The Zenobia R - Pocket-Sized Medium Format

#filmphotography #mediumformat #camerareview #zenobia #1950s #rangefinder
The Zenobia R is a medium-format, folding camera for 4.5x6 format. Small and lightweight with a great lens, this is a camera you can carry anywhere.

[@HyperlipMusic]

relaxing, informative, and great photos as usual sir

[@vintagecameradigest]

Glad you enjoyed it! Many thanks!

[@johnsomers8269]

The joys of being purposful in photography! Great to see you and the Zenobia in action!

[@vintagecameradigest]

Yes indeed! It’s a fun shooter!

[@jimfranklin9770]

For those interested, the 31.5 mm slip-on lens hood should work.

[@vintagecameradigest]

Thanks for the tip!

[@owenhartford373]

I have a number of old folding cameras and the Zenaobia is my favorite - not just because of its compact size, but also because it it relatively easy to use, but mainly because of it’s very sharp lens. It’s even sharper than some of the lenses on my 6x9 cameras. Many thanks for the review.😊

[@vintagecameradigest]

Thanks! The lens is really superb. That was the biggest shocker to me. Will be fun to compare to the Super-Ikonta that I’ll have up next.

[@mhc2b]

Wanted to let you know - I bought a used Yashica brand twin lens cap off eBay for my 124G. It fits properly. The two other generic versions I have are both too short by a couple of millimeters.

[@vintagecameradigest]

Glad you finally found one that fits!

[@alexandermenzies9954]

Great tonal gradation and sharpness. The build quality looks good, too.

[@vintagecameradigest]

The lens was surprisingly sharp. And yes the build-quality is excellent on this one. Feels good in the hand. Has good weight.

[@lucagiuri2961]

Dear Mr Broome, thanks a lot for your dedication and clarity. Could you please introduce us to the Canonet QL17 GIII someday ?

[@vintagecameradigest]

Thank you! Great suggestion…I’ve been looking for a reason to pick one of those up :-) I need to get serious about it. Soon!

[@gatblau1]

Now I’m going to have to dig out my Zenobia and run a roll of film through it again. I think it’s been about 12 years since I’ve used it.

[@vintagecameradigest]

You should do it!

[@orestes1984]

I think the closest I'll ever come to owning a true Zeiss camera is a Voigtlander Bessa. I've never heard of the Zenobia either.

[@vintagecameradigest]

Voigtlander is one of the oldest camera brands around. A true classic. And the rangefinder Bessa models (the old folding type) are top notch.

[@PaulSafford]

P6x7 trick, get a second grip, sit down & take a deep breath before beginning, don't be in a rush...

[@vintagecameradigest]

Thanks for the tip! Yes, a deep breath does help. And maybe a Xanax. Seriously, though, you’re so right about not being in a rush with it. That absolutely never helps.

[@mnoliberal7335]

Oh, hey! I have one! Hadn't gotten it fixed, but will now.

[@vintagecameradigest]

You should! This one recently had a CLA and it’s so SMOOTH in all the movements. It is fine craftsmanship.

[@rodcencko]

After seeing your video - very pleasant as usual - I did a little research on ebay - it seems that the Zenobia R is almost impossible to find - regards Danilo

[@vintagecameradigest]

Looks like you’re right. Several Zenobias but none of the “R” model. Might be one reason I’d never heard of it. I wouldn’t think it would be too rare, but who knows.

[@gregwardecke]

Thinking back to your “Why shoot film” video you made around Christmas time (the video that got me hooked on your channel btw) I see why there was value in the photographs of yesteryear. You meter, focus (somehow), cock the shutter then shoot the photo … there was a lot involved. You are a long time professional photographer and watch your video, it took you some time to shoot some of those photos. Imagine you have a very small fraction of your skills. Can you imagine how few photos you will get per roll? And how much value you would place on those rare great photos? Enjoyed this video and great photos. Thanks for making this video for us!

[@vintagecameradigest]

Thanks for watching! Yes, it did take some time to go through 2 rolls. The photo shoot section of this video came out to about 50 mins of recorded footage before editing. And I was sitting there watching it and kept thinking, “get ON with it, man!” So, I’m sure you noticed some sped up sections, lol. I definitely feel like I worked for these shots. Thankfully the process is something that I enjoy. Glad I was pleased with the majority of them.

[@joefaracevideos]

Looks like a fun camera to shoot, albeit a little more complex to use. Great video, as always.

[@vintagecameradigest]

Thanks! Using this type of rangefinder does require that extra step. BUT, it adds to the overall process which is sorta what I like anyway. To a point, at least.

