HELP! Zorki 4 is only exposing half of each frame!

P

PatrickCheung

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I just recieved a Zorki 4 I ordered from that auction site... I was real excited since this was my first rangefinder, so I quickly loaded a roll of cheap walmart film in and went out to shoot a test roll. I got the roll back and to my dismay, only half of each frame was exposed! The other half is just... black. Is this caused by the camera shutter, or did I just load the film in wrong?

I've posted an example below:
5406165171_64a4940b57_o.jpg

5406165131_4b1afc5afe_o.jpg


Also... why my photos are all blue remains a mystery to me... I've been using Walmart Kodak film for all my test rolls in the past... and this hasn't ever happened... maybe I fiddled with some settings on my scanner program, I didnt really check settings, just scanned it quickly to show you guys!
 
it could be shutter capping if these were all taken at high speeds. it can't be the way you loaded the film unless there's something blocking half the frame...

try looking though the shutter and firing it- if half the frame is black with high speeds, you've got shutter capping. if it's like that for all speeds, it's some sort of jam... I think if you put the slow speeds escapement in wrong the curtains will jam half way... anyways...

I kinda like the look actually. low contrast with blue tint... feels like a cold morning. maybe a bit too blue though.

cheers.
 
or maybe incomplete winding, i mean that the shutter locked fully but the curtain is just halfway passing.
it happen once on my leica IIF because on the lower area of film compartment, there is kind of mechanism of plate that will move during winding and locked (as well trigger the brake of the drum). the moving plate is attached to a shaft with a screw to it's rectangular shape hole. at that time the screw is loose and the plate rotate 90 degree but again still stay in it's rectangular hole mount. that makes the curtain is only wind around 75% of what it should be.
but this may not be the same as on Zorki mechanism.
 
Thanks guys! Is there a way to fix these myself, or should I send it in for repair... I dont really want to spend a lot to fix up the camera...
 
Rick's site has all that info, too. See if you think you can do it. You shouldn't need any specialized tools, other than small screwdrivers. The Zorki-4 is built like a tractor.
 
I recently had zorki and it has the same problem of capping I realized before putting a film. It might be a common type of problem. I may try to fix by myself as I dont have nothing to lose :) it was free...Is there any favorite sites explaining it clearly for dummies? :)
 
I tried that TV screen method, I dont know if my eyes are just bad, but none of the speeds look like those diagrams Rick posted! They actually all look... more or less the same... the first curtain seems to go by faster than the other, exposing only the left side of the frame... I'm only seeing my TV screen through the left half of the frame, and instead of seeing different "fractions" of the frame for different shutter speeds like on Rick Oleson's guide, I'm seeing more or less a perfect half frame for every speed!

I did a little more research and it seems to be a shutter capping problem... I'm not too sure how to fix it... Rick's site is a bit... confusing to me... so many links!

Also, another question came up while doing my research: I know the original Zorki manual says that I should cut my film before loading... but I figured that it'd be fine if I just used the pre-cut film leader, in other words I loaded the film without cutting it. Does that affect the camera in any way?

I dont know if it's worth the money to get this camera fixed by a professional. I was hoping to save up some money and buy me a Leica M, so if the problem can be fixed by myself I'd really appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction! I'm new to this whole rangefinder thing (i was always an evil SLR kinda guy...), but it seems as if there are a lot of people who fix up these little russian cameras all by themselves (after all, I cleaned the Industar 50 that came with the camera by following a guide...)!

thanks for all your replies!
 
PatrickCheung said:
I tried that TV screen method, I dont know if my eyes are just bad, but none of the speeds look like those diagrams Rick posted! They actually all look... more or less the same... the first curtain seems to go by faster than the other, exposing only the left side of the frame... I'm only seeing my TV screen through the left half of the frame, and instead of seeing different "fractions" of the frame for different shutter speeds like on Rick Oleson's guide, I'm seeing more or less a perfect half frame for every speed!

I did a little more research and it seems to be a shutter capping problem... I'm not too sure how to fix it... Rick's site is a bit... confusing to me... so many links!

Also, another question came up while doing my research: I know the original Zorki manual says that I should cut my film before loading... but I figured that it'd be fine if I just used the pre-cut film leader, in other words I loaded the film without cutting it. Does that affect the camera in any way?

I dont know if it's worth the money to get this camera fixed by a professional. I was hoping to save up some money and buy me a Leica M, so if the problem can be fixed by myself I'd really appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction! I'm new to this whole rangefinder thing (i was always an evil SLR kinda guy...), but it seems as if there are a lot of people who fix up these little russian cameras all by themselves (after all, I cleaned the Industar 50 that came with the camera by following a guide...)!

thanks for all your replies!
Click to expand...
Sounds to me like it needs a proper CLA. If you're willing to invest a little time and are handy with a small set of srewdrivers, try the CLA sticky I wrote, at the top of this sub-forum.

