Oleg Returns the Colonel's Zorki 4

[john_wire]

The Colonel's Zorki 4 (an engraved gift from the Commander in Chief

of the Air Force) arrived recently after a CLA by Oleg. Awesome

improvement from what I sent him! This is a "neat" little camera with

an incredible viewfinder/rangefinder, small and "smooth/intuitive"

operation compared to my Electro GT but not as quiet.

 

I purchased the Z to use with LTM lenses in my quest for the "Leica

glow" (smile). Starting with a J8 and Kodak Gold, I didn't find it in

the first roll. The pix does show good contrast and sharpness. Not

bad for an old FSU camera using consumer film and Kmart processing. I

think it needs some Kodachrome though. Regards.<div></div>

[frank.schifano]

That's great! I love hearing stories like this one. Some of those old FSU cameras are quite good and quite a bang for the buck too. I wouldn't put much of the blame for bad performance on the camera or even the Kodak Gold film. It's not the greatest stuff on earth, but it's not bad either. The problem almost alway lies with 1 hour lab processing. I can't tell you how many prints I've seen that were just plain garbage even though the negatives were good. Instead of Kodachrome though, load up with a roll or two of Tri-X and have a go at processing it yourself. Once you get the hang of it, you might not want to go back.

[wayne_cornell2]

A presentation Z4 is fairly unusual. Seems like a lot of the earlier Zorki 2Cs were used for presentations. Several showed up on the bay a couple of years ago. But I haven't seen many inscribed Z4s

 

Oleg does good work. I've sent him several cameras, in fact he just finished replacing the curtains on an early postwar FED 1 and rebuilding a "Red" Zorki 5 for me. They are on their way home as we speak.

[john_wire]

I used to do that Frank. I'm afraid to start again, not enough time, but maybe...... Regards.

[john_wire]

I was looking for a Kiev Wayne, when I saw this Zorki. The price was right so I purchased it as a "Buy it Now". The engraving was unusual and that was the deciding factor. When it arrived it was in need of the CLA, it actually "squeaked" when advancing film and some other things. Cosmetically it appeared almost unused. Oleg does a great job.

 

The presentation units seem to come and go on ebabe at the same time. I think the Sellers over there are looking to sell the latest "Fad" cameras/lenses that are popular on these forums. Look at the prices of Jupiter 9's now, compared to several years ago. In fact, it seems that everything is selling for more now.

 

Regards.

[wayne_cornell2]

The price increases may not continue as shipping prices from FSU regions have shot up dramatically. It used to cost $12 to get a camera from most Ukraine points. Now it's $20 or more.

The main increases I have seen pricewise have been in the Zorki and FED 1s. Two years ago I picked up some really nice cameras from that group for $30 to $40. You might find some beaters for that price now but most are above $50 -- and a lot of sellers now are listing prices in pounds which really drives up prices for U.S. buyers. Can't blame them for trying to get whatever the market will bear -- that's capitalism:)