David, I'm reading same Pickwick papers from you again and again.
May I dare to bring you closer to the real life?
None of the FSU LTM cameras were build like Leica. NONE. This is why Leica repair specialists are not taking them for repairs. They are doing it not because here is no prestige Leica label, but because those cameras build in the way where you can't guarantee or predict.
Most of FSU lenses are sold for pennies. With miserable profit. And do you really think what people who are selling it from Russia and Ukraine have money to test it on film and still make couple of dollars?
David, two dollars in Moscow is the cost of meal or bottle of vodka. But film ain't cheap...
DIY manuals for lens CLA exist and available for any kind of lenses. Including Leitz made. And people are doing it regardless how much lens cost.
FSU lenses were made in millions. Your constant and repetitive blaming of self-repairs is not significant as frequency of your repeats about it. Made in millions FSU lenses have huge fluctuation in the quality right from the factory.
And some of the lenses are good, actually because of capable people to fix is after.
Konstantin.
When I read peoples' experience on these forums I think I am reading about real life; a lot of posts are from people wondering how to take something to bits or, worse, wondering how to put it together again. I figure there are people who are not mechanically minded but who will try it anyway.
Repairers will deal with old USSR cameras in my experience. I know of only one camera that absolutely no one I phoned in the UK would touch and that was a Leica. They all said that they couldn't repair old electronics. Some repairers will turn down USSR made cameras because they won't or can't get the parts. They also like to have factory issued workshop manuals for them and I don't think they exist in English for many FEDs and Zorkis. Luckily some people, like Oleg, have the parts etc and can work miracles.
Profits depend on the price you pay for something and the price you charge for it, neither are fixed. On the internet I have seen wide variations in the added cost of postage and guess a lot of profit comes from that, because postage prices are fixed by the postal people but the lens sellers know that buyers don't know them and we don't look closely and think.
As 36 or 37 lenses can be tested with a cassette of film I don't see that as an expense. And a lot of sellers in what was the USSR seem to have expensive digital cameras, even Leica M's.
DIY lens manuals are just that, putting a lens together properly is not as easy as people think and testing it afterwards is not easy either and needs some expensive equipment. And I can remember reading on these forums about people who found shims in the wrong place and lenses in back to front and so on. As most of the lenses were very old (and a few could be up to 80 to 90 years old) and second-hand I figure the factories input is long gone and the owners screwed it up.
I've met very few people who have bought a brand new USSR made camera, especially rare are people who bought one brand new in the 1950's, 60's and 70's. I also asked here if anyone had bought one brand new and got a mere handful of replies.
Lastly, my real life experience of the old USSR made cameras is no different from my experience of old German or Japanese made cameras. The fact that FEDs and Leicas from the 1930's can still be used and feel and behave the same suggests to me that they have a lot in common and the same applies to my ones from the 50's and 60's.
There are one or two differences even I can see but some are improvements like the Zorki 1's using normal cable releases and the FED and Zorki RF's colour contrast.
BTW 1, once I had to scrap a IIIc and Summitar as beyond repair but that was due to the previous owner(s) and I figure the same applies to FEDs and Zorkis etc. It doesn't seem an outrageous idea to me to blame the state of an elderly second-hand camera or lens on the owners...
BTW 2, I know one or two experts in the Leica field who have stripped down and checked USSR made copies out of curiosity and have been impressed. And I bought my first FED out of curiosity and was impressed and when Oleg had worked his magic I was very impressed; it was just like my Leica II.
BTW 3, I must get my Leica II checked and so on as I've had it a long while and feel it needs a little TLC - like any mechanical device that's a few years old.
Regards, David
PS And a lot of people don't bother with instruction manuals and we all know about the shutter speed setting routine...
