Zenit

Zenit cameras (sometimes badged in Cyrillic, ЗЕНИТ or ЗeHuḿ) were made by the KMZ factory near Moscow. The original Zenit is an SLR based on the Zorki rangefinder (itself based on the FED, which is a copy of the Leica II).

The first few Zenit cameras have a 39 mm screw thread lens mount, exactly like that of the Zorki. The differences between the screw thread and that of any Leica-mount lens are trivial, but the SLR Zenit has a deeper body, to accommodate the mirror, so lenses made for the early Zenit are correspondingly shorter. Leica-mount lenses will fit on the camera, but the focus scale will be incorrect, and the lens will only focus at close range (the converse situation, a Zenit M39 lens mounted on a Zorki, is even worse; the lens only focuses 'beyond infinity', i.e. not at all). The early Zenit lenses are sometimes described as having a 'Zenit M39' mount to distinguish it from the more common Leica thread mount). Some Soviet lenses such as the Industar-50 can be found with an extension tube allowing the same lens to mount on a Zorki (with the tube) or an M39 Zenit (without it). Later Zenits have an M42 screw lens mount; they have the same film-to-flange distance as the 39 mm cameras, so that, with a very simple thread adapter, the early lenses can be used on M42 bodies.

Zenit M39 SLR

Kristall image by Siim Vahur (Image rights)

Zenit C image by Siim Vahur (Image rights)

Zenit 1 image by Dustin McAmera (Image rights)

• Zenit 1
• Zenit C (sometimes called the Zenit S; the 'C' is the Cyrillic S)
• Zenit 3
• Kristall (Crystal)
• Zenit 3M

Leaf shutter SLR

Zenit 4 image by crazyglinc (Image rights)

• Zenit 4
• Zenit 5
• Zenit 6

Breech/M42/Bayonet triple-mount SLR

• Zenit 7

M42 SLR

FS-12 Photosniper, exported model, packed (unpacked, it looks much like the FS-3) image by Siim Vahur (Image rights)

FS-3 Photosniper image by Siim Vahur (Image rights)

• Meprozenit E
• Meprozenit Pro
• Zenit 11
• Zenit 12, 12SD & 12XP, 12Pro (Belomo)
• Zenit 122
• Zenit 15
• Zenit 15M (BelOMO)
• Zenit 16
• Zenit 18
• Zenit 19
• Zenit 312M
• Zenit 412DX
• Zenit 412LS

Zenit E image by bottledog (Image rights)

Zenit B image by darerampage (Image rights)

• Zenit B ('Zenit V')
• Zenit BM
• Zenit E
• Zenit EM
• Zenit ET
• Zenit MT-1 'сюрприз' ('Surprise') half-frame SLR
• Zenit TTL
• Zenit Photosniper

K-mount SLR

• Zenit 14
• Zenit 20
• Zenit 21
• Zenit 122k
• Zenit 212k
• Zenit 22
• Zenit AM
• Zenit AM2
• Zenit APK
• Zenit Automat
• Zenit KM

Prototype SLR (Never or only a few produced)

• Zenit 11 (1964)
• Zenit 15
• Zenit 2000
• Zenit 66
• Zenit 9
• Zenit Automat D
• Zenit Pre-series
• Zenit T1-MTL

Compact 35mm

• Zenit 510
• Zenit 520
• Zenit 610
• Zenit 620

Bibliography

• Princelle, Jean Loup (2004), The Authentic Guide to Russian and Soviet Cameras ('Made in USSR'), Le Reve Edition. ISBN 2952252106; or the earlier edition: Hove Foto Books, 2nd edition, 1995. 200 pages. ISBN 1874031630. Paperback.

Links

• Instructions Manuals from KMZ R&D Center, now hosted by Zenit Camera (mostly Russian website, some manuals in English)
• KMZ cameras at Collection Appareils by Sylvain Halgand (in French).
• Russian camera instruction manuals, PDF format, in English including various Zenits on Mike Butkus' Orphan Cameras.
• Zenit cameras - including list of alternative brand names by Andrey Bliznyuk
• Zenit Camera Manuals : Photo-Manuals.com
• JM Burtscher's Sovietcamera website (in French) (archived).
• Zenit page on Sovietcams.com.