Zenit (camera)

Soviet camera company ZENIT 12SD (12XP) Zenit (Russian: Зени́т) is a Soviet camera brand manufactured by KMZ in the town of Krasnogorsk near Moscow since 1952 and by BelOMO in Belarus since the 1970s. The Zenit trademark is associated with 35 mm SLR cameras. Among related brands are Zorki (Watchful) for 35 mm rangefinder cameras, Moskva (Moscow) and Iskra (Spark) for medium-format folding cameras and Horizon for panoramic cameras. In the 1960s and 1970s, they were exported by Mashpriborintorg to 74 countries. The name is sometimes spelled Zenith in English, such as the manuals published by the UK Zenit-importer TOE. However, TOE's imported camera bodies as from 1963 retained the "Zenit" badges. The early Zorki-based models before that time were labelled "Zenith" in a handwritten style of script. History Early years Zenit, first model, 1952 Zenit-S (Synchronized), 1955 The above Zenit was based on the Zorki rangefinder camera (a copy of the Leica II). In transforming the Zorki into an SLR, the simplest approach was taken: the rangefinder housing was removed from the top and replaced by a plain ground-glass screen and prism; a mirror was added below with a lever operated mirror