Black Zorki, what ?

[mmikaoj]

Ok so I was shopping for a zorki as a low-price user replacement for an old leica-model.. (since I cant afford a real leica)
A friend of mine has an old leica III his grandfather used and its such a beauty so I figured it would be cool to photograph with a camera like that. And its black, which i find gorgeous!

So this is what i bought, from the dreaded e-bay:

http://www.dvdtechnik.com/ebay/leica_c/zorki/3/1.jpg

The Zorki-sign is stamped, not engraved and ive been told its manufactured around 48-56 by Ukraine FED. What Im wondering is about the lens.
Its a Industar 22 50-3.5 but it has a black front.
Im not sure if i think this looks good or not but I havent seen any with black fronts earlier.
So whats the deal with that?

 

[Spyderman]

In fact that particular camera is one from the late series maybe around 52-56, and was made by KMZ. Looks like a nice camera... but why do you think they painted it?

 

[mmikaoj]

but why do you think they painted it?

I havent got the slightest idea, it looks kind of weird.
Would there be any practial reasons or is it just cosmetical?
Any ways, cant wait to start shooting with this great looking camera

 

[Jocko]

I havent got the slightest idea, it looks kind of weird.
Would there be any practial reasons or is it just cosmetical?
Any ways, cant wait to start shooting with this great looking camera

Just cosmetic - DVD are addicted to painting, but they are a decent company and the camera should work well - not always the case with "improved" examples 🙂 Incidentally, the lens is an Industar 50, the replacement for the I-22, introduced c.1953 and remaining in production until 1971. It's a good lens!

All the best, Ian

 

[mmikaoj]

Incidentally, the lens is an Industar 50, the replacement for the I-22, introduced c.1953 and remaining in production until 1971. It's a good lens!

wow! how could you tell?
so whats the big difference betwen the i-22 and 1-50?
now i find this camera even more exciting 🙂

 

[SteveM(PA)]

Nice camera! Black, with no militarist/commemorative ambitions. I think the I-50 just had improved coatings, but I think it looks better than the I-22 in general, very purposeful with no giant lettering/graphics. This particular black version looks great! What is this feeling I'm feeling. 🙂

 

[Richard Black]

I bought a painted black, Rolling Stones song comes to mind, Mir from Rus-foto and have been quite pleased. In my case they cleaned it as well as painted it black. If they do a great job the camera is quite nice.

 

[gb hill]

Wonderful camera. I know you'll enjoy taking beautiful pictures of Sweden with this camera. Find a good working exposure meter like a Leningrad to make your fsu experience more enjoyable. BTW are you familiar with bottom loading?🙂

 

[gb hill]

Here's a good site to check out by the way:

FED & ZORKII SURVIVAL SITE

 

[Nando]

DVDtechnic (Yuriy Davidenko) is a good seller. I bought an almost mint Helios 40-2 lens for less than what they usually go for on eBay and delivery from Kiev was really quick. I have a black-paint Zorki as well but I got it from Yuri at Fedka. (link to photo) It's a very nice camera that I can take with me everywhere I go. Quite the conversation piece too.

 

[mmikaoj]

Wonderful camera. I know you'll enjoy taking beautiful pictures of Sweden with this camera. Find a good working exposure meter like a Leningrad to make your fsu experience more enjoyable. BTW are you familiar with bottom loading?🙂

I really think I'll love it! Actually I recently bought a VC meter II from abenner here on RFF so Im just waiting for it to arrive.
And its black too so these too babies are gonna look drop dead gorgeus together (and be a thrill to shoot with!).
Im really not familiar with bottom loading, are there any difficulties involved? My leicablessed-friend apparantly loaded his so I figured it wouldnt be to hard.
Am I wrong?

Thanks for the link too, but DVDtechnic suplies the same text printed with all their Zorkis 🙂

 

[Nando]

Loading is pretty easy if you follow the instructions on the Fed/Zorki Survival website. I find the hardest part is making sure that the film engages the sprocket teeth because its a bit hard to see into the camera especially when loading in a dimly lit place.

 

[wolves3012]

I havent got the slightest idea, it looks kind of weird.
Would there be any practial reasons or is it just cosmetical?
Any ways, cant wait to start shooting with this great looking camera

Often they get painted because the chrome is worn badly or falling off and the camera was tatty. At least this one looks like they did a decent job and not spoil it with swastkas or luftwaffe markings in bright orange or other such stuff. I like the black finish but I'd worry about scratching it. Some cameras that were black used black chrome not paint but I doubt the russians ever used such a technique. Nice looking camera anyway 😎

 

[mmikaoj]

So it arrived, finaly, two days ago!
I must say it's quite a beauty! Everything works fine and the mechanism feels great, smoth yet firm! I have even managed to load a roll of t-max into it!
Take a look at the attached picture 🙂

My only problem so far is the cold shoe mount: since its been painted its to "tight" and I cant insert my VC II meter proper.
Any suggestions on how to strip away the paint on the inside of the cold shoe?

 

[rxmd]

Any suggestions on how to strip away the paint on the inside of the cold shoe?

Folded sandpaper. And/or carefully bend up the sides of the accessory shoe a little bit with a fine pair of pliers - I had to do that with my unpainted Z-1.

 

[Nando]

This is almost like deju-vu for me. I had a similar problem. Check out this thread.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37680