Category: SLR

From Russia With Love (Zenit 11)

This camera came to me from my first every camera haul, where I was incredibly lucky to be able to get this as well as 5 other cameras gifted to me in one go Including the Agfa Isolette I it has not seen as much use as I’d liked it to have seen. But someday I’ll end up using it again when the time is right.

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The Zenit 11 was manufactured between 1981 and 1990 by KMZ and MMZ It is a single lens reflex camera with a selenium cell meter and M42 lens mount system. some of the controls are a little odd to find, for example the film rewind release wasn’t the most easily marked button on the camera which caused me to tear the first roll of film a little.

Zenit 11. FP4+ Push processed to 200ISO. Cardiff Bay
Zenit 11. FP4+ Push processed to 200ISO. Carmarthenshire.
Zenit 11. FP4+ push processed to 200ISO. Cardiff Bay.

I have missed using this camera. It has a nice reassuring nice, reassuring weight and is built like a tank. For it’s age it’s in great condition, and it always performs well. The parts are all still moving freely. The non-coupled metering system was unfamiliar to me when i first shot the Zenit, but now having shot vintage cameras for a few years, taking non TTL readings is business as usual.

Zenit 11. Expired Film. Cardiff.
Zenit 11. Expired Film. Cardiff.
Zenit 11. Expired Film. Cardiff.

I’ve used the Zenit in many different situations. It’s just as comfortable in the hills as it is on the street, just beware that becoming a regular Zenit shooter will give you a hell of a workout just carrying the thing around. but it’ll be worth it for the images!

by RPeterThomas

Kiev 60

Does size matter? Not really. Do I still want the camera equivalent of Andre The Giant? yeah of course I do!

Kiev-60 TTL

The Kiev 60 is a medium format SLR camera that uses the same bayonet lens fitting as the Pentacon Six. It was made in Russia in 1985. The camera is almost an exact duplicate of the Pentacon Six cameras in all ways except for the branding.

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The camera is a solid piece of equipment. The full metal body and lens which makes it very reassuring when you hold it. My camera came with the TTL prism which makes it great for all kinds of photography. I also tracked down a waist level finder for street photography and low angle images. It came in its original carry case which to this day smells suspiciously like fire.

I feel like I waited an eternity for this camera, I bought it on ebay, directly from Ukraine. As it turns out, a day after buying the camera, President Yanukovych had been thrown out of office and was found to have been a prolific embezzler. So no wonder my package was delayed.

My only problem with this camera is frame spacing, the camera shoots its negatives almost back to back, sometimes overlapping slightly. From my research online it seems to be a fairly common problem on these cameras. Apart from the spacing issue, the camera is actually a joy to use. The 90mm Vega lens that came with the camera is amazing for shallow depth of field portraits and macro studies. Even though its a fairly long lens (converts to roughly 70mm on 35mm camera) it has no trouble getting up close for detail work. All in all its a great camera that I want to get more use out of.

by RPeterThomas