zenit reflex: suggestion?

[xayraa33]

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.

 

[AGX2015]

I can arrive to 100 euro with a good lens

 

[Roger Hicks]

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.

You pay that much for chips?

Cheers,

R.

 

[AGX2015]

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?

 

[xayraa33]

You pay that much for chips?

Cheers,

R.

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]

I can arrive to 100 euro with a good lens

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]

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]

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]

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?

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]

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?

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]

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 .

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]

In conclusion the most reliable and complete zenit?

 

[dee]

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

 

[xayraa33]

In conclusion the most reliable and complete zenit?

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]

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.