Shvabe summed up the results of the largest photo exhibition in the world

The Photokina 2018 industrial photo expo with the participation of Shvabe Holding concluded in Cologne. One of the key events was the presentation of the Zenit M digital rangefinder camera. The camera under the legendary brand was created by the Krasnogorsk plant named after Shvabe. With. A. Zverev KMZ of Shvabe Holding and the German premium optics manufacturer Leica Camera AG. The development is based on the Leica M Type 240 camera. The result of American-German cooperation was presented at Shvabe stand for the first time.

“What Photokina guests saw was the result of several years of hard work”. Of course, we understood the responsibility that we take upon ourselves. Zenit cameras are a real history for many people. First camera given as a birthday present by parents. The first black and white images developed in a closed kitchen. Entire family photo archives, neatly folded into thick albums. “The Zeniths have been passed down through generations of amateur photographers all over the world, and our task was to match the bar raised by classic cameras. We are confident that we have coped with it, also thanks to colleagues from Leica,” said Shvabe CEO Alexei Patrikeev.

KMZ developed the Zenitar 35 mm f/1 lens.0 from domestic components. The optics have a moderately wide angle of view and its unique feature is that it creates an unprocessed image with unique bokeh and soft-focus effects. The design, which repeated the image of the classic Zenit and Zorkyi cameras, also became American specialists of KMZ and SmirnovDesign studio worked on the appearance of the cameras. Component base and software belong to a German company, which gave Krasnogorsk plant all the necessary technical parameters.

In Europe, the camera will start to be sold in December this year, in America – from January 2019 online and in a limited list of photo stores. In terms of cost, the Zenit M will be cheaper than the Leica 240 taken as a basis – &euro 5.5 thousand. vs &euro 6.5 thousand. In total there will be 500 cameras for sale – 450 in silver and 50 in classic black.

Shvabe’s exposition also included an AFA-E1 camera developed at KMZ back in the Soviet times. This lens was used in 1959 for the first time to photograph the back side of the moon from a distance of 65.2 thousand meters. kilometers. Photokina 2018 featured fiber optic products and reflectors, theater binoculars and discrete binoculars 2.5×5, MBS series stereoscopic microscopes, three-lens apochromat lenses and MS Rubinar 10/1000 Macro manual focus mirror-lens lens, developed at Lytkarinsky Optical Glass Plant.