Zorky 4 or 6 : which one to get?

<p>Hello !<br />Wich one is better? I need one to shoot with , not just for collecting . And : are the Kiev 4 better ?</p>

<p>I had to make this decision myself a while ago…</p>

<p>From memory, I didn't find many differences between the 4 and 6 — the biggest difference was knob vs lever winding. General opinion of the lever on the 6 wasn't great (read complaints of long throw and uncomfortably thin lever) so I went with the 4.<br>

IMO the winding knobs on the 4 and Kiev 4 are about the same, but the Zorki's is taller and may be more comfortable. Neither are as good as my Zorki C, which has the older(?) style knob (feels more like a nail file)<br>

The 6 has a hinged back (with a supposedly badly designed lock — from photos, it looks like the locks on Holgas but I hope it's stronger than that) and the 4 has a removable back (with 2 locks on the bottom)<br>

I think I read somewhere that you can change speeds on the 6 without winding on first, but I can't confirm that. The 4's manual says you have to wind on before changing speeds else you'll wreck the shutter or something…</p>

<p>The Kievs are better for rough use and clean design — the Kiev 4a has a total of 2 knobs on it, while the Zorki 4 has…4. Apparently the RF design of the Kiev makes it almost impossible to knock out of alignment, while the Zorkis, following Leica's 2 prism(?) design gets knocked out more easily.<br>

Then again, readjusting the Kiev's RF requires disassembling most of the camera, while on Zorki's it's done by removing a few screws.</p>

<p>My Zorki 4's back locks feel more elegant than my Kiev 4a, but that might be a QC thing.</p>

<p>You get more lens choice with the Zorkis as they use M39, but I find that the Kiev's bayonet feels much harder to damage and there's no possibility of cross-threading.<br>

On the other hand, the Kiev's built-in helical has a ridiculously long throw, which I can't stand. And unless you jam it, there's infinity lock on any lens that uses the built-in helical.</p>

<p>Should mention that the Kiev's VF is appalling compared to the Zorki 4, but because it's dimmer, the RF patch is easier to see, and it's square, not blob.<br>

Actually, I don't know what the shape of the RF patch on the Zorkis are. On my C, it's circular. On my 4, all I see is a blob. Works fine for me, might not for you.</p>

<p>It just goes to show that we like what we are "imprinted" on.<br>

I personally find the Leica copies (Zorki and FED) to be much clumsier to use than the Contax copy (the Kiev). (but I feel the same way about the "prototypes").</p>

<p>I'd take a Kiev anyday. I have two of them, one is a butter-smooth Kiev "converted" into an all-black "Contax II", but the other one is sailing under its own colors. It is a little "grittier" but seems to work just as well. The lenses available for it are getting a little pricier, but they are really good copies of some of the Zeiss all-time classic lenses.</p>

<p>I do like my FEDs better than the Zorkis, if you're wedded to the idea of a Leica clone. I have a FED-2 which still sort of looks like a Leica (but in Communist RED), and a no-longer-looks-like-a-Leica-but-still-M39 FED-4. Both work flawlessly. The built-in selenium meter on the FED-4 even works. :)</p>

<p>I just came across this web site that I got sucked into. Check out the <a href="00XJQc">Welta Weltini questions</a> thread below. There's a link in that thread to a Danish collector and shooter of classic mostly German cameras, folders etc. He also writes about the Soviet Cameras including the Kiev's and Zorkis, and stated that for the company that made the contax knockoffs in the years right after WWII up to 1949, they used actual Contax parts that were lifted from the plant in Germany. Might be worth some research to find one of those, but maybe they will be more pricey and no guarantee on how well they were assembled. </p>

<p>The Zorki 4 has speeds from 1 sec to 1/1000, while the Zorki 6 has only 1/30 to 1/500. The Kiev 4 is larger and heavier than the either of the Zorki's, but it has a vertical metal shutter which will give you more even exposures. I find that I can hand-hold shots with the Kiev down to 1/25 of a second while with my Zorki's I can only go down to 1/100.<br>

The tradeoff on the Kiev is that the shutter is more complex and less aminable to diy repairs. If you get a bad one you probably will not be able to fix it yourself.</p>

<p>With Zorki 4 there were many more made than Zorki 6</p>

<p>Thus pranksers "create" them in: purple; red; black; orange; white; brown; too!</p>

<p>Zorki 6 is the most simple and robust camera of these three. It has a unique design feature, not visible at the first glance: it's front standard and film rails are cast as one single part. I suspect it might be (or at least can be turned into) the most dependable rangefinder camera in the world.</p>