Got my first fsu's

[Martti K.]

I got my first fsu-rangefinder few weeks ago. Originally I was going to buy some cheap russian lens for my Pentax, but this plan somehow ended up with Zorki-Zorki 1c coming in the mail. And I'm glad it did, Zorki seems to be a very nice camera indeed.

I shot my first roll of film with Zorki with pleasure, but then it turned out that there was some major problems with shutter curtains and they need to be replaced. In fact I'm glad about it. The guy I bought Zorki from showed some very fine salesmanship. He offered Fed 2 in somewhat good condition as a compensation and I agreed gladly. And it works. Especially after some cleaning, oiling etc. I would say that apart from shutter curtains Zorki 1 is in very good condition considering it's age. And there's nothing bad to be said about quality of construction. It seems that it might have not been in use for last few decades. Type of damage in curtains suggests that as well as the overall good condition. Fed 2 seems like it has seen some action, and it doesn't feel as good in terms of quality than Zorki. These seem to be quite nice cameras and I fear they will not be my last fsu's... I'm glad I have a very understanding wife who is interested in many kinds of interesting old junk too...

Maybe I post some pictures taken with Fed later this evening, after few hours in darkroom.

 

[shadowfox]

Martti,
I got my Zorki 1f as a freebie, a bonus for buying some lenses.
I would never have expected to find it a very smooth camera, as you said, the build quality is higher than that of the other FSU cameras I've seen.

Back then I already have a Leica IIIc, spent money servicing it. In the end, I sold the Leica, and kept the Zorki until today 🙂

 

[konicaman]

Welcome to the club - sorry to hear that you have joined, now there is no turning back for you 😀 FSUs are addictive, so no - it will certainly not be your last. But as I always point out there are worse (and more expensive) addictions. Have fun and let us see some shots.

Cheers
Henrik

 

[bulevardi]

Shoot some pics at Mannerheimintie for me 🙂

I have a Zorki S since 2 weeks, still shooting my first roll too.

 

[oftheherd]

FSUs do have an allure of their own. I think the problems that we end up fixing are part of the allure. But I was lucky with my Kiev, it only needed some yak yarn substitute to work perfectly. But then I had to have all the lenses for it I could afford. It can be a slippery slope. 😀

Also welcome to RFF. I'm sure others have already said so in other posts, but I had missed your first post.