Finally used the Zorki 1

farlymac

farlymac

PF McFarland
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Jan 1, 2009
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I got this camera early last year, and it has been sittting around waiting to get used. Today was it's big chance, and 'Houston, we have a problem'.

Like a lot of old shutter curtains, this one is full of holes. But I was able to salvage some shots with a bit of work in PSE8.


00440006_2 by br1078phot, on Flickr


00440027_2 by br1078phot, on Flickr


00440028_2 by br1078phot, on Flickr


00440030_2 by br1078phot, on Flickr

I figure that if I really want to shoot this camera on ICCD (May 1), I'll need to keep the lens cap on until I am ready to shoot, and put it right back on. Only it doesn't fit very tightly, and is prone to just fall off somewhere without me knowing it. Sigh.

PF

See the full set at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/sets/72157626453885401/
 
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Wow, the first shot looks a bit like a UFO invasion!

On the bright side I would never have guessed there were issues looking at the next three.

Very nice stuff in your gallery!
 
Cover the curtains with a very thin layer of Liquid Electrical Tape. That worked great for patching the pinholes on my Zorki I.
 
Stuart John said:
I fixed my FED3 with spots of black nail varnish.
Click to expand...
Uh... that's quite interesting,
because I think a nail polish should be cheaper and more retrievable than the liquid electrical tape.

Just one question: does it allow the necessary flexibility that a silk curtain needs?
 
efinglada said:
I read somewhere that if holes are tiny, yo can apply black paint for fabrics.

Eduardo
Click to expand...

That is what I used on one of my FED-2's which had a serious cluster of pin holes in the shutter. It worked will with out reducing the flexability of the curtain.
 
LET remains pliable as long as you don't put big gobs of the stuff on the curtains. I found that brushing a thin layer on a problem spot with a Q-tip usually covers most pin holes.

I guess small spots of nail varnish or paint aren't going to mess up the Zorki either.
 
pschauss said:
That is what I used on one of my FED-2's which had a serious cluster of pin holes in the shutter. It worked will with out reducing the flexability of the curtain.
Click to expand...

You're right I didn't expose my question correctly, let me rephrase it better: the silk curtain is continuously wrapped up around cylindrical drums, for this reason I guess a solid layer (like a nail polish should be) could crack easily and then it could detach from this flexible surface. Of course I've just made a guess, not sure at all about what happens with only a small dot of polish.

Other experiences are welcome, then I'll try this smart tip.
 
I have had good results with inexpensive black fabric paint. The paint is used for painting or silk screening tee shirts and will remain flexible. It is available at most fabric stores.
 
I think the paint will be the better choice of the two. I worry that the LET will cause shutter speed changes if it gets sticky to another surface.

PF
 
schmoo said:
Wow, the first shot looks a bit like a UFO invasion!

On the bright side I would never have guessed there were issues looking at the next three.

Very nice stuff in your gallery!
Click to expand...

Thanks Schmoo. Photoshop has done wonders for my presentable pics. But for these, the only two things I did was removing the 'orbs', and cropping. The rest is the low resolution scans I got from the shop. Would have looked better if I wasn't broke half the time. :D

PF
 
farlymac, just to put your mind at ease. Once LET is dry (a thin layer cures in within an hour, but I waited a day between layers) it is no longer sticky, but still flexible like rubber. ;)
I've coated large sections of both Zorki and Perfex Fifty-Five curtains with several layers on top of each other without any problems.

Zorki I results (don't mind the funky Ektar 100 colors ;) )
 
Rick, I went ahead and painted the curtain today as 1: it was cheaper, and 2: it was quicker. Your method is okay, but after looking at the photos (and one really has to nail the exposures with Ektar), as long as the thing is torn down, I would replace the curtains. You can order them already assembled, you just have to glue them to the drums.

Ran another roll through it this afternoon, will get it developed and scanned tomorrow. After all the ugly weather that broke out yesterday, today was totally beautiful. All the tornados went past our valley, but others were not as fortunate, and so far there are 8 deaths in Virginia, with almost 300 area wide.

PF
 
I need to do a shutter replacement on another Zorki I. I already have a new set of curtains for it, I just need to find the time to actually install them.
These unlike those in the Zorki in the previous post were tread-bare and had some tears. Too much to fix with just LET or paint.

Anyway, I'm sure your pictures will turn out fine now (if you've managed to plug all the holes).

regards,
 
Rick,

Got the second roll back, and there are still some leaks, but not as bad. If not much time elapses between exposures, then there is no problem. But I went ahead and put two more coats on the 1st curtain, then two coats on the 2nd curtain. I was trying to determine which curtain may be in worse shape, but didn't take the time to write anything down. Will do another roll tomorrow, then see what the end results are. Here is a panoramic from today:


Roanoke Valley Spring 2011 by br1078phot, on Flickr

By the way, what do you do to set the speeds after a teardown?

PF
 
It's Fixed!

It's Fixed!

Just in time for International Communist Camera Day (ICCD May 1), I've got the leaks sealed on the shutter. Four coats of black fabric paint on both curtains did the trick. And the curtains look so much better now. Here are some shots from today:


211382-R1-8A_1 by br1078phot, on Flickr


211382-R1-16A by br1078phot, on Flickr


211382-R1-17A by br1078phot, on Flickr


211382-R1-33A by br1078phot, on Flickr

You can see the complete set at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/sets/72157626492021835/

Now to join my comrads in glorious photography for the Proletariat!

PF
 
Nice set,

What lens are you using on yours? If I were to venture a guess your images have a typical Industar-22 signature.
Some images appear a little darker on the right side. My Zorki C had the same problem, but it disappeared with exercise.
 
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