Talk:Zenit (camera)

Zenit vs. Zenith
I've seen these cameras referred to as both "Zenit" and "Zenith". It seems that some manuals (possibly commissioned by UK importers TOE) refer to them as "Zenith", but all the bodies retain the "Zenit" spelling.

Was the "Zenith" spelling used elsewhere and did it have any sanction from the manufacturers themselves? Although TOE were de facto the official importers, whether this was ever an "official" spelling is open to discussion, and probably unimportant. Best just to note the spelling discrepancy, and where/how it was used IMHO.

Fourohfour 15:03, 25 March 2006 (UTC)


 * According to russian-language articles on http://www.zenitcamera.com/, cameras itself were always marked as "Zenit", not "Zenith" ("the only exception was a small series of "Zenit-S". Err... "Zenith-S"). And registered trademark of KMZ factory is "Zenit". Nevertheless some importers use "Zenith" word in their printed manuals and ads. Moreover the name "Zenith" sometimes were used by Soviet export-trading organizations (may be to increase readability?). In the Amateur Photographer magazine in Dec 1978 was printed a 'disambiguition article' about it: "The Russian word 3EHI/IT is translated as Zenit, but we all know the cameras as Zenith. The dictionary definition of Zenith is 'the point of the heavens directly overhead' and 'the highest point' (which is probably the meaning the Russians would prefer)." (I use pseudographic to replace cyrillic letters - S.I.) As far as I know the difference between names was considered as unimportant and there were no sanctions.


 * One more part of answer, may be, is in the fact that "Zenith" mark was already registered by other companies in some countries. For example, in USA "Zenith" is a trademark of Zenith Electronics Corp. (Due to this fact all attempts to register "Zenit" in US were unsuccesful - "marks looks similar".) And "misspelled mark" could be used more freely.


 * So it was always called "Zenit" in the US? Personally, I found the dual-spelling to be confusing; they should have just left the name as "Zenit", but it's no big deal.


 * P.S. Thank you for your edition of the article. My English is far from ideal :(


 * Sergey Ilyin 09:41, 28 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I don't know how much of the article was your work, but it was pretty acceptable English to start off with. Most of the fixes I made were (e.g.) minor omissions of "the" and improvements in phrasing and flow. It was still perfectly understandable, which is a lot better than some articles (many of them written by native English speakers...!)


 * If I could ever speak a foreign language as well as the article was originally written, I'd still consider myself a good speaker, so no problems there. :) Fourohfour 10:22, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Reminds me of the story that maps for tourists in Moscow have all the street names translated to English. That, or course, makes them completely useless. Translating the name of a camera seems only slightly less strange. Gah4 (talk) 07:17, 14 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Reminds me of the story that maps for tourists in Moscow have all the street names translated to English. That, or course, makes them completely useless. Translating the name of a camera seems only slightly less strange. Gah4 (talk) 07:17, 14 December 2020 (UTC)

"World record for camera production"??
Using Google Translate on the Russian version of this page, I found the following:

"Issued in the amount of more than 8 million pieces. (из них на КМЗ — 3334540 шт.) — мировой рекорд для однообъективных зеркальных фотоаппаратов . (One at CMH - 3,334,540 pcs.) - a world record for single lens reflex cameras "

Not knowing any Russian at all, I don't know if it's just Google trying to mess with me or if this is right. If it's the latter, should this be included in the article? 122.107.130.201 (talk) 11:08, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Cheapest SLR in India
Is not this brand cheapest thing available all over...? Jon Ascton    (talk)  07:24, 7 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Some retro models are collectibles and can cost several hundred thousand dollars. Of course, we are not talking about the mass market Pretty knitted socks (talk) 10:49, 17 July 2024 (UTC)

Collectors items?
"...and are highly desirable collector's items today." In the UK they sell on Ebay for ususlly less than £20. Is this description an attempt to ramp the price? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.86.15.121 (talk) 19:23, 1 January 2012 (UTC)


 * Retro models are really collectibles and cost quite a lot. However, there are a large number of mass-produced cheap models Pretty knitted socks (talk) 10:52, 17 July 2024 (UTC)

The problem with the Zenit E was non-auto diaphragm!
The problem with the Zenit E was non-auto diaphragm! Having foolishly purchased a Zenit E, I soon part exchanged it for a Nikormat FT2. Taking amazing pictures had begun! This was followed several years later by an F301. And several more years later with an F601. I had wasted money on extra lenses from Tokina and Soilgor and eventually bought Nikkors, 35-70 and 70-210. I have been a Nikon man since 1975 and now use a Nikon Digital SLR. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.111.144.29 (talk) 15:46, 5 June 2016 (UTC)


 * "The" problem wasn't the non-auto diaphgram, it was just one of the problems of the Zenit E (many lenses actually had either two aperture rings, one operating the aperture, the other setting the range so you could stop down without looking at the lens barrel, or they had a dual-function ring that combined both into one). The problems (and I owned three of these, so I know): really abysmal frame coverage, dark finder with no modern focus aid, lack of working light meter, insufficient back plate pressure that allowed the film to be stuck between the back plate and the sharp-edged milled channel barriers (causing films to rip), inaccurately aligned film winding mechanism that made pictures overlap.  I'm sure I missed a few things.  The last Zenit E I used before it broke altogether was one I put together from parts of three half-worn cameras.  I agree that many "western" systems of the time were much better, both in terms of features and in terms of quality, but I doubt those made anyone learn how to take better pictures better than a Zenit E could.  Compared to the Zenit E, a Leica M6 is a fully automated camera.  Bad equipment teaches you things you never thought possible.  MoogX (talk) 17:02, 5 June 2016 (UTC)