Cameras

I got a HUGE surprise this morning when my wife came home with an early Christmas present. As you can probably guess, because I'm writing it on here, it was a camera. Not just any camera tho, The Zenit 122!!!!!! A Russian made camera masterpiece. At first glance it looks like a cheap plastic camera not to far from the Holga or the Dianna, but thats where any similarity ends. It is made of a solid body of metal and then covered in plastic (for toughness), at the time it was made not even Leica cameras were made this durable. The key thing to remember with this camera is that it was, for all intensive purposes, a Russian soldier's camera. It was a model meant to stand up to battle in the front lines and withstand the utter cold of a Russian winter. I found a site that described the camera to be able to work in a -40 degree Celsius climate. I can't even imagine being outside in that temperature, none the less going for a photography shoot.....Buttt that was what it was designed for not what this camera was used for. Julie told me our friend from the hospital, Shino, gave her the camera to give to me because its just sitting around his house collecting dust. Shino is from Saudi Arabia and told her that in the city he lived Russians always came to sell Russian made cameras. This makes me appreciate this camera even more. Not only has this thing been in more countries than I'll ever be, but it's design has stood up to the cold of Russia and the harsh heat of the Arabian dessert air. I know if I took my Canon Rebel Xti to Russia and Saudi Arabia then let it sit in the basement for 15 years the thing would never take a picture again. And other than a few scratched and the camera strap mounts being broken, the Zenit probably takes pictures just like the day it was bought!!! ALLSOOOOO......i forgot to mention my purchase of a canon AF35ML yesterday from goodwill for 4 dollars. I'm not even gonna go into a rant on that one. I'm just gonna post a link and walk away....too much excitement for 1 weekend. http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/sure-shot/af35ml.htm

Sorry for that long rant and thanks if you endured the entire thing. I plan on taking pictures of all my cameras soon so that people can know what I'm talking about half the time. The total count is 10 cameras (only 1 digital) and ALOT of lenses. And also a big thanks to Shino for the camera!!!!! I'll definitely get some great use out of it!!