I suppose I can blame nostalgia but I bought one, it was not expensive, a fully working camera in good clean condition for about the same price as a roll of film. Just one of more than three million produced over 17 years in the KMZ (Krasnogorskiy Mechanicheskiy Zavod) Moscow factory alone, with more made in other factories - compare that to the Nikon F with a production run of 862,000 over 14 years. Mine is a slightly more unusual black variant commemorating the Olympics in 1980, but all the Zenit E's share the same design and guts, although the KMZ versions are reputed to be built to a higher standard than those from the BeLomo factory.
Simplicity is a virtue, and the philosophy of “It can’t go wrong if it’s not in there” is evident with the Zenit-E. There are no batteries to leak, no fragile electronics to go wrong, no slow-speed clockwork mechanism to gum up and even the light seals are made from a black fibrous twine which unlike foam, does not revert to its liquid state over time. If you type 'Zenit E' into your internet search engine you will find a rich seam of opinion - words like 'big' 'tank', 'heavy', 'brick' and 'basic' are freely used to describe a camera with a certain Soviet reputation to uphold and often maligned as just another example of backward technology. I'd argue that this reputation is unjustified, seemingly based on individual experiences of digging old mildewy examples from the back of a drawer or a damp attic where they have sat forgotten for decades. A mechanical camera, like any complex machine, needs to be stored correctly, used properly, serviced and lubricated to keep it working, so I'd say it's unreasonable to judge anything by digging out a camera after forty years and expecting it to work perfectly. Rather like expecting to drive a car that's sat idle for four decades and saying all Fords are rubbish because it didn't start and the tyres were flat. So, ignoring the urban myths. here's my take on it; 1. Is it big and is it heavy? Not especially, of course you will notice it hanging around your neck - with a Helios 44-2 lens fitted, it nudges two pounds - but then so does my Minolta SRT101 or my Praktica MTL3 with a 50mm lens fitted - and it's about the same size as them too. So no, it's about the size and weight of an average mechanical 1960's/70's 35mm SLR. 2.Is it basic? Yes. It has all of the features of a 1960's 35mm SLR, but made twenty years too late - when Canon were thinking about the A1, Pentax were pondering the LX and Minolta were designing the X-700 - this was in the shops.
3.The viewfinder.
Displays nothing other than the image from the lens reflected on a ground glass screen. Some people complain it's dim, but if you get a good clean one, it's not too bad.
It's somewhat curious that its shape resembles that if an old Cathode Ray tube Television screen with its rounded corners and curved sides, and it only offers about 70% coverage, so frame your subjects tightly and there will be enough room for cropping later.
The complete lack of focus aids is not a problem when using it with the preset lenses it was designed for, I have no problems focusing with the lens wide open before using the secondary aperture ring to stop down to the preset aperture.
I'd go as far as saying I like it, it's very different from more modern designs with split image focus aids etc, but its simplicity is endearing and focussing just works.
4. The lightmeter.
Is a selenium type so needs no batteries, it is uncoupled so once your film speed is set a simple match needle on top of the camera is used to measure exposure before you set the camera manually with the appropriate shutter speed and aperture. The one in mine still works perfectly after 43 years and it is accurate, but I prefer using Sunny 16, or the lightmeter app on my phone.
4. The shutter.
The horizontal cloth sutter is reliable, straightforward and simple, and compared to my Praktica MTL, is rather quiet. It's not whisper quiet like a leaf shutter, and you know definately know something major has occurred when you push the release, but it's not a nasty or violent, just 'solid'.
With only five shutter speeds 1/500 - 1/250 - 1/125 - 1/60 and 1/30th and a 'B' setting, for real world, general usage, these really are all the speeds you need. It's good practice to only change shutter speeds with the shutter charged. As with any Camera, read the manual.
5. Flash
Mine is fitted with a cold shoe and has a regular PC socket - flash sync is 1/30th sec.
6. Self timer.
Is a typical mechanical type, cock the shutter, rotate the timer lever 180 degrees and when ready push the timer release button, the shutter trips halfway after about ten seconds, and continues for another ten secs when another click signals it resetting the shutter
7. Winding on.
Fairly typical if long throw of about 270 degrees
8. Loading film.
Hinged back and easy to load, pretty much the same as any other 1970's SLR camera.
Film rewind is achieved by popping out and turning the knurled rewind knob while holding down the button next to the shutter release.
By using the M42 mount, the Zenit E is compatible with a huge range of lenses and accessories, this simple screw mount was used by Pentax, Praktica, Chinon, Cosina, Ricoh, Fujca, and Edixa - together with a huge number of third-party lens producers.
Perhaps the most remarkable component of the Zenit-E is its robust, one-piece, die-cast body. Leica or Nikon don't use them because it's really hard to do and impossible to make modifications part way through the manufacturing process. Maintaining the small tolerances required for a precision optical instrument is a very dificult and uneconomic process - but there are a number of distinct advantages to a one-piece die cast aluminium body. It drastically reduces the number of parts because most of the geometry is pre-formed, and the end product will be extremely solid and durable because it's not held together with glue and screws. It's a brilliant but little known design feature.
All of the Zenits imported into the UK came in via an organisation called Technical and Optical Equipment (TOE) who worked with KMZ in Moscow and LOMO in Leningrad to fully understand how each design was put together and how it should work.
Contrary to popular opinion, most Soviet cameras were well designed and perfectly reliable, it was out dated designs and shoddy construction practices which let them down.
To overcome this TOE engineers learned on the assembly line and returned to the UK where they stripped and reassembled every camera that came into the UK. These UK import Zenit-Es are much more likely to still be working than examples sold in other countries without that level of quality control.
The basic simplicity of this camera is, in my opinion, not a failiure - the Zenit E was designed as a simple, affordable and repairable camera which could be easily manufactured and deliver no-nonsense photography. It's essentially the same manufacturing mentality as Kodak's Box Brownie, the T-34 Tank, or the model T Ford its simplicity and affordability are its strengths.
Find one that has been properly maintained and fully working and it is the perfect camera with which to learn the basics of photography, or enjoy as the simple tool it is.
Comparing it to anything other than another Zenit E is just wrong. In the right hands it can easily deliver results that can equal and often surpass more exotic offerings. Just don't expect to do it quickly.
Rob