The User's Review: Zenit (Zenith) - S 35mm SLR Camera, Made in 1956 as Shown by the First Two Digits in Its SN

My dad brought this camera when he was a graduate in Pushkin during later 1957 and 1961. My family and his friends used it until 1980s. It is of all metal, therefore, heavy and very durable.

This was the first camera that I used, and I used it until it stopped working. It's difficult to load the film since the body has an opening bottom. I had to set the shutter to 'B', kept the shutter curtains open, toke off the lens, and used my finger to press the film into the right position behind the shutter. Moreover, the metal cassette coming with the body must be used in order to avoid damaging the film. I do not know if these are the 'features' for this model or just be special for our copy.

It's a pain to load the camera, but it did leave us a lot of good memories on its pictures. What surprised me is that my dad still has the original box (in good shape) holding the camera after more than 50 years.