Zenit 11 vs Zenit ET

Hi all,

This is my first post here, so please forgive me if I'm not following the etiquette strictly.
I'm being offered to choose between a Zenit 11 and Zenit ET, as a gift. I can't find any major difference between them. The 11 is black and obviously more used, the edges have lost some of the paint. It's mirror has some greasy finger mark, which I haven't tried cleaning yet. The ET is grey and doesn't look used much. Currently both are at home and I need to choose which one to keep by Sunday evening. Any advice? If both are essentially the same, as might be the case, what can I check/test to determine the better one?

Cheers,
Dragnev

Hi!
Welcome!
If you haven't seen this site yet, have a look and see the differences between the ET and 11: http://www.sovietcams.com/index.php?-131288401
Not that much, but try to find if the ET is a KMZ or BeLomo made.
I would go for the 11 (I have one) if it is in good working condition.
BTW, do yours have a screw on the right side front, just right of the ET paint?
Do you know that screw has a function? It uncovers another screw and that one is for calibrating the meter.

Hello, welcome to APUG!

With each camera, I would test each shutter speed first. Remove any lens, open the back of the camera, and aim the camera at a bright light, then operate the shutter. Start at 1 second and progress to higher speeds. Each speed should show half as much light as the previous. This isn't a very accurate test, but it's reasonable to do at home.

Also try B (shutter stays open for as long as the release button is held down) and the self timer (wind the shutter, pull down the self-timer lever, press the button).

Next, you should have a lens to test that the aperture blades close to the proper aperture when the shutter release is pressed half-way. The meter should also respond to different light conditions (no battery is needed).

From your description, it seems like the ET would be better, but test both.

Does your ET have a meter? Some do not.

Start at 1 second? Not on these Zenits. Now, on the Zenit-19, yeah, that will do.

Thanks a lot for you answers. Very helpful so far.
So, yes, there are screws on the right on both cameras. The 11 is built in 83, the ET is from 85, as determined from the SN. Both have working self timer, both have a meter. I think the meter of the ET doesn't work at all, it doesn't change it's position when changing the light conditions. The position of the 11 changes, but not too much and perhaps it needs calibrating. I'm pretty sure I can't do this on my own. The mount of the 11 is a bit loose and I will try to tighten the screws a bit. As suggested, I also tried half-pressing the shutter button to close the apertute blades, and it works only on the 11. The shutter speeds are very limited on both models - B, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500. I've tried them all and they seam to be working the same way on both cameras but I have no way to measure if they are accurate.
Now, I don't know how to check where is the camera built. Any suggestions?

Thanks again for the warm welcome

Look at the mark on the body.
See these sites for identification: http://www.commiecameras.com/sov/index.htm
http://cameras.alfredklomp.com/logos/index.htm
KMZ made Zenits are normally better made.

OK, I thightened the loose screws a bit and now the 11 feels a lot more solid. It has the KMZ logo, and the ET has the Belomo logo. The only drawback now is the fingermark on the mirror, but since this doesn't affect the images, no big deal. Other plus is it has a tripod mount, and the ET doesn't.
So if nothing else comes up, I'll keep the 11 model. I'm also getting 2 lenses with it, Industar 50-2 and a Jupiter 9. Looks like I have a decent start in M42