East meets Far East

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p>This summer, a family member gave me his Zenit ET with a Helios 44M-4. Bought on a student trip to Budapest in the mid 80, it has not seen much action, and looks to be in good condition. I brought it with me to a local chili tasting festival, hosted by a local organic supplier of greenhouse plants. Instead of using the Helios, I opted for an East meets Far East theme, and used my 35mm f/2.8 Auto Yashikor. The film used was Rollei Retro 100 (rebranded Agfa APX 100), developed in Rodinal.</p>

<p><a title="Zenit ET with Helios 44M-4 by Necator, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/5000740032_5a4ffaf6ea.jpg" alt="Zenit ET with Helios 44M-4" width="500" height="333" /></a><br>

The camera, here shown with the Helios 44M-4</p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p><a title="Sign by Necator, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5004207649_7f1c4a37de.jpg" alt="Sign" width="500" height="332" /></a><br /> Plants for sale (this one shot with a Yashica 135 mm f/2.8 lens)</p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p><a title="Sea of Chilis by Necator, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/5004822220_4e92d97b02.jpg" alt="Sea of Chilis" width="500" height="323" /></a><br>

A Sea of Chili's</p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p><a title="Drying by Necator, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/5004214445_7891f3e79d.jpg" alt="Drying" width="500" height="326" /></a><br>

Drying plants</p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p><a title="018.jpg by Necator, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5004218021_0d6a23bcf1.jpg" alt="018.jpg" width="319" height="500" /></a><br>

Window</p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p><a title="The audience by Necator, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5004835254_f4a2c7cac5.jpg" alt="The audience" width="500" height="325" /></a><br>

The audience</p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p><a title="In the line of fire by Necator, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/5004221455_ab47684254.jpg" alt="In the line of fire" width="330" height="500" /></a><br>

In the line of fire - waiting to taste the Bhut jolokia</p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p><a title="Biting the bullet by Necator, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/5004837500_b1ba19c8cb.jpg" alt="Biting the bullet" width="328" height="500" /></a><br>

Biting the bullet</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Nice work. The camera is surprisingly capable and the Helios lens is, of course, a classic, even if you didn't use it.</p>

<p>Your film worked out better than my 18-year old (±) Tso 100 M film (<a href="00X4HR">Link</a>) on the same camera.</p>

<p>Does yours have the pre-set or automatic aperture?</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>I'm never surprised by the capabilities of these old Zenits; they were simple designs, ruggedly built, and the examples from this era in my possession still function well, right down to the selenium light meters. As JDM observed, that Helios 44m-4 is a mighty lens. The Yashikors were reputed to be a budget lens, rather in the style of the Minolta Celtic line, but though the build quality is a little below the equivalent Yashinons, they seem to perform well. Thanks for an interesting series of photographs on a "hot" topic...</p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p>JDM, Rick, thank you for your comments<br>

My Zenit ET has automatic aperture. On a sidenote, my Yashikor 35mm is broken, so I have to use it as a pre-set lens. It works fine with the Helios 44M-4, and the 135mm Yashinon used for one of the shots. I really like the Helios lenses, I have both the 44M-4 as well as the older 44-2.<br>

Since these shots were semi-indoor shots (greenhouse), I used the built in meter to determine exposure, and it turned out to be pretty accurate.<br>

It is indeed a rugged camera, very solid build quality and a simple design, so there are not a lot of fancy features that can fail on you later. I am not sure it will ever be my favorite m42 mount SLR though. As I am a "left eye shooter", I bump my forehead against the film advance lever every time I look through the viewfiner. But still, I enjoy the simplicity of the design.<br>

Rick, I was not aware of the difference between the Yashikor and Yashinon lens lines, thank you for filling me in on that.</p>