ФИЛ/FIL electronic photo flash — reflector head with separate power-supply block and 220 V mains plug

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

"ФИЛ/FIL" electronic photo flash — reflector head with separate power-supply block and 220 V mains plug

Entry/Object ID

2025.11.49

Description

Two-part Soviet electronic (impulse) photoflash outfit. The flash head is a compact rectangular housing with a stippled, faceted reflector behind a clear molded lens and an arched flashtube; a metal accessory/hot-shoe foot projects from the base, and the back face carries a rotating guide-number calculator dial. The head is joined by captive rubber-insulated cables — including a separate sync cord terminating in a small connector — to a flat rectangular gray power-supply block and to a molded two-pin AC wall plug. Cabling is coiled and bound with twine for storage. Housings are matte gray plastic.

Acquisition

Accession

2025.11

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Made/Created

Manufacturer

Tallinn "Norma" factory

Place

City

Tallinn

State/Province

Estonia

Country

U.S.S.R.

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Edition

"ФИЛ" (FIL) electronic-flash series

Notes

Maker: Tallinn "Norma" factory (завод «Норма»), Tallinn, Estonian SSR — verified as the manufacturer of the "ФИЛ" (FIL) electronic-flash series. Brand: ФИЛ / NORMA. Date: Circa 1975–1985 (tentative, inferred from the stylized boxed "ФИЛ/NORMA" wordmark and the two-piece head-plus-power-block configuration). The ФИЛ line as a whole ran from 1962 into the late 1980s.

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Notes

Flash head, front: printed boxed wordmark "ФИЛ" over "NORMA" Flash head, lower back: "MADE IN USSR," molded relief Flash head, back: guide-number calculator dial with concentric f-stop, distance, and film-speed scales (e.g., 1, 1.3, 1.5, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22; 32 / 65 / 130 / 250) Power-supply block, end label: "ФИЛ" over "БЛОК ПИТАНИЯ" (FIL / Power Supply Unit) Mains plug, molded: "~ 220V" (AC, 220 volt)

Parts

box, flash, 2 cables

Materials

Material Notes

Materials: Molded plastic housings; metallized/stippled reflector; rubber-insulated wiring; metal accessory foot and hardware. Technique: Injection-molded plastic; molded relief lettering; printed applied labels; stamped metal reflector and foot.

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Relationships

Related Places

Place

City

Tallinn

State/Province

Estonia

Country

U.S.S.R.

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Notes

production

Research Notes

Notes

"ФИЛ" (FIL) was a long-running series of Soviet electronic flashes from the Norma factory in Tallinn (early models ФИЛ-2 1962, later ФИЛ-40/-41/-46/-101/-102, etc., into the late 1980s). The separate power-supply block here is characteristic of the higher-output ФИЛ models (e.g., the ФИЛ-101/102 class) rather than the single-body units — tentative pending a visible model number.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

February 12, 2026

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 12, 2026