Zenit E

A Zenit E, branded as Prinzflex 500E

The Zenit E was a SLR camera body for M42 screw lenses. It was quite popular since it was priced moderately and it was offered under several other trademarks or brands (Kalimar, Revueflex, Prinzflex, Photokina, Spiraflex). It lacked a greater variety of shutter speeds.

It had a selenium meter. The meter's photo cell was placed above the lens mount behind a protecting window, and its instrument was placed beside a two-slice analog computer. A ring in the meter was coupled to that calculator on which the film speed had to be preselected, and when the meter's needle matched the ring the calculator showed the correct shutter-speed/aperture combinations.

A Zenit E

Here the data of the Version "Prinzflex 500E"

• Type: SLR body
• Manufacturer: KMZ
• Film: 35mm, with speeds 16 to 500 ASA
• Lens mount: M42 screw mount without aperture release shifter
• Shutter: focal plane textile shutter, speeds 1/30 up to 1/500 sec., switchable to flash synchro-mode
• Viewfinder: pentaprism finder, little round diopter correction lens mountable
• film advance: film advance lever, immersible rewind knob
• Dimensions:137×92×53 mm
• Self-timer: with own release button and 15 sec. delay-time

Links

• Zenit E at www.collection-appareils.fr [1]
• User manuals for Zenit E at Michael Butkus Jr.'s [2]
• Revueflex E at Kurt Tauber's [3]