P3D Re: Russian MF stereo

[Rob <lilindn@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> A camera with a Russian-looking name, CNYTHNK (with second N backwards):
> 88,000 yen ($715)
> 
> Pretty pricey, but none too pretty. 
..
..
    The camera is a Sputnik, a medium format stereo camera made in the
Soviet Union for several years.  I have read that the optics are not at
all bad as one might expect from such an unusual camera made in (what
was) the USSR, but that the camera is prone to light leaks. 
    I believe Greg Erker has one, and that he has a website on medium
format stereo.
    In case you're wondering where one get "SPUTNIK" out of "CNYTHNK",
let's break down the cyrillic letters:
    C = S  (notice the old abbreviation "CCCP", = SSSR) 
  "n" - P  (you typed a capital N for what looked like a lower case
n,              in any regard, it equals "P", it is a directly from
the                 letter "Pi" in Greek, from which Cyrillic alphabet
was                  formed.
    Y = U   
    T = T   (fancy that :-)
    H = N    
  "N" = I   (you typed a forward cap N in lieu of a backwards one!, 
            this equals I !)
    K = K   (C is never = K, hence a tough hockey opponent of the USSR 
            was KANADA, though the D looked like a triangle (delta))


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