What is the cheapest used Zenit 12 in the UK?

The cheapest used Zenit 12 currently listed is £29.95 at eBay, based on 6 listings compared across 1 UK retailers.

How many used Zenit 12 are for sale in the UK?

There are currently 6 used Zenit 12 listings available across 1 UK retailers on UsedLens, updated daily.

Used Zenit 12 for Sale — From £30

£29.95 Low price

£255.48 High price

6 Listings

1 Retailers

Great for: student beginner general

Zenit's TTL-metered Soviet M42 SLR — the 12, stop-down CdS, fully mechanical shutter, 1983.

The Zenit 12 is a 35mm film SLR made in the Soviet Union by KMZ and BelOMO from the early 1980s, part of the later Zenit family that added TTL metering to the long-running line. It was exported widely, including as the Zenit 12XP variant, and remained a very affordable mechanical SLR sold through the 1980s into UK high-street and mail-order channels.

It is an M42 screw-mount SLR with a horizontal-travel cloth focal-plane shutter offering a limited speed range, typically around 1/30 to 1/500 plus B. Unlike the selenium-metered earlier models, the Zenit 12 has a battery-powered CdS through-the-lens meter with a match display in the finder, operated stop-down. Exposure is manual; the shutter is entirely mechanical and fires without a battery, while the meter needs a cell to read.

The Zenit 12 suits students, beginners and users wanting a cheap M42 SLR with built-in TTL metering rather than an external selenium cell. It is heavy and simply built like its siblings, and the TTL meter is its main advance; the limited shutter range and lack of automation remain the constraints, and the stop-down metering darkens the finder.

On the used market, Soviet build quality varied between samples, so test each body individually. Check the CdS meter responds with a fresh battery and note any mercury-cell assumption that would bias readings on modern cells. Run the shutter across its speeds watching for capping and off timing, inspect any light seals and dampers for perishing, check the prism and screen, and test advance and rewind; expect sample-to-sample variance and inspect carefully.