Zenit: someone use them?

[blockend]

For example, they were marketed strongly in the UK but not at all in West-Germany.

Off the top of my head Eastern Bloc goods available in the UK 1960s to 1990s included: Wartburg, Moskvitch, Skoda + Lada, Polski and Yugo Fiat copy cars; Ural, MZ and CZ motorcycles; cameras from Russia, Ukraine and DDR, some with original branding, some with anglicised names, some totally rebranded (e.g Prinzflex photographic equipment), optical instruments inc. telescopes and microscopes; electronic goods galore with multi-band radios being a huge seller; agricultural produce.

Some of these made marginal inroads into the market, some were mass sellers.

 

[Fin]

Complete tools selling absolute rubbish on Fleabay...

Had a similar experience. I do not even go online to ebay. Once burned ...

Yup! Although you can sometimes find some really good stuff on there. Although the haul of the last month or so has not been great:

Bronica S 150mm with a sticking iris - described as mint, dents indicate it has been dropped and has the iris issue. Shame, was a really nice lens once

Praktica IV with a Swiss-cheese shutter curtain - supposedly very good. Was also missing part of the rewind crank. Really wanted to own one of these as they are quite fun to use and particularly ugly

1960s M42 Zeiss 50mm with a one way helicoil - this is going back tomorrow. A very badly examined lens. Apparently perfect, but focussing the lens back out is so stiff, you end up undoing the lens, no matter how tightly you have fixed it to the camera


The only good thing is it costs these chancers in postage and listing fees every time they send me a badly described piece of junk.

 

[Sewin]

I know what you mean Fin. I've had a reasonably good success rate on fleabay. But also had a few duff deals.
Recently bought a Zenit 122 for £15 in very good condition, meter was faulty but the Helios-44M-4 lens is perfect and also acquired a Zenit bag with the deal, so not so bad in the end.
Didn't like the 122 body anyway when compared to earlier Zenits.

Have you tried a drop of isopropyl alcohol on the lens to free it up?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I did a Video on my Zenith -- you can see it HERE :

it's a Zenit not a Zenith

 

[McFortner]

it's a Zenit not a Zenith

Actually, Zenit is Zenith in Russian, so he's correct.

 

[AgX]

Actually, Zenit is Zenith in Russian, so he's correct.

No. Zenith is зенит in Russian, and Zenit in some other languages.
The pronunciation in the English version is different too.
KMZ used as Latin version the "t"-spelling on the bodies.


However there some official papers and designations were Zenith was used, for example some instruction booklets of the oficial UK-importer.

 

[Huss]

I like the TTL as it has a match needle.

I don't suppose you see so many Zenits over your way?

There's many available in the UK. The ones I have were originally supplied by T.O.E. the UK importers and distributors who apparently checked all Zenits prior to sale.

Most of the Zenits are cheap to pick up in the UK, but for some reason the Zenit 122 seems to be pricey, not sure why. I've never had one, but have read they suffer from light leaks.

I find Zenits nice to use, reliable with a good mechanical feel to them, despite what other people think

Although I like budget Prakticas I'm starting to prefer the Zenits now.

Not really. The 12SD was bought NewOldStock from Russia with the lens and case. The lens is actually very good. The camera did come with a pinhole in the shutter curtain - but I easily fixed that with some carbon black paint.
I don't use the meters in either as they seem fiddly/vague and not very sensitive. Also because the battery cover seems very loosely fitted once I put batteries in there.
My TTL is a light leaky mess (bought used) and I have not yet got it serviced because I'm allergic to dumping $100 into a $20 camera. But I am still tempted..

 

[RalphLambrecht]

No. Zenith is зенит in Russian, and Zenit in some other languages.
The pronunciation in the English version is different too.
KMZ used as Latin version the "t"-spelling on the bodies.


However there some official papers and designations were Zenith was used, for example some instruction booklets of the oficial UK-importer.

never mind; we know what he meant but, it is funny when English speakers try to pronounce a German brand of Nylons and underwear called'Schiesser.

 

[Fin]

I know what you mean Fin. I've had a reasonably good success rate on fleabay. But also had a few duff deals.
Recently bought a Zenit 122 for £15 in very good condition, meter was faulty but the Helios-44M-4 lens is perfect and also acquired a Zenit bag with the deal, so not so bad in the end.
Didn't like the 122 body anyway when compared to earlier Zenits.

Have you tried a drop of isopropyl alcohol on the lens to free it up?

Nah... I would have done, but that particular lens was only purchased to accompany the wonderfully ugly Praktica IV. The body and lens were both garbage, so both were sent back!

 

[AgX]

I first would consider the film cassette, not the camera.

 

[MattKing]

I think your problem occurs because the image area on your negatives extends into the area between the sprockets. It is almost as if the film is too low in the film chamber.
I think you are seeing the result of flare.

