Help with Zorki 1c

[Nando]

Hi,

I'm in a bit of a panic here. Today I received a Zorki 1c (Zorki-Zorki) from Yuri at Fedka. It looks beautiful and I mean really beautiful. RF is nice and contrasty, viewfinder is very bright. I fired a few shots to test the shutter speeds and everything sounded ok. I made sure to wind the shutter first before setting the shutter speed every time. I was then ready to load this baby up with some film. I moved the rewind lever to the 'B' position and the winding gears didn't disengage. I probably should have left it alone until I got help from Yuri but I moved rewind lever back to its normal position and it then became extremely loose. It now just dangles back and forth. I've sent an email to Yuri but in the meantime I was wondering what you guys think and if there is anything I can do.

Thanks.

 

[reagan]

Maybe a little more info? Does the shutter cock and fire?

 

[Nando]

Thank you for replying. Yes. The shutter does cock and fire. Everything seems fine except that the winding gears do not disengage when I move the rewind lever to the B position. The rewind lever is now very loose.

 

[reagan]

Sorry Fernando, got called away. The screw that holds the RW lever in place is screwed into a square shaft. Is the screw tight and the lever seated firmly on the shaft?

 

[Nando]

Yes, the screw is tight and the lever is seated firmly on the shaft. The first time I moved the lever to the B position, there was resistance. Now its really loose.

 

[reagan]

When the lever is moved, you can see the shutter release move slightly up and down?

 

[Nando]

The first time, yes. Now it doesn't move at all.

 

[Santafecino]

No joke--this is realtime dramatic--let's see how it all comes out. Guys?

 

[reagan]

nando and I are going for coffee... 😉

 

[Nando]

Hey CVBLZ4,

Thanks for the help. I just visited your website. My Zorki-Zorki looks very much like your black-paint Zorki-Zorki except mine has chrome knobs.

I've calmed down a bit since it first broke down. When I first realized that something us screwed up, I went into full panic mode. I'm still a bit frantic.

Yuri from Fedka hasn't replied to my email yet but I trust that he will reply in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[reagan]

Okay, I'm back. I couldn't remember what the *widget* cam looked like inside the camera. Excuse the crappy/quicky cell.phone pics below. The cam [which the lever is attached to] is a very short tube cut at an angle (first pic) to move a gear down, disengaging spindle/film advance, etc. (2nd pic). Possibly yours has developed some play so that this cam doesn't catch the edge of the round lip and move the gear downward.

Since you just recieved it from Yuri, I'd advise sending it back to him, if it's not much trouble, and let him take care of it. I'm sure he'll make good on a camera just recieved. Which side of the Atlantic are you and the Zorki on?

I don't think it's a very difficult fix, if you want to try to tackle it yourself.

 

[Nando]

Thanks for the help CVBLZ4 and taking the time to take the photos. I'll probably send it back to be fixed. It looks like it will be a simple fix for Yuri or his tech. I'm glad because other than this problem, the camera seems to work fine and its gorgeous. I would hate to exchange it for a different one.

Although I have two locations in my profile, I'm currently in Canada. So the same side of the Atlantic as Yuri.

 

[reagan]

Not a bad idea. They can probably have it going quickly.

If you stick your finger lightly just inside the bottom of the camera, you can feel the shaft that moves with your RW lever. Does it turn as you wind on?

 

[reagan]

This shaft is a long thin spool and the cam slips under the other end of it. Apparently, the cam is riding to the side of the end of this spool rather than pushing it downward.

The shaft/spool is held up with a light spring. If you can jiggle it up and down lightly while turning the RW lever, it might go back into place... maybe?

 

[Nando]

I can't get my finger in there very well. I suffer from chubby fingers. I managed to get in there with end of my pinky. The shaft doesn't move except for a little nudge downward (perhaps a 1mm distance) when I move the lever to the B position and also another little nudge downward when I move the lever back to the normal position.

 

[Nando]

Yuri just responded. It looks like I'll be sending it back. He is going to give me the shipping instructions tomorrow.

I'm not worried about it too much. I didn't plan to use the camera until the spring time. If I used it now in these freezing temperatures, my eyelid would probably get stuck to the rf.

 

[reagan]

If I used it now in these freezing temperatures, my eyelid would probably get stuck to the rf.

Yeah, I hate it when that happens. -17°C here at the present, so I can relate. Yuri seems like a good guy to work things out so I'm sure he'll take care of you. Be of good cheer; that's sort of a fluke deal there; can't recall that malady before, but you're going to enjoy the Zorki.Zorki. They're actually pretty durable little rascals. A good choice, IMO.

 

[Nando]

The last few days its been around -22 to -25 here and lots of blizzards. It actually been a very warm winter up to about two weeks ago and now its back to normal Canadian weather.

Anyway, I mailed out the Zorki-Zorki to Yuri's repairman this morning. Although I've never put any film through it, I already miss it.

I hope to get it back in 3-4 weeks.

 

[reagan]

Oooo... nice. Definately a keeper there. Ya done good, Nando.

The wait is the worst part of FSUs; absolute killer. You'd think I'd learn, but no. The two Leica.IIIs I now possess came from, where? The States? NO!! Both came from Motherland Russia... took for-e-veeerrrrr!! My brother tells me I'm either the most patient soul in the world or a total idiot. 🙁 Even as we speak, I'm setting a new personal record for waiting on the Postman... so far, 39 days and counting... from Siberia. :bang:

 

[gb hill]

Nando Thats a sweet Zorki 1. that black on black is the first I believe ive seen on a Zorki. Hope the weeks pass by swiftly. MOF it's around six or seven weeks til the shoot all day on the Equonox. At least it will be back by then.🙂 And much warmer too!😉 I hope!