[@311djr]

Thanks for another great video, Mr. V. Enjoyed what you said about it being an easy camera to use (except for all manual, of course). I thought the images you got were top-notch also. Don't know if you do any post-processing or if it's out-of-camera. I happen to have a Zenobia which I got in an online auction last year. It is a Model C with the Hesper 75mm f/3.5 lens but is not a range finder. You turn the lens ring and 'guess' at a distance, then determine the aperture from the knob at upper right (based upon desired DOF) and use a shutter speed to your liking. It takes a while to get used to. I shot a couple of rolls through it and liked the feel of it but haven't used it since. It is truly a small and easy to carry camera.

[@vintagecameradigest]

Seems a lot of the cameras from this era use that “guess” focus feature. I have a Voigtlander Bessa and a Kodak Tourist that use that. Both shoot very well, though. I’ll take that over the “focus-free” lenses any day. Might not be perfect, but at least we can get close. As for post processing, I scan with a DSLR set-up and usually the images turn out VERY flat - which is fine. I’ll usually only adjust contrast using Curves in Photoshop. And that’s about it. I try to only do about as much as I could’ve done in the darkroom with contrast filters way back when. Thanks for tuning in again!

[@rhohoho]

Surprisingly sharp, especially at wider apertures. How does it compare to something like that Agfa Isolette.

[@vintagecameradigest]

I was pleased with the sharpness at the wider apertures, too. Mainly since I was sort of guessing where the correct lens distance was. I’ve not shot that Isolette in several years, so I can’t recall in any clarity. But maybe I’ll put some film through it soon.

[@Jennifer_Prentice]

Not too bad.. I have a old agfa that does not have any range finder and you have to use a cell phone app or something to get distance to target lol.. But that is a 35mm camera.. I was very shocked at how sharp the photos where on yours.. Great little camera but I am afraid I would end up with many double exposures forgetting to advance the film lol.

[@vintagecameradigest]

Ah ha! See, if you advance the film immediately after shooting you’d be good as gold! 😉 But, you’re right. I was surprised that I didn’t do that at least once. So many steps to keep track of. And I was as surprised as you that there were really no big mis-focused shots. The Agfa Isolette that I referred to in the video doesn’t have a rangefinder or any way to help set the focus distance. I also have a Kodak Tourist and Voigtlander Bessa that don’t. It makes you wonder how any photos from back then would even be close to being sharp. This Neo-Hesper lens, though - so surprisingly nice. Thanks for watching!

[@anjfoto716]

Great channel. Have you ever used a Rapid Omega? That was my first wedding camera back in 1977.

[@vintagecameradigest]

Thank you! I had photo mentor at one time who also used Rapid-Omegas for wedding work. I, on the other hand, have never had one in my hands. I have been casually eyeing them on eBay, though, for a couple of years. If the perfect one comes up at the right price, it’s mine.

[@SeanMcGown]

Boy, I bet with a yellow and an ND filter, you could get more contrast on B&W and use some more open apertures.

[@vintagecameradigest]

You’re probably right. I could deal with a bit more contrast. Not sure which filter series fits this lens, but I may have one to fit. As far as open apertures, I sorta avoided them on this first shoot in order to take advantage of having a bit more DOF to compensate for manually setting the focus distance. But it all seemed to work ok, so I’ll be trying out f/3.5 quite a bit next time.

[@ZOMBIELUIS666]

Been a while since we've seen a video, hope you're doing alright!

[@vintagecameradigest]

Thanks for checking in! Yes, I’m good. Just had an incredibly busy month or so. I’ve got two new episodes in production now, though. So I’ll be seeing you soon!

[@fotoralf]

Our cat is named Zenobe. :-)

[@vintagecameradigest]

Very cool! Is there a story behind the name?

[@fotoralf]

@@vintagecameradigestHe's named after Zénobe Gramme, the Belgian inventor of the dynamo. Actually, we use the German form Zenobius. :-)

[@vintagecameradigest]

Nice!

[@closerto30]

8 seconds in and I've already clicked like.

[@vintagecameradigest]

That may be a record! Many, many thanks for watching!

[@Edwin21221]

Hello! Im just getting started to learn how to use this old folding camera. I have some questions,is there certain flim to use for this camera bcz i just dont know how it work,or just every flim can be use on it?

[@vintagecameradigest]

Great question! For this particular camera (as well as many, many other folding types) you’ll need to use 120 size film. And you’ll have a pretty good variety to choose from. Not super easy to find in local stores around my neck of the woods, so I’ll usually order from B&H Photo or Adorama. Of course, Amazon will carry it, but I find better prices at either of the other two places. Basically, this film is on a plastic spool with a paper backing to protect it from light. You’ll put the spool in the camera, break the tape on the film, and pull the paper across the back and insert into an empty take-up spool. So you will need an empty spool for the film to be loaded onto. That’s usually not a problem, since once you’ve shot the roll and wound it all onto the take up spool, you’ll have an empty spool (from the film) already in the camera. You’ll just need to swap it into the take up position. I don’t know if there’s a place on the web to get a Zenobia manual, but Butkus(dot)org has a ton of manuals available for free. If you can find one for an Agfa Isolette - or any other folding camera that uses 120 film - it will generally use the same film loading and advancing procedure. After the film is loaded and the back is closed, you’ll wind the film until you see the number “1” in the little red window on the camera back. And that’s your first frame. With this particular camera, once you take a shot, you’ll just wind it until the next number shows in the red window. You’ll get 15 shots on one roll of film. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions!

