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Specification

Manufacturer description

The "Зенит-Е" is a single-lens reflex camera with a built-in non-coupled exposure meter and an instant-return mirror mechanism. The instant-return mirror allows you to continuously observe the subject, except at the moment of exposure. The built-in exposure meter is especially valuable when working with color film. According to its technical data, the "Зенит-Е" camera can be used for amateur and a number of special photography. The "Зенит-Е" camera allows the use of commercially available interchangeable lenses with focal lengths from 37 to 1000mm.

The viewfinder device (focusing the image on ground glass) allows you to use extension rings, perform reproduction work, photograph small objects with high magnification (macro photography), photograph using a microscope (micro photography), close-up photography of far or close objects. The instant-return mirror mechanism, built-in exposure meter, shutter winding lever, hinged back, small dimensions and light weight are all important advantages of the "Зенит-Е" camera. The camera is available in two versions: with the "Гелиос-44-2" lens - 2/58 mm, with the "Индустар-50-2" lens - 3.5/50 mm.

The "Зенит-Е" camera is designed to use standard cassettes.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

Frame format, mm: 24x36.

Width of perforated film, mm: 35.

Number of frames: 36.

Shutter speeds: from 1/30 to 1/500 s (automatic), "B" and long.

Viewfinder image field size, mm: 20x28.

Eyepiece magnification: 5x.

Lens mount: М42x1.

Flange focal distance: 45,5mm.

INTERCHANGEABLE LENSES:

• Гелиос-40 85/1:1,5
• Таир-11 133/1:2,8
• Таир-3 300/1:4,5
• Юпитер-6 180/1:2,8
• Юпитер-9 85/1:2
• Юпитер-11 133/1:4
• Телемар-22 200/1:5,6
• Мир-1 37/1:2,8
• МТО-500 500/1:8
• МТО-1000 1000/1:10

The "Зенит-Е" camera does not allow the use of the exposure meter when shooting with МТО-500 and МТО-1000 interchangeable lenses due to the inevitable overlap of photocells with the barrels of these lenses.

From the editor

The camera was produced by the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant (USSR) from 1965 to 1982 and by the Belarusian Optical-Mechanical Association (USSR) from 1975 to 1988. It was the world's most popular SLR camera: the KMZ alone produced 3,334,540 bodies, while the number of bodies for which BelOMO was responsible is estimated at 5,000,000.

The demand for SLR cameras in the USSR was great. However, a significant part of the equipment was exported, remaining one of the most stable sources of foreign freely convertible currency. In terms of price, not a single SLR camera could compete with the Zenit-E on the international market. Up to 40% of exports went to developed capitalist countries. To some Western countries, the Zenit-E was supplied in huge quantities. Therefore, even with annual production of hundreds of thousands of Zenits, the Soviet domestic demand was only satisfied by the mid-1980s. Despite the shortage, buyers preferred cameras produced by the KMZ rather than BelOMO, not without reason considering them to be of higher quality.

The letter "Е" in the camera name denotes the first letter of the last name of Nikolai Egorov, director of the KMZ (1953-1965).

Initially, the camera had a M39x1 screw mount with a flange focal distance of 45.2mm, but from 1967 a number of cameras intended for export began to be produced with the classic M42x1 screw mount with a flange focal distance of 45.5mm, and from 1971 - only with the M42 screw mount.

The camera did not have an automatic aperture mechanism, so shooting was most convenient only with lenses that had a preset aperture. "A" series lenses with an interchangeable mount adapter had this type of aperture, as well as some lenses specially designed for the Zenit-E.

The vast majority of the Zenit-E cameras were produced with chrome-plated top and bottom plates. Some batches of cameras intended for export were completely black.

The main disadvantages of the camera were:

• limited field of view of the viewfinder, displaying only two-thirds (20x28mm) of the frame;
• fabric curtains lost their elasticity even in slight frost, jamming the shutter;
• a selenium window exposure meter was much inferior in sensitivity and durability to the photoresistor ones that had become widespread by that time, and practically did not work indoors. In addition, the non-coupled design did not allow for semi-automatic exposure control;
• a frame counter manually set to "0" was considered obsolete, since in almost all foreign and some Soviet cameras it was automatically reset when the camera back was opened.

At the same time, the design of the camera was extremely simple and did not require high qualifications for repairs. For amateur photographers, the safety margin was enough for the entire service life, and professional photographers fixed minor breakdowns on their own. The mechanical shutter and selenium exposure meter did not require any batteries and worked autonomously.

In general, the camera was unsuitable for professional photography, but it turned out to be in demand by amateur photographers, many of whom still remember the Zenit-E with warmth. An important factor was compatibility with a huge array of inexpensive interchangeable optics with the M42 screw mount.

The weight and dimensions are indicated for the camera body with the "Гелиос-44-2" lens.

***

In 1977, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, a special limited Zenit-E was produced. It differs from the mass-produced version by a special red emblem applied to the front part of the pentaprism casing, which schematically depicted the cruiser "Aurora", a banner with a hammer and sickle fluttering on the mast, and two dates: 1917 and 1977. A total of 100 bodies were produced.

Zenit-E special editions (1)

• Zenit-E "XXV Congress of the CPSU" - 1976

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