Last year I already reported that the Russian camera brand Zenit is coming back to life. The company is coming with some new lenses (for example Zenitar 50mm f/0.95) and "a luxury camera" similar to Leica.
Today the Russian information agency RNS reported that in 2018 Zenit will release a new full-frame mirrorless digital camera.
The director of the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant where the new camera will be produced said this to a Russian radio station:
"We plan to revive the direction of production of digital photographic equipment and consider the option of industrial cooperation, since competence on the component base in the country is currently absent. We have a close cooperation project with one of the leading photographic equipment companies in order to create a joint product, where KMZ is involved in manufacturing infrastructure for the production of optics for these cameras. And electronics will be manufactured abroad, "said Sergeyev, adding that the device's output on the market is planned for next year.
He noted that the company wants to preserve the traditional color and the peculiarity of the Zenit camera in its revived version and at the same time make the brand recognizable: "It will be modernized, but the characteristic contours, ergonomics, camera lines will be integrated into it."
The device will be released in two color solutions: in dark and light. The camera will also be decorated with leather using high-quality finishing materials, "so that the camera has a decent perception in the market."
"It will be a full-frame, mirrorless digital camera," Sergeyev said.
According to him, the cost of the revived camera Zenit will be "more expensive than a good smartphone." Sergeev also stressed that the Krasnogorsk plant does not set itself the task of competing with well-known manufacturers of photographic equipment.
Mirror small-format camera "Zenith" was produced at the KMZ (Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant named after Zverev - RNS) from 1952 to 1956. Then the company tried to resume production, and the camera with various modifications was made until the early 2000s. In 2005, it was withdrawn from production, Radio 1 notes.
Pictured above: Zenit Z1 and Zenit 412, one of the last camera models produced (pictures source: Zenit Camera, Wikipedia)
