Zenit E
- Thread starter Asha
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, I am doing some homework as regards what flash units work well with this particular camera....Anyone out there in the know??:shrug:
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- Richard
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A bargain? Zenith E was a pretty crude example of Russian agricultural engineering even when it was new, and that was about 40 years ago.
Sorry to be blunt, but it's very low tech and x-sync is only 1/30sec I think. There's a selector switch for electronic flash or magnesium bulbs, and a PC socket on the front. No hot-shoe, so you need a cable but apart from that, anything should work.
Sorry to be blunt, but it's very low tech and x-sync is only 1/30sec I think. There's a selector switch for electronic flash or magnesium bulbs, and a PC socket on the front. No hot-shoe, so you need a cable but apart from that, anything should work.
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- Mariusz
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Yes, Hoppy, it is bit rough, you are absolutely right, but i believe it still can be a quite decent tool in skilled hands. The only reason i'm saying that is because my dad used to have quite a few of these (Zenith E included) and has been using them for around 30 years. My dad wasn't a professional photographer, just an enthusiast but he managed to gather quiet a collection of pictures (honestly, we have a wordrobe full of his pics), and i'm still amazed by quality of some of them. Obviously, it's the man behind a camera that matters, but still...
I'm thinking about buying one of these, but again mostly because i feel senthimental about it and because i have heard good things about their optics, especiali Helios lenses.
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Haha yes 
I guess it was the 'bargain' bit I was questioning, when there are so many really good film SLRs going for twenty quid these days from the 80s. Those are bargains.
I had a Zenith and I did indeed take some good pictures with it - it was rather more the boy behind the camera then. You had to work around its limitions - like 1/30sec longest shutter speed, a meter that wouldn't register anything less than a nuclear strike, manual stop-down lenses - but its limitations were quite extensive!
Helios lens was okay, 58mm f/2, but I've no idea why it has this hallowed reputation.
I guess it was the 'bargain' bit I was questioning, when there are so many really good film SLRs going for twenty quid these days from the 80s. Those are bargains.I had a Zenith and I did indeed take some good pictures with it - it was rather more the boy behind the camera then. You had to work around its limitions - like 1/30sec longest shutter speed, a meter that wouldn't register anything less than a nuclear strike, manual stop-down lenses - but its limitations were quite extensive!
Helios lens was okay, 58mm f/2, but I've no idea why it has this hallowed reputation.
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The Helios lens is good fun! I've found most copies suitably sharp on digital, and it you get it right it can produce some lovely swirly bokeh...fantastic for a different look to portrait shots 
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The Helios lens is good fun! I've found most copies suitably sharp on digital, and it you get it right it can produce some lovely swirly bokeh...fantastic for a different look to portrait shots
I took my best ever portrait on that lens and camera - about 1969 I think! It's all about the moment
OP
Asha
Blithering Idiot
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Well thanks for the comments.......and the help frm HoppyUK regarding the flash.
As for a bargain...well that all depends on the individual. I know these cameras were crude and low tech , however being a passionate collector and user of lots of vintage cameras ranging from the end of the 19th century (Thornton Pickard, Lancaster, sanderson, Marion, Kodak, Ensign, Coronet, Canon, Nikon...the list and film formats go on and on!!) through to the beginning of the 21st century (Nikon D50 and D80, the Zenit simply adds to that collection.
I collect to use (where possible) not just to sit on the sideboard as an ornament, however the quality sometimes is pretty poor and/or light leaks are an issue but for me personally that is part of the fun.
Don't get me wrong, like many photographers I like to obtain good quality images but that is not the be all and end all of photography.
Without doubt film photography pleases me more than digital, not that digital doesn't offer superb attributes.
Basically it's everyone to their own.
As for a bargain...well that all depends on the individual. I know these cameras were crude and low tech , however being a passionate collector and user of lots of vintage cameras ranging from the end of the 19th century (Thornton Pickard, Lancaster, sanderson, Marion, Kodak, Ensign, Coronet, Canon, Nikon...the list and film formats go on and on!!) through to the beginning of the 21st century (Nikon D50 and D80, the Zenit simply adds to that collection.
I collect to use (where possible) not just to sit on the sideboard as an ornament, however the quality sometimes is pretty poor and/or light leaks are an issue but for me personally that is part of the fun.
Don't get me wrong, like many photographers I like to obtain good quality images but that is not the be all and end all of photography.
Without doubt film photography pleases me more than digital, not that digital doesn't offer superb attributes.
Basically it's everyone to their own.
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- Mariusz
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