Encore Zorki 4

I bought this Zorki 4 [1962 model] from an Ebay dealer in Ukraine. It arrived well packed on time. I opened the

package and found that the shutter was not working at “B” and 1/30 sec. The second curtain would not close. And

the Range Finder was not working either. The ball bearing on the range Finder was missing; so it was not

together. I asked the seller to follow up and send me some spare. He was very prompt and replied that he did not

have any spares. But insisted on refunding me the money, though I told him that I did not feel like asking for a

refund. I asked only for some spares.

 

Meanwhile, I repaired the shutter. The two speeds in particular use a pin from the bottom that pushes upwards

and releases the second curtain. Either the pin had worn short or needed some internal “stretching.” I added a

card board shim at the bottom between the leaf spring and the foot of the pin. Now it works smoothly on both speeds.

 

As usual the camera needed a lot of cleaning and lubrication. I did a fairly good CLA. The lens had some fungus;

I removed that from the rear and front surfaces with Ammonia and Peroxide. In place of the ball bearing in the RF

I have fixed a fiber pen’s tip that would fit in the cavity. Not very satisfactory. I shall look for a small

metal ball bearing eventually. However, I can gauge distances visually, fairly well, a result of my architectural

training. Seller returned $12 out of the $15 that I paid for the Camera. Very honest indeed.

 

Made some test shots this evening about Sunset time on Nova Silver Plus 125 film. I had just 3 frames left from

an older venture.<div></div>

The camera body is in excellent shape after the cleaning. The black paint on the beading was patchy. So I removed it with Xylene [NC thinner] and buffed it with emery paper. A buffing wheel and acrylic coating for preservation would be desirable I guess. I did only what I could by hand.<div></div>

The vulcanite covering is fully in tact with a good texture.<div></div>

I sat down on the same ledge a few feet away as if at leisure and took the picture unnoticed.<div></div>

And the last frame.<div></div>

The Zorkis and the Feds are fun to repair and refurbish. Learned a lot through this. Wonder why they don't make such simple good cameras any more; that is an eternal question! Thanks for viewing and your comments. Regards, sp.

<p>I love my Zorki, I try to use it every week. Here are some shots with it...</p>

<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhowardphoto/sets/72157622559944315/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhowardphoto/sets/72157622559944315/</a></p>

<p>I also am searching for a cheap parts camera for my pristine Zorki 4. Mine has a couple of quirks, but is a good solid user with nice accurate shutter speeds. Nice shots with yours, by the way.</p>

<p>Because most people are not like you! Most people expect everything to work when they get it and they want it to continue to work without periodic maintenance. The various ex-soviet cameras I have had over the years have nearly always come with maintenance issues and I'm not handy enough to do the work myself so I have to find somebody. And you can kind of have old Feds worked on over here in America but parts are really hard to come by. I have a poljot watch and the only way I can get that repaired is to send it back overseas.</p>

<p>Kind of minimizes the effectiveness of the export market I expect. They have a rough and ready charm I admit.</p>

<p>Hi Subbarayan, Here most all of my Zorki, Fed is Soviet stuff was bought off of Ebay before 9/11. Total prices with shipping to the USA were about say 13 to 17 dollars; for camera body; lens and case; plus brown paper box tied with yak hair. Only a few old Feds were wonky. Most all of the zorki's 3c and 4 and newer Fed (5, 6) never required any repairs or maintenance. The bad Soviet stuff was moistly all from fellow USA sellers who sell the duds off. I use to resell Soviet cameras on Ebay. I would buy boxes of the them from this girl in the Ukraine. All were made with cash sent thru the mail. After 9/11 postal rates got alot higher and bulk buy got way too costly. With single camera buys with lens and case; I would just pay with a USA 20 dollar bill. Long ago in bulk a zorki body was about 5 bucks US without lens and only a few rare ones required any adjustment. A favorite here is a painted black Zorki3C I got from the Ukraine back about 1998; I have shot several hundred rolls with it. I use it with a Canon 50mm F1.2 as a poor mans Leica/noct outfit. </p>

<p>Great restoration SP; I really like the polished aluminum bead. That sort of seller certainly restores one's faith in Ebay...</p>

<p>Looks much nicer in silver, I think. Good restoration job, not bad for a few dollars and some time spent. Nice of the seller to make good on it.</p>

<p>Good man Subbarayan ! Have you ever seen a <em>purple</em> Zorki ?</p>

<p><a href="http://westfordcomp.com/classics/zorkic/index.htm">PURPLE !</a></p>

<p>Terrific.</p>

<p>Maybe I'll load some of that film into one of my Soviet cameras, now that the weather is improving a little.</p>

<p>Hi to the great group of fellow Zorkites.:)<br>

<br /> With zorkis that have been painted; rechromed; modified sometimes the flash socket tests out dead. It is often just some leftover paint; tape, cleaning agent inside the top cover. ( Where the flash contact finger in the shutter area touches the flash contacts inner tip. ) One of course has to remove the top plate to see this brass contact.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone, kind words. <strong>Michael</strong> , I love those deep tones and sharpness in your pictures. Thanks <strong>David </strong> for long years I did not care to find out what was inside the camera. Ed Romney’s and Miles Upton’s repair books really encouraged me to explore and learn. <strong>Kelly</strong> , those years must have given a great feeling prior to 9/11. Yes, I like the Zorki 3; it is very expensive now. Thanks <strong>Louis, Rick</strong> , encouraging as always. Thank you <strong>Gene</strong> ! That purple Zorki looks very neat; reminds me of an architect friend in Honolulu who had a Purple Porche` and a Purple Truck [the tractor type with a front cabin]; the talk of the town. Thanks <strong>JDM</strong> , like to see more of your neighborhood; Spring is approaching!</p>

<p>Zorki's are fun cameras. The designers made them easy to service and adjust. I guess they knew they would need to be serviced and adjusted by the owners. The most difficult thing you will ever need to do is shim the lens mount for proper flange to film plane distance. That's not that hard to do either.</p>

<p>My first interchangeable lens camera was a Zorki 4 bought from Bromsgrove Cameras, Church St, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire for £30 in 1979, I admired it in the window for many months. Got a Christmas Job with the post office and bought it.<br>

Took action pics of cycling and a ski jumper - the man in the shop was amazed with my Ski jumper image's sharpness when the print came back, I only started printing my own later. It was a great camera with a lovely leather case.<br>

Unfortunately I no longer have it as I px'd it for my first SLR a Zenit, which was PX'd for an OM1 that in turn made way for a Nikon FM2. I got a similar camera feel as the Zorki with a Leica M5 taken in part payment for a wedding shoot some years ago.</p>

<p>Beautiful work again, SP. I like that Industar lens results, especially the picture of the two modern girls with woman passing by in traditional dress. Another Zorkite here (-4, and a -6 which I find the easiest to use).</p>

<p>Nice pictures Sabbarayan. Did I mention that I collected all major models of Zorkies except Zorki-2. I would buy that one but I am to cheap to pay 200-300 for non-Leica.<br>

here is my three amigos. My fathers Zorki, Z-3 and Z-3C (surprisingly rarest of all Z-3s)</p><div></div>

<p>Thats a FED lend but the camera looks good.</p>

<p>It is the same Industar 61 made for Fed and branded as N61. sp.</p>