Zenit 12 CD
"Boat Anchor. Crude, heavy, and clumsy to use".I'l agree all but the boat anchor. The Zenit 12 CD (Zenit 12 XP was a similar export model) is clumsy and heavy an also quite big but it is a camera you can take pictures with. The Helios lens is sharp and the camera has almost all the features you will need except the long shutter times.
I got a bundle of four Zeniths at 30€. Cameras were brand new in original packages. You may say that you don´t get anything for nothing but I think that they were cheap.
By the way, that Anchor? Perhaps all four in a bundle?. Seriously, if you think the cost you have to admit that Zenit is quite a camera for it´s price.
Opinions about the Russian cameras varies a lot. Worst verdicts are often given by a person who has never been even near the Ruskie or he could be a person who has purchased a Zorki and expecting that it is a Leica. I have taken some pictures with that Zenit and I must concede that I don´t especially like it. The viewfinder is not the brightest one and the functions are really clumsy and somewhat scrappy. Main thing is that the pictures are excellent.
