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Zorki and FED ??


fotografya

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All I wonder is, how does the rangefinder work in Zorki and FED with Jupiter 12-

11-9 lens ? How should I mount the lens in order to have accurate ranging? In

Contax copy "Kiev", all the lens series work , but in screw mount lenses I

mentioned above, does rangefinder function for each?

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In Zorki and Fed cameras, the mechanism is similar to that used by the Barnack Leicas (i.e. before the M series). As you focus the lens, a helical moves a cylinder in the back of the lens in an out of the camera body. A mechanical piece in the camera body makes contact with said cylinder and moves the rangefinder image, so you can focus.

 

So yes, rangefinder works with every one of those lenses. Now, accuracy is a different issue altogether - rangefinder in the body may need adjustment and lenses may need shimming.

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The rangefinder functions fine but through the viewfinder you will not see what the lens sees. For that you will need to get an attachable viewfinder for the lens you are using. Check out this site. Excellent info.

http://jay.fedka.com/index.htm

 

This page will show the various viewfinders available.

http://jay.fedka.com/index_files/Page314.htm

 

When mounting just screw it on until it is snug, not tight and if everything is adjusted correctly all will be fine.

 

If there is a problem with the focus the above website contains info to guide you along to fix your FSU Leica copy. That's the beauty of these gems, you can fix them youself with a little patience.

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Actually some of these lenses originally were Zeiss designs, and were adapted to fit LTM by the soviets. This means that they had to add a suitable rangefinder coupling mechanism which was completely different on the Contax/Kiev cameras (and which, btw, makes it very difficult to use LTM lenses on Contax/Kiev, there are adaptors but they are VERY complicated and expensive).

 

The Jupiter-12, for example, has two helicoids for focussing, each with a rather small pitch. Both move together and so the result is a rather long displacement for focussing as it is needed for a 85mm lens. The rangefinder coupling mechanism added by the soviets uses a third helicoid. When reassembling such a lens, all those helicoids must be in proper position relative to each other - and they all are multiturn threads with several possible start positions. (The good news is that the number of possible combinations is limited and can be reduced by careful disassembly.) Also, the rangefinder coupling helicoid can NOT be adjusted, the coupling screws were drilled into place when the lens was first assembled. (This, btw, is the reason for so many focussing problems: either someone made a Frankenstein lens with parts from several different items, or did not reassemble the rangefinder helicoid correctly.)

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