xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
Maybe except for certain Pentax made cameras, Japanese SLRs from the 1970s that use the M42 lens mount are cheap as chips to buy these days.
I have seen them priced as low as 15 dollars for a working specimen, complete with 50mm standard lens at camera shows and cheaper at garage sales.
I have seen them priced as low as 15 dollars for a working specimen, complete with 50mm standard lens at camera shows and cheaper at garage sales.
AGX2015
Member
I can arrive to 100 euro with a good lens
Roger Hicks
Veteran
AGX2015
Member
Some people suggest me this list for M42 reflex camera:
- Zenit 12XP
- Zenit E or B (they are truly the same camera but without exposimeter?)
- Praktica MTL5B
Your suggestion?
- Zenit 12XP
- Zenit E or B (they are truly the same camera but without exposimeter?)
- Praktica MTL5B
Your suggestion?
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
No Roger, I personally do not, as I prefer to make my own when I get (rarely) a hankering for home-made fish and chips.
In the big city one will pay more for a cone of French fries ( chips to the UK crowd) and a soft drink in those shi shi places that now specialize in freshly cut and freshly fried French fried potatoes.
Fast cheap food for the lower classes now is considered a marvellous thing by the hipster crowd.
One chippery opened up a decade ago in the revitalized part of Queen street west Toronto and on weekends the shop had a queue yards long on to the street, just because some local magazine had an article on how delicious these fries were.
I paid 5 CDN dollars for my Zenit E with the 58mm helios 44-2 lens and neverready case at a camera show a few years back, a Ricoh Singlex SLR was 10 dollars with 50mm lens and it was in good nick.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
I don't know prices of cameras in your country but I though I'd say that, in your shoes, I put some of that money aside to pay for repairs etc. The age of the cameras and the care taken by previous owners are going to mean it's a matter of luck about the reliability.
As for Zenits, the old model B and one of the Helios standard lenses ought to be very cheap. It's a fairly good lens, very good for the price here (UK), and the cameras are bomb proof. Most technicians could check them and deal with any problems and the total cost should be well within your budget. The trouble is I don't know the cost of a suitable 28, 35 or 85mm lens to make up the outfit. As for flashes and meters, there's a lot of bargains about...
Anyway, that's what I'd buy if I was after a plain, mechanical camera.
I hope that helps you. I'll wish you luck.
Regards, David
Livesteamer
Well-known
Zenit B is good but a manual aperture. Also consider what feels good in your hands and what is available locally. I have had a Zenit B for years, very solid but I'm with Roger. I like the Pentax SV, called the H3v here in the states. Good Luck, Joe
AGX2015
Member
But the Zenit E is not inferior to the 12XP? I see that the E have a exposimeter, but i think that it can be exhausted .
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
If you do not want to pay Pentax prices then there are many to choose from and they never been cheaper to buy then now.
A Chinon CS or its GAF equivalent, built like a tank with a reliable Copal Square shutter and the 55mm Chinon lens is very good.
A Yashica TL super is also nice, the Yashinon standard lens is also very good.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
I've no experience of the MTL5B.
The Zenit 12XP is a very nice camera with the 58mm f/2 lens but it has a meter and needs batteries. I've owned and used one, it was dirt cheap and mint I was pleased with it and its photographs.
Put a meter on the B and it becomes an E - I think but others disagree.
Of those three I'd go after the 12XP or the earlier TTL but this is one I can't remember; sorry.
Regards, David
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
The Zenit B and E models also suffer from the inconvenience of a non auto stop down aperture.
The lack of this feature can cost you many ruined photos from forgetting to manually stop down the lens after you focus at full aperture.
Something to consider.
AGX2015
Member
In conclusion the most reliable and complete zenit?
dee
Well-known
Chinon cameras are very underated - and very cheap .
Heavier than a Praktica , but probably better made .
My 1st SLR was a Chinon [Prinzflex STTL ] and I loved it .
Most will be used lightly as they were for amateurs.
Chinon lenses are also cheap .
Meters will not work though .
Most older SLRs will probably suffer leaks unless the seals are replaced .
You could buy a Zenit from 'OK photo cameras' in Ukraine which will certainly work well.
Oleg is a great engineer .
dee
Heavier than a Praktica , but probably better made .
My 1st SLR was a Chinon [Prinzflex STTL ] and I loved it .
Most will be used lightly as they were for amateurs.
Chinon lenses are also cheap .
Meters will not work though .
Most older SLRs will probably suffer leaks unless the seals are replaced .
You could buy a Zenit from 'OK photo cameras' in Ukraine which will certainly work well.
Oleg is a great engineer .
dee
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
A KMZ made Zenit B or E is the most reliable, but unless you exclusively got to own an FSU made SLR at all cost, then the Japanese made M42 lens mount SLR is the better way to go from a reliability/modern feature point of view.
Just my 2 cents.
pvdhaar
Peter
Can't compare between the different Zenit models, but the E that I had withstood 20+ years of battering without a single glitch. And as I kept it in its carrying case (i.e. in the dark) when not in use, the Selenium meter kept working fine.
Get one with the Helios-44-2 58mm f2 lens, not with the Industar 50-2 which despite its name is a slow 50mm f3.5.
Get one with the Helios-44-2 58mm f2 lens, not with the Industar 50-2 which despite its name is a slow 50mm f3.5.