 

[AgX]

Yes, the gate is not symmetrical to the rows of perforation1, but I do not see any flare, nor do I understand how there could be any flare.
What I do see at the lower edge is some light/piping into the edges of the perfotation holes. But this should not be any issue at all.



1 Unless the film is not correctly perfed.
I got no idea how the gate could be off.

 

[MattKing]

Yes, the image is positioned too low on the frame, but wouldn't that mean that the film is sitting higher than it should?

As the bottom of the scene is imaged (in camera) at the top of the film gate, it looks like the perforations are extending down too far into the film gate area.
Which means the film is too low.
I think!

 

[Helios 1984]

I found this gem on Specsavers, I like to believe that it's Kylie's camera.

 

[awty]

Kylie saw me with mine and just had to have one to.

 

[drkhalsa]

I've been watching a BBC crime drama series on Amazon Prime Video called Whitechapel.
I noted the camera used by the medical examiner's assistant in several scenes is a black Zenit with an attached flash unit.

 

[M-88]

I found this gem on Specsavers, I like to believe that it's Kylie's camera.

If she knows how to use Zenit, then why would she leave the rewind knob in upper position?

 

[AgX]

Moreover, its flash shoe adapter is missing its shoe.
I then would have taken the adapter off.

Roughly 14 million Zenits made, all models, and just she got a broken one ...

 

[blockend]

I'm having a weird problem with my Zenit 12XP

It looks like the shutter frame is larger than normal, which seems bizarre but conceivable. The negative sits lower than normal, but if the frame was pushed up it would still be close to the sprocket holes top and bottom, which suggests the film frame is larger than 36 x 24mm. I've seen 35mm negatives that are smaller than normal, with lots of clear rebate round the image, so it's possible your Zenit has a bigger than usual shutter frame.

The only downside is some lighting conditions and processing techniques the image can be affected by the proximity of the sprocket holes, but if it isn't troubling you I wouldn't worry. My Kiev has a replacement take up spool which sits higher than the original. Once I've wound on two frames to bring the counter to the first exposure the discrepancy has evened itself out. Are you using reloadable cassettes or has the advance mechanism been repaired with an extra shim?

 

[SilverShutter]

So it's with great dispair and frustration that I must announce the death of my TTL, the shutter just crapped out and wont advance at all. It's stuck. I will probably get a replacement, was thinking of a 122 perhaps, but on the meantime, is there any repair guide other than Tom Tiger's?

 

[M-88]

So it's with great dispair and frustration that I must announce the death of my TTL, the shutter just crapped out and wont advance at all. It's stuck. I will probably get a replacement, was thinking of a 122 perhaps, but on the meantime, is there any repair guide other than Tom Tiger's?

There are some guides, yes, but they are in Russian, obviously.
As for 122, make sure it's with METAL gears, because some have flimsy plastic instead and it breaks easily. Try to avoid Belorussian made ('Belomo') Zenits, they are known to be of worse quality than Krasnogors.

 

[AgX]

One of the most produced SLR and no English translation... I always found that weird.

 

[SilverShutter]

There are some guides, yes, but they are in Russian, obviously.
As for 122, make sure it's with METAL gears, because some have flimsy plastic instead and it breaks easily. Try to avoid Belorussian made ('Belomo') Zenits, they are known to be of worse quality than Krasnogors.

Makes sense yeah, I was mostly interested if there was any with regards to the shutter, as I wouldn't mind giving it a go. It can't really get any worse, but anyway. Surprising how pricey some bodies of Zenits can get online, asking 40 euros or more for a body without a lens, that's more expensive than many EOS and many other superior M42 bodies.
I will try and see if I can find any next time I go to the local flea market.

 

[M-88]

Makes sense yeah, I was mostly interested if there was any with regards to the shutter, as I wouldn't mind giving it a go. It can't really get any worse, but anyway. Surprising how pricey some bodies of Zenits can get online, asking 40 euros or more for a body without a lens, that's more expensive than many EOS and many other superior M42 bodies.
I will try and see if I can find any next time I go to the local flea market.

Quite frankly it's a shame Zenit was exported outside USSR. While every other foreign camera evolved, big Z stayed essentially the same heavy clunker with poor selection of speeds throughout the decades. It must have been perfect from the beginning, hence no need to improve

40 Euros per body is ... I could easily get a working example of any major brand camera! Come to Georgia, I will personally help you to obtain two working cameras with lenses for that amount

Oh and absence of repair manuals (although Youtube is full of actually useful guide videos) is also explained pretty easily: cost of repair labor often surpasses the cost of replacement body. Here for example you can buy a working camera for as low as 60 GEL, while basic disassembly, cleaning and shutter adjustment will cost you exactly the same amount. So unless that particular specimen has a sentimental value, damaged Zenit often ends up in a trash bin.

 

[AgX]

But just as the basic design is generic throughout many models and as there are quite few around the Zenit should be a good base for repair training.