How close are Zorkis to Leicas?

[MarkoKovacevic]

Sure, they are probably not as precise or smooth, but what are their differences and similarities? Also, are the russian lenses almost as good as the old Leicas, better, or a lot worse?

 

[Rob-F]

Well, I have a Russian fisheye for my Nikon that is really good. Also, some people rave about the Russian Jupiter lenses for the Leica (or Zorki). SOme are (reportedly excellent) copies of Zeiss lenses, like the Sonnar f/1.5.

 

[xayraa33]

I use Zorki and Leica, to me a Zorki is a Zorki and a Leica is a Leica.
I enjoy using both brands but i would never confuse one for the other.
a good Zorki camera does ok for a 60 dollar camera.

 

[f6andBthere]

Your Zorki could be stolen from your carry bag and you'll only lose a couple of night's sleep ... instead of requiring grief councelling!

 

[bmattock]

Sure, they are probably not as precise or smooth, but what are their differences and similarities?

"So excellent a king; that was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr...."

 

[Silva Lining]

Zorki to Leica
Lada to Bentley

(Oh and I have shot many more Zorkis than Leicas)

 

[payasam]

When I had a IIIc I bought a 1c as a second body. They went so well together that I was often not conscious of which I was using.

 

[Ron (Netherlands)]

When I had a IIIc I bought a 1c as a second body. They went so well together that I was often not conscious of which I was using.

Don't get to see the ref to the Zorkis??..Oh.well I just have as much Zorki's as Leica's. If you have a well serviced one a zorki can be as smooth as a leica. Mind you the zorki compares only to the leica II. But if you take account of slow shutterspeeds, you could extend comparison by looking at a Zorki III which has also the slow speed knob on the front. However although it seems that Zorki III is a little more advanced, Leica III and therefore also ZIII at that time of introduction was already an anachronism. Differences became all the more appearent when Leica introduced the M-camera. And although there were some new Zorki models introduced lateron, they were never more advanced than the earlier models.

Please note however that Zorkis and other FSU cameras are nice to collect and fun to shoot with! IMHO almost all FSU lenses stay quite behind Leitz glass, but thats no problem at all, just put Leitz glass on your Zorki's like in the below pic (all Leica screwmountlenses fit the Zorki's):

 

[David Murphy]

If you can get a good Zorki 4 or 4K body for $50-$60 USD or so, enjoy it and use it. Some of the lenses, like their Elmar clone are decent. These mass produced Russian rangefinders cannot be compared to any Leica directly however (a much more expensive and refined system), but they can be a good buy.

 

[john341]

You can tell them apart with your eyes shut and the Zorki shutter is a bit noisier than the Leica, but my Leica has needed servicing twice but the Zorki chugs along like a Stalin tank. As for lenses, I think both families produced decent off-spring.

 

[ZorkiKat]

If you're comparing a Leica to an equivalent Zorki, with all things equal, the differences are almost nil. An average aged Leica II will be like a Zorki-1 in terms of use; this is also to say that a well-adjusted Zorki-1 can match a well-adjusted Leica II as a shooter. So in the end the difference is the cost.

I don't really have a Leica II, but have some Leica III. And many Zorki-1. If the Zorki had a slow speed dial, I'd say that almost any of them can match the Leica III.

 

[payasam]

Ron, the IIIc (Roman numerals) was a Leica, the 1C (Arabic numeral) was a Zorki.

 

[Kozhe]

Can´t compare since I have no Leicas but all I can say is that my Zorki I, and any other in good shape I guess, is a good camera.

There´s nothing magic inside them, I´d say it´s all about tolerancies and manufacturing acuracy. I don´t think a Leica will make you a better photographer or a Zorki ruin your life...