Ronald_H
Don't call me Ron
After getting a FED5c as a present, and buying a Zorki 4K for very little money, I now face a dilemma:
Both cameras look great, near mint, but both have their problems:
The FED has an awfully dirty and dark viewfinder. You can focus with it, but it's not really useable in anything but bright sunlight. However, the shutter is spot on, so the camera sees a bit of use as a wide angle shooting platform.
The Zorki has dragging shutter curtains at slower speeds, and sometimes at faster speeds the shutter only fires after releasing the button. But the finder is crystal clear and very usable.
I asked my repair guy if he could fix them (he did good work on my Leicas and Nikons) but his quote to fix them was on the high side (150 euros each). To me it sounded: 'Don't bother with these lousy fakes and stick to the real thing and spend your money on that'. Well no. The FED and Zorki have their rightful place in RF history, and are interesting and significant in their own way. And their are both just too nice to discard.
Many people here like to tinker with these old cams, but frankly I don't have the skill or the patience to work on them myself.
So the question is: Anybody nearby who would like to work on my old Russkis?
Both cameras look great, near mint, but both have their problems:
The FED has an awfully dirty and dark viewfinder. You can focus with it, but it's not really useable in anything but bright sunlight. However, the shutter is spot on, so the camera sees a bit of use as a wide angle shooting platform.
The Zorki has dragging shutter curtains at slower speeds, and sometimes at faster speeds the shutter only fires after releasing the button. But the finder is crystal clear and very usable.
I asked my repair guy if he could fix them (he did good work on my Leicas and Nikons) but his quote to fix them was on the high side (150 euros each). To me it sounded: 'Don't bother with these lousy fakes and stick to the real thing and spend your money on that'. Well no. The FED and Zorki have their rightful place in RF history, and are interesting and significant in their own way. And their are both just too nice to discard.
Many people here like to tinker with these old cams, but frankly I don't have the skill or the patience to work on them myself.
So the question is: Anybody nearby who would like to work on my old Russkis?
wolves3012
Veteran
Oleg K (his site is OK camera, google it) should be able to resurrect either of those two. Have a read of the sticky on how to select an FSU for more info on the merits of each. The Zorki has a bigger, brighter VF at about 1:1 and a proper flash-sync (should that matter to you). The FED is usually reckoned to be ugly but does have a damn sharp lens...
Ronald_H
Don't call me Ron
Thanks. I sent Oleg a mail. Prices are very reasonable.