An author of Zenit-12XP name?

Hi Aidas,
Congratulations. That's great news!
Best wishes, Jim.

Btw.: http://www.zenitcamera.com/qa/qa-names.html#zenit-12xp ;)

Zoom,
Many thanks for the link. I checked and this site has given permission to repost, (didn't want to make a problem for Vlad)Here is a translated section of text from the section which talks about the Zenith 12 XP.

Zenit-12 xp - [twelve Pi-X] - deemed "export option" ZENITa-12sd, although in fact was released a year earlier and sold under its name in Latin and in the domestic market. According to one version this name comes from "extreme progress" with the intent - "great success", on the other - from the "extra precision" - "special accuracy." The author called the reduction Belgian businessman Rafael van Gils (Rafaлl van Gils), who proposed the index for the camera during his talks with a foreign trade organizations.

Thanks and best wishes, Jim.

Man, Zoom, you're fast on updating your site, hehehe It's always great to see official manufacturer web sites gathering information from us common collector folk.

Sorry OT: Never thanked you by the way for the mention of my name and placement of picture of my Zenit-122 50 years on your web site. So thank you, I'm a very proud owner hehehehe.

Cheers,
Vlad

Belgium had close connexions with Soviet foreign trade... through local companies (usually in hands of some communist minded businessmen or intellectuals), the main event was the international exposition of 58 (the one that is engraved on some lenses) where USSR had a palace in front of the USA one... and a very big trade delegation in Brussels. They usually stayed at the Hotel Van Belle in Anderlecht, one of the cheapest full service hotel at that time... and I know that the hotel boss wrote a note on the desk "we cannot garantee that there is no microphones in your room" (in russian) because both belgian and american secret services were quite active (and he had no choice... of course).
The Soviet lobby in Belgium also made a commercial arrangment about steel panels that resulted in the Scaldia-Volga brand name (cars...), and a bit later they build a Lada "factory" (in fact a show room and a finishing garage) that was very near the new Nato Headquarter (800m), very few blue collar workers were employed, and the roof of the factory was coverd with various antennas... more recently (early 80') Nafta (a former belgian company selling Soviet oil) won the public market for the Belgian army ;-). Nato immediatly cut it off, but the market was regular and Belgium had to compensate Nafta for the loss of a legal won public market... There was also a big public anti-american feeling when Pegard (a high end tool factory) was forbidden by Nato to sell a tool to the soviet ship builder (because it would have allowed the construction of silent propellers...), 100 jobs were lost... just to learn that less than a year later an american company sold the same tool to the same client... grrrr....

Still today, the representation of Russia for the EU (embassy to the EU) is one building away from the American embassy... the inhabitants of this one building are said to be cooked with radar and other radio waves...

Stephan

Stephan

To remember the 50 years now!



LP