a film of type 135 is used. The frame has a size of 24 × 36 mm. Shutter of the central type. Focusing is done manually. A special distance scale is available. The exposition is also exhibited by the photographer himself. Sync contact is used for flash. An optical viewfinder is installed. The total mass of the device is 450 g.
Description of appearance
The shutter button is located rather uncomfortably, but many owners like its move. On the top panel of the device, you can see the flash shoe. There was a special roulette, which is responsible for rewinding the film back. If we talk about the advantages of design and ergonomics, then it is necessary to notice the manual adjustment of shutter speed in the Viliya model. In the previous version of "Auto" this was not.
Side surfaces are made as simple and concise as possible. There are no patterns on them, made in a gray shade. On one of the faces you can notice the presence of a sync terminal connector. There was also a button for opening the back cover.
On the right side there is nothing but the same key. There are several options on the bottom surface at once. In the center is a button that is responsible for rewinding. Nearby, to the right and to the left of it, you can notice the frame counter and tripod socket. It is slightly offset to the side. On the back of the camera is a special trigger for fast forward the frame. There is also a viewfinder and a sensitivity scale for the film used.
There is nothing remarkable inside the camera. The standard design that is used in all such cameras. Having opened the back, you can notice the receiving coil and the transport type asterisk.
How to photograph on "Vilya"
The instructions for the “Viliya” camera are quite difficult to find, so you should talk about how to take photos. The shooting process is quite interesting. It is necessary to have a black and white film. Next, set the limb and shutter speed. After that, it remains only to choose the aperture and the corresponding distance to the object. If the film was inserted in the light, then several “idle” frames should be slicked to scroll through unsuitable material.
The most important point can be called the results. When developing photos for the first time you work with the device, light or some other distortions may appear, however, according to customer reviews, everyone learned to work with this device quite quickly.
Device price
Each collector has never thought about how much this device can be purchased for today? It should be noted right away that this camera does not carry any value - it was released in a huge circulation, and relatively little time has passed since the last official sales. Therefore, the red price for it is no more than 200 rubles.
But it should be understood what kind of options are those that have an excellent appearance, without any defects, pollution and with fully working functionality. It would be wrong to buy a “damaged” camera for this money, because now there are hundreds of offers cheaper and in excellent condition. If the buyer found this device for 300 rubles, then you do not need to immediately purchase it. Many take the camera "Viliya" for a maximum of 100 rubles.
Finally
This camera has not received much distribution and does not differ in any extraordinary solutions from the manufacturer. Rather, another standard camera. The entire issued circulation sold out rather quickly, but as soon as the ratings began to fall, the model was discontinued.
Today you can buy a camera only from resellers and collectors. Above, the article specified the cost for this device, so this information should be taken into account.
The shooting process was easy, fast. Pictures were not blurred or distorted. Of course, talking about super excellent quality is not necessary, but at that time - everything was excellent. Often this camera was used to work on holidays. Often acquired in order to take ordinary pictures in family photo albums.
When selling, the instruction was included in the kit, but at the moment it was not preserved by many. It is difficult to find even on the Internet. But many buyers note that the shooting process is intuitive and as simple as possible. Photos when printing are excellent. Those who worked with other devices of the USSR also note that this can be considered one of the best.