Picked up a Zenit E from the "recycling centre" today, for the extortionate sum of £2. No lens, but since it takes the old standard M42 screw mount (as popularised in the 60's and 70's by the likes of Pentax, Praktica, and, well, Zenit) there are plenty of those around - I have a standard and telephoto lens knocking around at home already.

The Zenit E is the pinnacle of Soviet camera technology - a fully mechanical SLR, cast from a single block of aluminium, and built like one of the glorious tractors they were probably churning out in the factory next door. Millions were produced over the two decades it was in production, and many are still in use today - due to its simple mechanical design (complete with battery-free selenium cell light meter) there's really not much to go wrong - and sure enough, my dump victim is still making all the right clicks and whirrs, with nothing much wrong with it, aside from it's addiction to olde-worlde analogue film.

Anyway, it'll be cleaned up and added to the collection that gives Lisa such joy everyday - here's a piccie:

Photoski, comrade?

There's a very interesting page about the long history of the Zenit E here - http://cameras.alfredklomp.com/zenite/
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