You don't need to trim the leader for the Zorki 4, it's fine with the modern style leader.
 
Ahh... oh boy... quite a daunting task... I'll look into how much it costs to fix up this camera... or maybe just save the money and invest it into a leica.
 
Maybe you could check the curtain tension first. That's pretty easy (has its own sticky here, too).

Not the "proper" order of doing things but might just help enough to make the camera usable. My own Zorki-4 came to me with way over-tensioned curtains, which is quite common.

Worst case, you'll find out that the curtains won't move properly at all once they're slackened, but you won't be any worse off than before.
 
Yeah, I went to the curtain tension thread and opened up my camera to take a look at it.. I dont think it's a shutter problem actually...

It seems to me that the winder doesn't actually bring both shutters to the other side... it leaves the metal cap of the first shutter showing. If the winder is pulled as far right as it will go, the shutter is brought completely to the other side. While holding the winder in that position, all shutter speeds look and sound perfectly normal. However, if the winder is wound taught then let go, it'll spring back a little bit counter clockwise, moving the shutters left. If fired in this position, the shutters move with no gap for the first half of the exposure, and open up for the second half.

Would I be right in saying that the winder is the problem?
 
Sorry for all the inconsistent posts... but with further investigation, it seems as if both shutters are perfectly alligned and synchronized. I'm noticing that as i turn the winding knob 100% taught clockwise, the shutter speed indicator moves with it, which is expected... when the winder is released and springs back a tiny bit counter clockwise, the shutter speed dial moves with it... it seems as if the shutter speed dial is also misalligned... would that affect the shutter in any way? What i'm thinking is that the shutter speed dial is pulling the winder back, messing with the shutter. Also, when wound taught and held in correct position and shooting at speeds lower than 1/125, the winder doesnt seem to engage the shutter release mechanism for a while on the following wind.

So a summary of all my findings:
1. When shutter is wound 100% clockwise, the shutter is pulled completely to the right side, no metal caps of the shutter are visible
2. If you let go of the winder when it's 100% clockwise, something pulls the winder AND shutter speed dial a little counter clockwise, AND pulls the shutter curtains a little to the right, revealing the metal cap of the left/first shutter.
3. When the winder is held in correct position (100% clockwise, no shutter showing), all shutter speeds look correct. If tension on the winder is released and the system springs back counterclockwise/left, the shutters travel at the same speed for the first half (rightside) of the frame, then open up at the last half (left side) of the frame.
4. Curtains seem to be in sync when fired in proper position (100% clockwise, curtains tightly pulled).

I'm really confused as to what might be wrong with my camera, but my biggest guess right now might just be the shutter release mechanism.

I'd like to know what's wrong with it before I start trying to fix it!
 
I'd determine if the speed dial is misaligned first of all. Did you find Rick Oleson's page about the shutter? (You're right, his site is not too organized.) http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-131.html

The inner (rotating) part of the dial can get misaligned easily. Another classic Zorki-4 gremlin... See if the shutter behaves like it should when set to B (that's 6 o'clock as seen from above; conveniently obstructed in Rick's pixelated photo.) If not, keep changing speeds and tripping the shutter until you hit the real B, then loosen the setscrews on the pointer and align it to match.
 
If the shutter dial turns back after winding then I'd be checking first to see if the ratchet pawl on the winder gears is working properly (you can see it by looking above the spool, with the back off).

How old is your Zorki? Later ones had a second shutter latch in the base of the camera, early ones don't have this but it can be fitted to them if you can source the parts. The second latch guarantees the shutter stays fully cocked. It can be found below the curtain drum, hidden by a small cover in the base of the camera. You can tell if it's there and working, it makes a small click just as the shutter is fully wound on.
 
Ahh, yes I found that article, I read it once, but I've been reading a LOT of articles lately, so I can't really remember all of them :( I'll try and re-allign it when I decide to fix this thing!

I can't seem to find a ratchet pawl... only a bunch of gears above the spool... I double checked your CLA thread for a diagram but I cant seem to pin point exactly where it's supposed to be! Maybe i'm just looking in the wrong area, I took the spool out and looked at the area above it, so basically... under the top plate?

it's a '65 zorki... from my understanding. The serial number is 65681967
 
Alternately put it on eBay as a collectable unique half frame variant Zorki with a buy it now price of $2450.00

Sorry! :D
 
Keith, no lie, my dad suggested doing something similar. It's an asian parent thing!

Hummm... even with the diagram, I dont see it... maybe it's because I dont know how a pawl looks like D:
 
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