A Zenit Story
How I Fell in Love with Film
The Year is 1967 and USSR camera maker Zenit has released what will quickly become a classic camera; The Zenit E, a robust mechanical 135 film camera. I came across this legendary camera while purchasing my first 'vintage' lens, the ever popular Helios 44-2. Having imported various Zenit cameras the seller required I take one of these Zenit bodies with the lens as well. Now, admittedly I had absolutely no interest in the film camera, in fact I protested taking it from the seller. But defeated I returned home and promptly stuck it the back of my closet where it remained for the next two years. But as life goes eventually you want that jacket or box of papers you filed away in that same closet and I was once again reunited with this heavy piece of metal while doing some spring cleaning.
The Zenit E can only be described as a clunky, heavy, and simple camera designed where the local philosophy was no doubt "...a crude but affordable camera was better than no camera". And truly it lives up to to that idea. Built by what I can only assume were retired KV Tank engineers the Zenit E seems to be designed to withstand a nuclear warhead so that you can snap picks with your new ghoul friends in the wastelands of fallout wonderland.
Now, jokes aside, this camera truly is a clunker. Its heavy, its slow, and its limiting. And along with its ever satisfying shutter clunk that's why I fell in love.
Here are the Technical Specs
Manufactured: 1965-1981
Format: 135
Bayonet: M42
Viewfinder: SLR pentaprism
Shutter: B, 1/30 (X), 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500
ISO/ASA: 12-3200
Frame Counter: Manual winding knob
X Sync: 1/30
Weight: 920g
Now, anyone familiar with cameras knows that these specifications are far from impressive, particularly the damning weigh clocking in at nearly 2lbs. But I'll argue that's why the Zenit is such a joy to use. Its not always about being able to capture the perfect image. In fact, I'd argue that in a world of perfectly sharp lenses, tacking auto-focus, and auto-stitching panoramas there is a sublime joy in using a machine that is so simple.
My first trip with the Zenit E was on a road trip through the Canadian Rockies. Our trip included a 3 day backpacking trip following by a drive through Banff, then Jasper, and finally looping back around through the Robson Pass. Determined to use this brick of metal at least once before I got rid of it I looked up some quick operating instructions and set out with my first two rolls of film: some Kodak Gold 200 and Ilford HP5.
Operating the Zenit was much easier than I expect, and thankfully true to the sellers words the built in light meter was accurate - accurate enough. I used a light meter app on my phone to confirm the meter initially but after it proved reliable enough that stayed in my pocket. The Zenit uses a selenium style light meter - basically the OG original matrix metering - with a small needle to indicate exposure. After telling the meter the aperture and shutter speed you intend to use a small bar indicating neutral exposure shifts. From there you adjust accordingly to align the selenium metering with the exposure bar.
Its a simple enough mechanism that proved effective. On top of that, it created a much more immersive feeling to the photographic experience. Unlike digital where you basically point and shoot the metering limitations of the Zenit created this constant decision process of Is this going too be too dark? will I blow out the highlights at this metering? Is the meter picking up the right light? Have I dialed in the correct settings?
And while those questions do slow down the shooting experience I found the mental challenge fun and exciting
Of course, my love for film didn't just come from shooting the Zenit, but the film experience itself introduced by this camera. The greatest allure to film is sometimes the most frustrating but more often beautiful nuances of film; you can't see your photograph right away. This may sound backwards at first, but hear me out.
By removing your ability to see your shots immediately you create this wonderful opportunity to relive them later. With digital too often you look at the shot right after you take it and then place it in some digital storage to be kept forever. You may not even keep it - deleting many of the images you snapped that day. But with film you don't have that same luxury. Until you've developed the film you have no ability to review if you captured the moment. Add in the limited frame count of 24exp or 36exp and the cost of each shot, all of the frames become more important. You'll find yourself taking your time in between each shot, hesitating before each shutter press, and generally considering whether the scene is truly worth taking.Upon returning from our trip I took the rolls of film to a local shop to have them developed and scanned. When I received my disk of scans we plopped it into the computer to see what the results were. We then spent the next hour looking through all the shots we didn't think turned out, the moments we'd already forgotten we captured, and the places we'd been, and laughing about all the moments in between! It was wonderful, and really showed me the beauty of film.
Having now shot a few (*dozen*) more rolls over the last year I can say without a doubt that this feeling remains. The excitement of finally seeing your images after waiting days or weeks is a wonderful thing in a world built around such immediacy. With the added scarcity and selective choice of what you shoot, I find more often the shots I've taken on film resonate with me in a much greater way than any shot I've taken on digital. The feeling of success when you nail the scene you were hoping to, the extra thought and care you put into the frames you do take, and the way it slows the entire photographic experience are why I've fallen in love with film.
And so concludes my love story.
And to anyone that reads this, I urge you to pickup a film camera. Whether its a disposable film camera, a polaroid, a fancy SLR, or a clunky Zenit and take it with you on your next trip. Shoot it as you go, and when you return back to life and have forgotten about the highlights of your trip. Enjoy sitting down days later to relive your trip, to see the small moments you thought were worth capturing, and enjoy your trip for a second time
