Honorary Rangefinder ?

[dee]

If any evil SLR deserves to be perceived as cousin to a Zorki /Fed it must be the original Zenit and Zenit S [ before they lost the plot on size , style , and quality ! ]

I have just received 2x Zenit 1 and ! x Zenit S restored from wrecks by altai to match my altai restored Zorki 1 / Fed 1 / Zorki S / 2 S and Fed 2 .

This is the 1st time I had asked him to fix my cameras , which would otherwise have been put aside as a lesson in dodgy e-bay buying !

I had no idea just how dee-lightfull such a near mint Leica derived SLR could be .

To be honest , my Zorki 1 / Zorki S and Zenit 1 are the most real cameras I can connect to - and I really make no distinction beteewn Rangefinder and SLR - they are all just so much '' the same '' that how they focus is immaterial .

One has advantages in one area , the other takes over in others .

Maybe it's the comparitively primitive operation of the Zenit which evens out the comparison , so that I have to work at both cameras .

In this company , the Zorki is generally easier - no worries about a dim focusing screen in low light or stopping down the lense before exposure , which sure as heck negates any obvious advantage .

[ I also have no less than 3 rare I 22 rigids rebuilt for my Leicas / Zorkis / Feds ...

Playtime !!!

dee

 

[wolves3012]

Dee,

I have a Zenit S and Zenith S, the Zenith being very tidy and the Zenit rather tatty. Both lovely cameras and very small for SLRs. My only problem is that the designers decided to put the screen rather close, optically speaking. Sadly, this means I really can't focus them without my reading glasses on!

 

[santino]

no Helios 44? get one in M39 mount, f2 will give you a better image on the focusing screen. it performs pretty good too 😀

 

[moretto]

Dee,

I have a Zenit S and Zenith S, the Zenith being very tidy and the Zenit rather tatty. Both lovely cameras and very small for SLRs. My only problem is that the designers decided to put the screen rather close, optically speaking. Sadly, this means I really can't focus them without my reading glasses on!

I have a Zenit 1. Far from mint condition, but it still works and I love it.I am curious what you mean by Zenit and Zenith? The Zenith would be an export model of the same camera or am I wrong?