Jump to content

Welcome to NikonForums.com
Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!
Photo

Who uses Russian equipment?


  • Please log in to reply
9 replies to this topic

#1
nbanjogal

nbanjogal

    Nikonian

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 2,094 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationUT, USA

Site Supporter

I know I've seen some of you posting here and there about using Russian lenses. How's the quality? :)

 

For some reasons this Zenit full-frame mirrorless camera sounds interesting to me: 

 

Zenit is launching a full-frame digital mirrorless camera in 2018

 

I've been wanting to pick up a mirrorless camera for a while but haven't quite settled on one. Wonder what the price on Zenit's camera will be? And will it available in the US do you think? 



#2
Wayben

Wayben

    Senior Member

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 100 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationIowa

Site Supporter

Looks interesting.  Probably the only new mirrorless camera out there with a flash sync connector on the front, lol.  Depending on price I might give it a go.



#3
MJL

MJL

    Active Member

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 58 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationThe Canadian wet coast

Site Supporter

I have used Zenit 35mm film SLR some years ago and the lens image quality are quite good.  I still have a MC-MTO-11 1000mm f/10 mirror lens and below is a squirrel shot with my D800.

 

Squirrel.jpg

 

I also own a set of Kiev 88 120 film camera and done a comparison between their 60 mm and Nikkor 55 mm.  You can judge it from the sample below.

 

NV.jpg



#4
dcbear78

dcbear78

    Forum Veteran

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 701 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationGladstone, Queensland

I know I've seen some of you posting here and there about using Russian lenses. How's the quality? :)

 

For some reasons this Zenit full-frame mirrorless camera sounds interesting to me: 

 

Zenit is launching a full-frame digital mirrorless camera in 2018

 

I've been wanting to pick up a mirrorless camera for a while but haven't quite settled on one. Wonder what the price on Zenit's camera will be? And will it available in the US do you think? 

 

What lenses or more importantly what mount will it have? Can't use the old M42 mount for modern digital lenses. Smartest move would be to join the micro 4/3rds group, but it says full frame so not likely. It's only an announcement of a possibility. It will be years away, if at all.

 

Looks interesting.  Probably the only new mirrorless camera out there with a flash sync connector on the front, lol.  Depending on price I might give it a go.

 

That's an old film camera, not the new one.



#5
morticiaskeeper

morticiaskeeper

    Forum Veteran

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 343 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationTewkesbury, Glos
I've got a couple of T mount prime lenses, one is my goto aircraft lens, due to its 600mm reach.

I'd love to play with a digital version of the Lubitel 166B twin lens.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

#6
Brian

Brian

    Forum Veteran

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 556 posts
  • Country Flag

I have a pair of the Jupiter-3+ lenses from Lomography- they are very well made.

 

I would let others test a company coming out with a new Digital Full-Frame camera, mirrorless or not.

 

For a full-frame Mirrorless: "If I were to get one", would be a Sony at this point. I'm happy with my Df and CCD based Leicas.

 

I picked up the Olympus EP2 early on- if you are used to full-frame lenses on a full-frame camera, look elsewhere. If you want to use a 50mm lens as a short Telephoto- that works.



#7
Marcus Rowland

Marcus Rowland

    Loyal Member

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 234 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationLondon

I see a lot of Russian gear in the cameras and lenses I buy and sell. The lenses are usually very good if a bit basic, the bodies have a tendency to be a bit flaky, but hopefully they've learned a few things since the 20th century.

 

Having said that, I tried a Nex 5 and couldn't get on with it at all, unless they're including a digital eye level viewfinder in the design I won't be very interested. I have no idea what mount they'll use, I suspect whichever one is cheapest to license and build if they don't go with a design of their own.

 

Re Russian large-format cameras, this is on sale in a pawn shop in London

 

https://webshop.cash...329/camera-lens

 

They do mail order, but I don't know if they ship outside Britain. I took a look at it in December but it wasn't advertised on line then. It had quite a lot of internal dust, but given the size cleaning may not be impossible.



#8
TBonz

TBonz

    Sportz Guy

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 3,652 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationOn A Field Somewhere...

Site Supporter

Nicole,

 

My first SLR was a Zenit...I purchased it in France...It had the "Pentax" screw-mount base and came with a 50 something - want to say 52 or 58mm f2 lens.  It had a match needle on the upper right and you had to manually stop down the lens after focusing...

 

It would be interesting to see what they come out with!



#9
Marcus Rowland

Marcus Rowland

    Loyal Member

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 234 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationLondon

Nicole,

 

My first SLR was a Zenit...I purchased it in France...It had the "Pentax" screw-mount base and came with a 50 something - want to say 52 or 58mm f2 lens.  It had a match needle on the upper right and you had to manually stop down the lens after focusing...

 

It would be interesting to see what they come out with!

 

The camera was probably a Zenit E, that was the most common version that had M42, the external meter, and manual stopdown. Unfortunately they go wrong a lot, I have ten or twelve in a box which I'll probably have to sell as a job lot for their minimal spares value.

 

The lens was almost certainly a Helios 58mm f2.0 - they're probably the lenses I sell the most (which is why I have so many Zenit bodies, I wouldn't touch them if they didn't have this lens or something as good e.g. Tessar), there are quite a lot around in the UK and they're very good for portrait, macro, and low light work, and the older manual version has very nice bokeh. Unfortunately you need an adapter with a lens to use them out to infinity on a Nikon, which degrades the image quality - and most adapters won't work anyway because the rear element of the lens protrudes far enough to hit the lens in the adapter at that end of the focusing scale! I've heard of there being versions with Nikon mounts but never seen one, and you need to be careful if you see one on eBay because they usually turn out to be the M42 version with a lensless adapter and only good for macro work.



#10
TBonz

TBonz

    Sportz Guy

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 3,652 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationOn A Field Somewhere...

Site Supporter

Yup...you nailed it...it was a good, solid body and gave me some good experience as I was getting into SLR photography...The Pentax MX and Nikon FM were like luxury vehicles compared to the Zenit E's military Jeep with a broken suspension!