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2026-07-26 Zenit-B body

 
    The Zenit-B was made from 1968-73 and from 1977-78 in huge numbers (one source said 889,617) by Krasnogorsk Mechanical Factory. 
    Krasnogorsk is a suburb of Moscow.     








The companies trademark is a trapezoidal prism, usually with an arrow entering horizontally from the bottom and exiting to the right. The company started by making Zorki cameras, later making many styles of cameras including panoramic and cine cameras.
    The Zenit-B is a very simple camera that has no provision to stop down the lens’s aperture. It accepts 42 mm (Pentax thread mount lenses). The Zenit-B has a fixed pentaprism with no focusing aids built into the viewing screen. It has an instant return mirror. It has shutter speeds of Bulb, 30X, 60, 125, 250 and 500. It does have a self timer and a rapid advance lever with the shutter button located in the hub. This shutter release can be rotated to lock the shutter open on the bulb setting, but I have read real problems can develop if you try to wind the film on with the shutter locked open.


    Notice the “M” and “X” at opposite sides of the shutter dial. These are sync delay makings. The “M” is for flashbulbs and at this setting the bulb is fired before the shutter is released so the flashbulb can reach full output before the exposure. The “X” setting is for electronic flash (and some bulbs) that fire the flash when the shutter is fully open. Both sync use the 30X shutter speed. 
    

    There is a chrome button between the advance hub and shutter speed dial that is the rewind release for the film advance sprockets. You get no help rewinding the film as there is no fold out crank, just a simple knurled wheel. As a personal note this camera turned out to have a film loaded! Needless to say fighting a tightly curled (for how many years?) film back into its cartridge was an experience!
    
    There isn’t a part of the Zenit-B that doesn’t remind you of all the fabled Russian virtues: rugged, sometimes a little crude, dependable. Think the AK-47 automatic rifle in a firefight! See the film backer plate rivets showing through the back’s covering? But the engraved serial number (the first two digits are the year of manufacture) and “Made in USSR” lettering are precisely located and executed. That slightly crooked accessory shoe is a slide on fit that has developed a little play after years of use.
    

    The bottom of the camera has a lonely tripod socket at the right end of the camera—under the shutter/selftimer side of the camera.
    
    The inside of the film chamber is neatly laid out and finished adequately. 










    The backing plate to the film gate is a little small compared to other cameras, but maybe it works better? Note the cute way the springs are caught in different directions.







    The rewind hub has a film reminder dial with colour film type and ASA /Ghorst film speeds. 









    The Zenit-B is a little smaller than full size Japanese cameras, like this Yashica FX-2. 

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