[@Edwin21221]

@@vintagecameradigest thanks for this important information!

[@mhc2b]

I did miss seeing a new video last week, but certainly understand that you may often have other "affairs of life" to attend to. Sometimes we viewers just need a little reminder! Your posted images always seem so perfectly exposed, processed, and scanned. Could you, at some time, elaborate a bit on your film & scanning processes/procedures? In fact, I'm sure many viewers, including me, would love to see you do a complete video dedicated to your personal film & scanning procedures. I have to "farm out" my film processing and scanning, using a convenient local photo lab just down the street. Sadly, the scans they provide never look as rich & detailed as yours. I often think about buying a quality film scanner. And being retired, debt-free, and with a bit of "disposable" income, I can afford it, if I ever want to.

[@vintagecameradigest]

Yes, it’s been busy the last month, but hopefully I’ll be back on a weekly schedule very soon. I’ve been thinking about how to do just such a video as you mention. So the thought is definitely percolating. I used an Epson flatbed scanner with a transparency option for many years. Then got a Canon version (which only lasted about 3 years). After that I started looking into using a DSLR set up, and I’ve stuck with that the last couple of years. B&W film is no problem. Color film proves a bit cantankerous though, and I get inconsistent results at best. There is a lab not too far from here that I use for color - and most of the time I’ll let them do the scans. But as you probably noticed, I shoot very little color. Probably should shoot more. Challenge myself! If you do decide you’re in the market for a scanner, the Epson Perfection series (with transparency option) is a great one.

[@mhc2b]

Thanks for the info. I never thought about using a camera to "scan" film. But why not!? As long as you can keep the film flat. Speaking of Epson Perfection scanners, I have been eyeing the Epson V850 scanner for a while now. And I'm afraid the temptation to buy one is slowly winning out! It would certainly solve all my scanning needs! And I like that it has appropriate 120 film holders. FWIW, if I had just stuck to my digital camera I wouldn't have to concern myself with all this. But watching your Vintage Camera Digest channel has affected me in such a positive way that all I want to do now is shoot film again (TMax 100 & Tri-X 400). I did buy a 5 pack of Ektar 100 & Portra 160, but have yet to load any into a film back. In all candor, it's been a long, long time since I've enjoyed the pure pleasure of photography as much as I am now. I thank you for that!!

[@vintagecameradigest]

So glad to hear about your film enjoyment! I felt the same way. I was bored with digital, but film still excites me. The Epson V850 is probably the best off-the-shelf scanner solution. And it scans large format, as well. So you’ll need to pick up a nice 4x5 camera to get the most use out of the scanner :-) Seriously, though, I used a V750 for years at my prior job, and it was great. The bundled software might not be the best choice, though. I ended up using VueScan by Hamrick software. Not only does it offer tons more functionality, it comes with presets for B&W and color film stocks - and that’s nice to have especially with color. I did a blog post a couple years ago on using a camera for this purpose: vintagecameradigest.com/2022/01/02/film-digitization/ It made sense for me to use this method since I had all the pieces laying around. But that article should give you an idea if it’s something you want to try before the Epson. It’s definitely faster than using a scanner.

[@mhc2b]

Good reading! Thanks for sharing. Coming up with film holders is the trickiest part.

[@vintagecameradigest]

3D printing has made that an almost non-problem. You can find them pretty easily - for a specific scanner OR just generic. I just happened to have these left over from my Canon scanner. Also, there do exist better ways now. The film holders are terrific at keeping the film flat, but they never have been. But there are some very enterprising folk out there producing solutions. Negative Supply offers some good ones.

[@actionimagesphotography]

Can you use 220? Sure wish you had opened the back close up. thanks for the video.

[@vintagecameradigest]

Since it uses the red window method for film advance, you’ll only be able to use 120 film. On 220 film, the backing paper doesn’t extend for the entire roll (which allows room for more film).

[@user-nu7uk7jl5z]

I have a Zenobia camera and the 120 spools are too large to fit in the camera. I have to trim both ends of the film spool to fit in the camera. I forgot to trim a spool one time before heading out in the woods to take photos. I had to rub the ends on a rock so the film would fit in the camera.

[@vintagecameradigest]

I’ve read about that happening on some of these. Thank goodness for rough rocks!