[Leica] Feds Zorkis Zenits and such

[Mark Kronquist]

Many times, in the old days (and I am not that old) it was FAR easier for a westerner to shoot with a Fed or Zorki, Keiv or Zenit whilst in the Soviet Union…so I did. Film ISO 64 5 kopeks at GUM Cassette cost an extra kopek or two. On occasion develped in coffee, stoped in vitamin C and fixed in water purifier got great negs out of things that maybe should not have been shot…they perform well and so what if someone gave Leica a few million Euros for a Zenit name plate. Better days than when Leica was selling the family jewels and in danger of death (ala Rollei) 

> On Dec 17, 2019, at 7:58 PM, Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote:
> 
> But who was alive when people shot film and stated out buying junk Leica rip offs because that’s all the money they had?
> 
> I'm sure everyone assumes some bored oligarch worth billions bought a camera company nobody wanted for  fun and offered Leica more money than even they could afford to refuse for one with the name "Zenit" on it.  A name to make anybody wince.
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Mark William Rabiner
> Photographer
> 
> On 12/17/19, 7:56 PM, "LUG on behalf of Douglas Barry" <lug-bounces+mark=rabinergroup.com at leica-users.org on behalf of imra at iol.ie> wrote:
> 
>    Having had a Zenit E many moons ago, and thinking when I moved upwards 
>    to a Pentax Spotmatic that the Zenit should really have been named the 
>    Nadir, I wonder for what reasons Leica is tieing itself to such an 
>    unremarkable marque? After all, according to Robert Service's new book 
>    Kremlin Winter: Russia and the Second Coming of Vladimir Putin, the 
>    country is quite a busted flush with a declining population riddled with 
>    alcoholism. As a result, male life expectancy is a decade lower than in 
>    the UK and its economy is about the size of the Netherlands. Mind you, 
>    it seems to be top of the class when it come to mischievous hacking, and 
>    Kompromat.
> 
>    It would be interesting to find what motivated the tie-up considering 
>    Russia has little manufacturing industry and a prominent recent history 
>    of cronyism and kleptocracy. The mind boggles at what might have gone on 
>    in the background. Even though I have a nice Russian Jupiter-9 85mm F2 
>    made in 1977, I couldn't see myself buying the Zenit-M for my moral 
>    health. Thanks, but no thanks.
> 
>    Douglas
> 
> 
> 
> 
>    On 17/12/2019 15:54, Frank Filippone via LUG wrote:
>> The Zenit-M camera is made by Leica with some simple design cues by Zenit.
>> It's essentially a Leica M240 without the 6-bit lens code reader and with
>> Zenit software. The only lens profiles that are in the camera are only for
>> the three Zenit made lenses: 35/1.0, 50/1.0 and 21/2.8. If you use any other
>> Leica M-mount lens, the camera will not do automatic corrections.
>> 
>> The only lens listed for sale, and only as a kit with the camera, is the
>> 50/1.0.
>> 
>> Notice the wording... MADE BY LEICA........
>> 
>> No one AFAIK is shipping a 35 F1.0 lens....
>> 
>> Frank Filippone
>> 
>> Red735i at verizon.net
>> 
>> I don't doubt that the Russians can make a similar camera
>> technologically, whether the lens is as good may be a different
>> question. However if they are simply rebadging someone else's lenses it
>> might not be bad.
>> 
>> Peter
>> 
>> 
>> 
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>> 
> 
> 
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