Iskra Repair Info

[rpinchbeck]

Well, it seems I have done it now. I've had a GAS attack and now find myself with an Iskra. 😕 I'm pleased with the general feel but this one needs a bit of CLA. The Helical is stiff, the vertical alignment of the rangefinder is out, the film counter does not go further than 10, let's see what else... 'B' setting on the shutter does not work.

Anyone seen an "Iskra Survival Site" or am I going to have to figure this stuff out myself? I'd rather not go through the pains of learning the Iskra as I'd probably get obsessed with it and spend the next year goofing around with the damn thing when I really would perfer to be out shooting.

Cheers,

Russ Pinchbeck

 

[doubs43]

Russ, I received an Iskra I over a year ago and the shutter was inop. I ended up sending it to Oleg in Russia for repair. I sent only the shutter & lens because of shipping costs. Oleg did his usual fine job.

I have Maizenberg's book on the repair of FSU cameras but the Iskra was too new to be included when the book was written. I do not know of any reference material on the repair of the Iskra cameras.

Walker

 

[rpinchbeck]

Walker,

That sounds like a good idea sending just the shutter/lens assembly to Oleg. Canada Post is a huge ripoff for the value. I could probably sort out the RF vertical adjustment and maybe the film counter while Oleg is working his magic.

Cheers,

Russ

 

[Iskra 2]

The additional cost for shipping the entire unit would be well worth having Oleg work on the complete camera. He repaired the metering system and CLA'd my Iskra 2. I am pleased🙂 Another option is to buy a second Iskra for parts and experiment with them. This is a shot of the film advance mechanism (borrowed from somewhere😀 ). Regards.

 

[rpinchbeck]

The additional cost for shipping the entire unit would be well worth having Oleg work on the complete camera. He repaired the metering system and CLA'd my Iskra 2. I am pleased🙂 Another option is to buy a second Iskra for parts and experiment with them. This is a shot of the film advance mechanism (borrowed from somewhere😀 ). Regards.

To tell you the truth, I didn't have my Iskra in my hands for more than 5 minutes before I had the top plate removed so I've seen the same view as in the image you posted. I also noticed the film back has no foam light sealing material. An improvement to made for sure.

Some day I'm going to use a camera straight out of the box without screwing around with it first. But that day is not today... 😉

Russ