The more recent Zenit SLR's

[tkluck]

Intrigued by this thread, I started looking on Ebay for a Zenit SLR...

Then I came out of the GAS induced trance!

I've got a sh..er boat load of OM gear. I need an FSU SLR like a hole in the head. Less in fact: I could at least put an earring thru a hole in my head and look like a middle aged Jack Sparrow. (insert wife's laughter here)

This is a dangerous forum...

 

[raftman]

I have more compact, more practical, Digital and film, but I must say I always find myself looking at these on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/856-Rare-USSR-Photo-Sniper-Camera-Zenit-12S-Lens-TAIR-3_W0QQitemZ260035153857QQihZ016QQcategoryZ73448QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item260035153857


If one is to pull this out in a public place here in NYC people hit the deck. This is the polar opposite of a small rf camera.

I've always thought the fotosniper set-up was pretty cool, but I'd also be afraid to go around in public with that thing in times like these, would make people uneasy at first glance.

 

[raftman]

Didn't end up getting the 122k but rather the Zenit E. It's actually quite nice, I've only ran a couple of rolls through it so far, but I really like the results.

 

[Duncan Ross]

There always was a great deal of Zenit dislike on rec.photography.35mm, particularly from a mr T.P. who hated them with a vengence. However the Zenit 19 - one of the final Zenits - was apparently the highest quality 35mm M42 camera ever built, complete with its quartz-controlled metal fan shutter.

I'd love one but apparently they are like hens' teeth!

 

[Adam-T]

I hate to sound negative about FSU SLRs but the problem is that Unlike Rangefinders, SLRs increased in popularity manifold leaving the Zenits behind.. used M42 and K mount Manual SLRs, even Pentax originals (let alone the usable recent chinese Centon copies) cost virtually nothing thesedays, same for Canon FD, Olympus OM, Minolta etc, the better models of which are far better than any Zenit - Heck you can pick up a wonderful Nikon F3 for a song (N`s last Manual Pro camera) so why bother with an FSU SLR? - don`t get me wrong, I appreciated the Zenit TTL , it gave me a secondary M42 camera for little money but I`d not bother now with F3s, FM2s and K1000s going for buttons...

FSU Rangefinders for me are a totally different story - the Zorkis and early FEDs have a similar appeal to the Barnack Leicas and unlike SLRs there aren`t any big name high end refined RFs available used for little cash - just new Bessas which have in a way, all the appeal of a Nikon F80 or Canon EOS 50 SLR 🙁 .. I`m enjoying shooting with the Zorki 4 - If I`d kept the Zenit, I`d never put a roll in it and just pick up my old F3 or FM2 instead..

Anyway for a laugh, have a look at this camera - It`s a Balda Baldinette II and just goes to show that even the Germans could turn out total worthless Tat when they wanted to - late 1960s vintage I think, all plastic and very thin aluminium, brightlines but no rangefinder, the shutter is an in-lens leaf type (and why there are only 4 shutter speeds no less) - I was amazed to see that the lens goes from F2.8-F22, that it has a sync socket! and that the case is mostly thick leather! - otherwise it`s little more than one step up from a Diana --- compared to this, my Zorki-4 is a Leica IIIG !! ... I got given it a roll of film

 

[raftman]

I dunno, I find the notions that certain countries' cameras are of superior quality to any other false. I've 3 FSU cameras: 2 SLR's and a rangefinder. All were used and decades old, and for the most part work perfectly (I say for the most part because the self-timer on my Fed 5 seems a little iffy from time to time). At the same time, a lot of the really "nice" Japanese and American cameras have let me down, including one that literally broke in my hands the second time I picked it up, and another which went south after maybe 3 rolls.

That isn't to say I think FSU cameras are superior, but rather people's experience is always gonna be different. I like my FSU cameras, they give great results that I'm satisfied with and I don't see myself shooting with anything else for the time being.

 

[Adam-T]

I`ve always (Or since the late 70s anyway) seen FSUs as agricultural but tough as hell and reliable (Bar Prakticas of course, the LTL and variants were pretty awful build wise) , German cameras for precision at a price, Japanese cams varying wildly between precision and junk - but there are always exceptions , that German Balda is absolute rubbish in every respect (unless the lens is good) and from the above report, the Zenit 122 or whatever it was called, far from tough or reliable..