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Zorki 1 and me and my canoe.


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Loaded some quite out of date Kodak Gold 200 my Zorki 1, Type 1 - 2 later

version (actually I'm really not sure as I've not taken the time to research

beyond the minimum but it seems to fit the profile) and set out for a sunny

afternoon paddle on the local Harbour. I've had this camera for five years or

so and never even tried it out. It sat on the shelf and looks pretty (as you

can see by the layer of dust on the top...shame!). I didn't know if it would

work properly, if the shutter curtains had holes or not or even why I wanted to

try it. It was just there.

 

So down to the water for a lazy afternoon dodging speedboats, sailboats,

harbour planes and Harbour Seals.

 

Hope you enjoy the results.<div>00LoVz-37376984.jpg.8c7cdc34241e3edec8cb5c587b5c6ebe.jpg</div>

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Dammit - just when I had temporarily conquered the Zorki 1 wishfulness. I have a Zorki 4K which I love (my first "proper" camera) but am increasingly taken with the 1. This isn't helping! It really is a lovely camera and the pictures are wonderfully sharp.
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Thanks for looking all. I don't think the camera did too bad. I didn't think this Zorki would be any good as it was made in 1955 and I know I'm not any good any more. The year of manufacture (the same year as me) is why I purchased it to begin with and I thought it would look nice sitting in my classic camera cabinet. It most likely has never been serviced since then, so you can see my thinking concerning it's ability to work properly.

 

So all I did was load the film (which is a bit of a PITA, by the way as it is like the Leica's of the same era and the film is loaded from the bottom) and threw it in the canoe with the rest of my stuff. Exposure was by sunny 16 (pretty hard to miss as it was a full on sunny day on open water) so I think everything except the last one was 250 @ F 11/16. There was no post scanning manipulation except for a slight crop of a couple.

 

I suppose that the results could have been better if I'd used fresh film and not had them developed and scanned at the local drug store/one hour photo but under the circumstances I was suitably surprised. Must remember to extend the lens fully so as to avoid the fuzzy look to the harbour seals next time.

 

Other than the above mentioned minor film loading and lens issues there were no real problems with using the camera. Switching from the rangefinder to the viewfinder was not an issue as I expected it might be. I'm used to my Zeiss Ikon Contina and Ikonta which both have an uncoupled rangefinder so that might have helped. There was a bit of lens flare in a few of the photos when I took a shot too close to the angle of the sun or reflection off the water and I'm not sure but I don't think the lens is coated (someone else might know better than me). Using filters for B/W might be annoying as they would have to be pushed on and the aperture adjustment would be covered so you'd have to take it off every time you wanted to change a setting. One would just have to get used to slower way of operating. Not necessarily a bad thing.

 

I think I will try it again with fresh film, more attention to detail (fewer random snapshots) and a better quality processing company. Leica and it's clones are not really my interest (Zeiss Ikon of various types are more suited to my taste) but it was a fun way to spend the afternoon of a sunny day.

 

The canoe (since a few commented and I hope the moderators don't mind a moment off topic) is a 15' Hiawatha Bear Mountain design with some minor alterations. It's constructed of cedar strip/epoxy and I put it together a couple years ago. It weighs close to 60lb, about 15lb more than it should. I put an extra layer of fiberglass and epoxy on the bottom because I use it mainly in the ocean around Victoria, B.C., Canada. With the extra protection I can haul it up on the rough coastal beaches and not worry too much about messing up the bottom.

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Hi,

Grey Owl; Slough's finest export. A man who lived his dream and all kudos to him. To imagine he knew the ancient technique for standing up in a canoe as well as everything else is brilliant. Perhaps he went out on the boating lake at Ally Pally to practise before emigrating to the wild and woolly Canadian outback.

Andy.

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