Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/11/24

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Subject: Zenit cameras
From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 1996 23:49:29 -0500

At 02:06 PM 11/24/96 PST, Grant wrote:
ack of  the rangefinder helical mount?
>
>This weekend I was offered a Zenit 4 and three lenses (50mm, 35mm, 85mm --
>all Jupiter 8's), with a fitted case and the multifinder (isn't that rascal
>just NEAT?) for $100.  I would have bought it, but for the life of me I
>couldn't find any shutter speeds below 1/60th of a second.  Anybody know how
>to work this particular camera?  What is the best Russian leica copy?  Are
>any of them M-mount?

Well, first off, the lenses weren't 'all Jupiter 8's'.  The 50mm f/2 IS a
Jupiter 8, the 35mm f/1.8 is a Jupiter-12, and the 85mm f/2 is a Jupiter-9.
The first and last are Sonnar clones, the middle one a Biogon clone.  Nice
lenses.

Very, very few Zenits have shutter speeds below 1/30", but the Zenit-4 does:
its range extends from 1" to 1/500" and bulb.  The camera Grant saw seems to
have been mis-labelled.

None of the FED or Zorkii cameras are up to Leica standards or even close,
though most will take pictures without a qualm.  Zenits are generally a tad
better than are the first two;  the 4K is probably the best of these, as
well as the last.  None have an M mount, though current Zorkii production
uses the Zeiss-designed K mount.

Marc



msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
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