Zenit 12XP

In the 1980's-mid 1990's the Soviet/Russia Zenit slrs were by far the least expensive entry into interchangeable lens,through the lens metering,35mm photography. They could be found advertised in the back of photo magazines being sold with lens,case & sometimes flash/lens cleaning kit for 2/3 the price of the body ALONE of their cheapest competitor (Pentax k1000). That was a very attractive deal to someone on a tight budget who desperately wanted a "professional" camera which to most people,in those days,meant a 35mm SLR.

Back then the philosophy was the camera itself was just a light tight box with a film advance mechanism & a shutter. The real work was done by the lens (interchangeable in this case & in a common mount for which many high quality lenses were available)and the film (also interchangeable). That meant the smart thing to do was spent the big money on the glass & scrimp on the camera body. Be that as it may,the body still needs to have a certain level of features to be in the running. By comparison to it's competition the Zenit was low on features but NOT where it really mattered for ever day common photography. For example,the Zenit shutter speed range is only 1/30-1/500th a sec plus B. A pretty narrow range,but really how often does the average photographer use the other speeds? Unless you're shooting sports you're really not going to miss speeds above 1/500th a sec & speeds below 1/30th a sec. (require a tripod anyway)and things like astro photography & night time exposures require the B setting which the Zenit has anyway. The biggest draw back was the 1/30th a sec. flash sync speed,but even that is only 1 stop slower than it's competitors of the day (1/60th Pentax K1000,Canon AE1,AE1P etc.) All in all,back in the day,it looked like a decent deal.

Now for the review. The body is clunky. The meter is fickle. The viewfinder only shows 60 something percent of the picture area. The flash syn speed is only 1/30th a sec which means either no fill flash in daylight or an ND filter & a real steady hand. But the lens is of high quality (far better than the camera) & can easily hold its own against western competitors of the day (in fact the lens alone is worth the price of the camera & is the ONLY reason Zenits review as well as they do). All in all,taking into consideration it's limitations (know to me at the time) it was a good purchase & delivered what it promised even if I did hate it & wished for a better Japanese camera,but the pictures I have from the Zenit ,from those days,are just as good as the later ones from when I did finally get a 'better' Japanese made camera. I guess that's all that really matters.

THE BEST Analogue Camera

The Zenit is probably one of the worst SLRs ever made. Some people seem to like this camera because it is simple and mechanical and i makes you learn to shoot photos. The same can be said about Nikon F, F2, Nikkormat, Pentax Spotmatic, Olympus OM1 etc. I've used all of them. And they have much better quality and useability, Zenit wasn't even the best russian mechanical SLR the Kiev 19 was much better.

Problems:

The main problem with Zenit, is the hard shutter button, the 60% finder coverage (nikon had 100%), the bad mechanical machining (I had three of them all stopped working). If you want a classical mechanical camera to actually use then it's no need to buy a Zenit, you can get a used Pentax, Nikon, Olympus or Canon for a cheap price on the web these days. You will learn more about photography espescially composing with the better finder, and feel the lovely mechanical smoothness that only Japaneese and German cameras had.

I just love this camera! I have a Pentax MZ-M and a digital Pentax A30 but the Zenit is a school of fotography in itself!

The Zenit 12XP was my first SLR camera, practically I learned photography with this amazing camera. I bought it here in Colombia in 1990 a real bargain by the time compare with the japanese models, very robust, reliable and excellent Helios lens. I used it extensively in all kinds of conditions and always worked great, the LEDs system indicators very accurate.

I may have gone digital now and never looked back, except when i think of my old Zenith 12xp my old friend never once let me down was serviced regularly I even bought a second one and a second hand Zenith E (bit trickier that) This was the camera all my early photography was done with - accepted Agfa HDC with high ISO ratings of 400 and those pictures were as good as any digital shots today!!!

Shame on you condemning the 12xp as rubbish. No one can dispute the fact it was a great picture taker and you need to understand the technical side of taking a photo with this camera. I started on this camera and today I understand pretty well what it takes to take a decent shot. Carl Zeiss lenses are not to be shunned I may add. The great part about it was the light meter in the form of flashing LEDs inside the view finder.

The Zenit 12 XP is a brick of a camera which will simply keep working. And the Helios 50mm F/2 lens is one of the most underated pieces of optics ever. I now own a Zenit E amongst other cameras, made in 1974 and still working quite happily. Compared to modern plastic junk, it feels like a Rolls Royce in your hands.

this is not about the perfect exposure, contrast, or sharpness. Nor about ease of use or practicality. My old photography teacher taught me one thing: "the only thing that really matters [in photography] is what you point your lens to."

The Zenit 12xp, with its limited features, tight restrictions and relative user unfriendliness, is the perfect tool developing visual intuition.

http://www.alexzakkas.me

I think everyone realises that the Zenit cameras are bargain basement, old school heavy chunks of metal, but what has that to do with basic photographic potential? The metering, with two LEDs in the viewfinder, is very accurate. The shutter speed, albeit limited, are accurate.

I used mine for many years, it beat the hell out of my other Praktica cameras in terms of reliabilty and quality of images with the Helios 28m, 58mm and 135mm lenses. I went over to Minolta when sold my Praktica set, and the Zenit still beat these AF,AE, digital era 35mm SLRs in su zero temperatures, when their lithium batteries froze. Still unsure whether the Sigma lenses I have with the Minoltas can match the old Helios lenses for definition and depth!