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Zenit 12XP

It is big. It is heavy as a brick and handles like one. It is extremely noisy and the viewfinder is... let's say... dark. Why should I ever bother with this camera?
Let's take the story from the beginning.
When my brother in law moved into his new house, he found this camera in his basement. Obviously the previous owner didn't consider taking it with him. Then my mother in law, who knows that I collect cameras saved it from a certain disposal. That summer i got married so I always considered it a kind of wedding present. The camera came with the standard Helios 44-M4, a biotar copy, which appears to be single coated (I might be wrong). Obviously the Helios is a pretty decent lens, provides nice, old fashioned pictures with low contrast but try to avoid the sunshine because it really strangles to cope with high contrast. It appeared to be working ok so i run a film while on vacations and one when I returned to Edinburgh. From those two films i got the following pictures.




























I consider those pictures a good enough reason for definitely keeping this camera. And actually for some metaphysical reason, I've got my favorite pictures taken with this camera. Is it fate? Zen maybe? I have no idea, what I know is that this camera is producing excellent pictures, it has never failed me so far, accepts a wide range of M42 lenses and quite frankly, i see no reason why I should go after a £90 Spotmatic while this camera produces top-notch pictures. I got a Super Takumar 50 f/1.4 and I am more than happy. And by the way, DO NOT put a later Super-Multicoated Takumar on it, the pin for the diaphragm will get stuck in the screw hole and you cannot remove it without damaging the lens. Be very careful.

Some boring technical details. Horizontally moving rubberized cloth curtains bla bla, totally mechanical shutter bla bla bla , speeds 1/30 - 1/500 plus B bla bla bla...

A couple of interesting things that you might not know. The whole body is made from metal and if I remember right it comes in three different parts. Other cameras have much more than that which makes the Zenit much more robust camera. And i can assure you that it is. Some will mention something about lack of quality control and poor quality. Well, the shutter is sooooo simple (it doesn't even have slow speeds) that actually there are not many things to break down. And if it does, i will just open it and give it a good wash with Ronsol. That should fix it.
Another thing. Do you see the small screw infront on the left of the camera? You unscrew it and below it there is another small screw that calibrates the lightmeter. I tried it, it works. Now it is accurate again.

Conclusion:
The Leica IIc, the Zeiss Ikoflex Ib, the Canon EOS 5 and the Zenit 12XP are the cameras that I will never sell, no matter what.
I think this says it all.

Lasting Impressions
I am keeping this Zenit for sentimental reasons mostly. Despite its indestructible iron cast body, It feels unrefined, noisy and the light meter is unreliable. Still i have managed to take some very good pictures with it so I keep it. It also carries the Helios 44M-4 which is a excellent lens to use. These are the reasons why i am keeping them - if you cannot relate to any of those, a Fujica or Chinon will be a better option for you.

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Comments

  1. D.1 November 2010 at 05:57

    great camera, and great photos! I often use my Zenit 122 or an old and solid Zenit E!

    ReplyDelete
  2. le Saliba9 June 2020 at 01:45

    I just got the Zenit 12xp and I already had the 44-2 that I use on my digital camera. I wanted to ask, Is there a way to put the metering to sleep if not in use? or I have to remove the batteries every time? thx in advance

    ReplyDelete

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