Is my iskra missing something?

[bjel]

For the iskra users out there, there are two features on the focus linkage of my Iskra that look like they could be attachment points for a spring that is long gone. Anyone have a well-maintained example as a reference? On mine the focus works tolerably, although there is some backlash that I am not sure if I can attribute to the possibly missing spring. There are plenty of other hinges and pivots and whatnot that could be contributing.
Thanks.

 

[hanskerensky]

I have seen that particular area in 2 Iskra's I and an Iskra 2 and never saw a spring there.
This focus distance follower is pulled against a lever of the lens by a spring inside the body situated at the lower side of the strut spring. Still another spring sits inside the rangefinder module.

The slit visible on the focus distance follower is certainly intriguing but doesn't look like a spring attachment point. Neither does the other bar which looks more like an endstop for the swivel movement to me. Maybe somebody else can shine a light over that intriguing slit ? The Iskra was a copy of the Agfa Super Isolette, so maybe someone owning a Super Isolette can tell us more !

 

[Spavinaw]

I have carefully looked at the two points in question on my early Iskra. Neither of them serve any purpose whatsoever. They don't even touch anything else.

 

[hanskerensky]

Makes you wonder if the Russians did forget to copy something or maybe there was too much information on the German drawings they must have had when they started the Iskra project. 🙂

What they didn't copy, the viewfinder/rangefinder module, is surely an improvement compared to that one of the Super Isolette.

 

[bjel]

Thanks all, that's reassuring. I'll still be a little bothered by the backlash but my cameras aren't too different from the old worn out machines at work in that respect. They are about the same age and one just has to know how to get the best out of them. As with lathes, if I approach focus in the correct direction each time it is accurate enough.

 

[hanskerensky]

The 2 springs should take away the backlash unless of course part of the rangefinder mechanism isn't running smoothly.

 

[bjel]

I'll be having a close look at the linkages on the weekend and will see if I can identify where the lost motion is originating. It cannot help that I have not lubricated the linkages connecting to the lens in the couple of years that i have owned it and probably previous owners did not either. Even if there were to be no improvement I still enjoy using that camera much more than my other folder, a fuji gs645, that feels inelegant and fragile in comparison. Whoever did the industrial design on that thing should be embarrassed.
I have also timed the shutter on my Iskra, and it is surprisingly accurate for such an old bit of machinery. I've done nothing that could be called serious maintenance on the shutter and lens assembly but have had it apart for a look to see what's going on in there and to remove the old oxidized lubricant on the focus threads.