It was the early period of 2019 and I ventured to Carrum Downs [Deep South East of Melbourne] to meet a private collector through Gum Tree who wanted to off-load 300+ cameras he collected throughout his lifetime. Now at this point I never used any film cameras in my life but had been researching into them and following some photographers on instagram showing their unique qualities.
I had my sights on buying a small ‘noob-friendly’ pocket sized camera which eventually became the Canon Canonet 28 as my first purchase. I’ve also picked up the Olympus Trip 35 for a discounted price since it had a ding on the ring frame of the lens.
The collector was a Russian migrant who spent roughly 20 years in Australia and couldn’t help myself to ask him about his display of Soviet cameras in his collection display, bearing in mind the rest were packed away in 72L boxes. They were probably the most aesthetically pleasing cameras that comes in all shapes and sizes ranging from time periods in the 60’s to the 80’s.
I asked whether if any were for sale and he picked out a handful but highly recommended the Zenit 12 XP as it was very simple to use and very reliable due to its build quality. When it landed in my hands, I thought “fuck me”. It was somewhat a small sized camera but it almost weighed a kilogram, and they aren’t kidding when they call it ‘The Russian Tank’. In the end I thought I’d give in and buy it. Only gone in to buy one and went home with 3 film cameras to play with.
At first it felt odd to to use it at first because it had a very tiny lens and difficult to shoot in low-light. More research indicated that it is usually used with a much larger lens; The Helios 44M-4 58mm f/2.0 as one suggested. This set me back a couple of hundred dollars and a 2-3 week waiting period as majority of these are supplied from Ukraine or Belarus on eBay at the time.
From what I have been told, the first digit of the serial number suggests what year the camera was produced in. AS the picture indicates, this was made in 1988
And now with the lens now acquired, like upgrading from a T-34/76 Russian tank to a T-34/85 [bigger turret, bigger gun… if you want to get a bit nerdy with military vehicles] I legitimately became like a propaganda machine with this. About 90% of City games consisted of shots taken with this camera due to being so easy to use at night under floodlight conditions and it was an addiction to use 2-3 rolls per game and see all kinds shenanigans in an out of AAMI Park.
It does have the option to use batteries for the light meter, but not necessarily needed for me personally as I have found my own groove on how I use this camera. It has copped a bit of a battering when limbs and beers were thrown around during goal celebrations but it is still going strong after all. If you see me with a black camera in my hand, this is it.
Technical Specifications
Brand: Zenit
Model: 12 XP
Format: 35 mm
Origin: USSR
ISO: ISO 16 to 500
Speed: 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, and Bulb mode
Lens Series: Helios 58 mm f/2.0
Weight: 0.95 kg
Film Roll Used: Kodak Ultramax 400
Behind The Lens - LMR 