How to load a Zorki

[dll927]

Does anyone have a handle on why the Zorki people had so much trouble deciding how to open their cameras?

My Zorki-1 and S (C) are bottom-loading, Leica LTM-style.
On 3 and 4, the whole back comes off, Kiev-style.
On 5, it's back to bottom-loading.
It took up to 6 to have a modern hinged back.

They were even doing both at once, since it seems the Zorki-4 outlasted both the 5 and the 6. (Is that why every Zorki is "rare" on eBay??)

It might be worth mentioning that I have a Leica M4-2, but the M series has that nice "back door" to facilitate loading.

Or were the Zorki people just fond of their vodka?

 

[pshinkaw]

KMZ had had 2 parallel production series going. The Zorki-1 basically branched into the Zorki-2, Zorki-3 series (removeable back), Zorki-4 series, and ended with the Zorki-4K.
The Zorki-1 also branched into the Zorki-S (aka C), Zorki-2S (aka 2C), Zorki-5 and finally the Zorki-6 (where they got rid of the bottom loading). Think of as a family tree splitting like the Nikon/Nikkormat family.

As to what they were thinking...

-Paul