My Zorkii came with a prize.

Mr_Flibble

Mr_Flibble

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The Zorkii I that I 'won' on ebay arrived today from the Ukraine.
Serial number is 207***
Knowing my luck with FSU cameras I was expecting it to have more pinholes then curtains, the gears to be welded together and the viewfinder and rangefinder so dim that I might as well be taking pictures in the Tunguska forest during a misty evening.

On first inspection, the exterior was in good condition, with some brassing. The baseplate has a slight curve to it, that might compromise the light-tightness of the film compartment.
The Industar-22 is slightly stiff from disuse, but the lens is clean and damage free.

For the surprise:
When I took off the baseplate, after making sure the rewind knob was not turning with the winding knob, there it was....a black film casette. No markings on it....and from turning the spool I figure there is film inside it...

What to do with it? Could this roll hold a clue to Stalin's many love affairs? I guess I could try and have it developed. If anyone has any idea to the ISO of this type of Russian/Ukrainian film I'll give it a shot?



I've taken off the crate for a simple CLA; I of course discovered the curtains were full of holes.... Hopefully I can patch them with some Liquid Electrical Tape.

The speeds seem good, except that the curtains don't close on 1/20th and Z. I'm going to try adjusting it


....if I can't, I'm turning it into one of those digital cameras 😀
 
Could you do a clip test from the film? Might give you an idea of how long to develop for... and please post the results if you manage to get anything from it 🙂
 
Depending on how old it is i would try doing a stand development in rodinal. The film's iso isn't important in this case. If it looks very old i would try and push it one or two stops.
 
+1 for Rodinal Stand Dev.

Nice find Rick!

I should have left a film in the Nettar 😛


From your weekly horoscope:
refrain from driving motor vehicles this week. Instead, try something safe like photography.

😛😛😉
 
Alright thanks for the tips. I'll see if I can source some rodinal this week and give it a shot myself.
If not, It'll have to wait until after my vacation to Ireland 😉


I've managed to fix the curtains on the Zorkii with two very thin layers of LET. I have no idea how long this fix will hold though. I'll see if I can put a roll of film through it this weekend at a volleyball tournament some of my friends are participating in.

From your weekly horoscope:
refrain from driving motor vehicles this week. Instead, try something safe like photography.
Click to expand...

😀
Wrecking one car every decade or so is quite enough for me, thanks
 
Mr flibble,

Nice find, perhaps. One thing you don't know, of course, is if it's a B&W film!

If the shutter hangs as slower speeds, that's a good indication it's in need of a CLA. Adjusting the tensions may get it to work for a while but you're postponing the inevitable. Instead of a "minor" CLA, why not pull it apart, do a full, proper service and fit new curtains, assuming you're willing to give that a stab? It's tedious and fiddly and will make you swear but the end result will be a sweet camera that'll run for years.
 
I've ruined my first fake Leica by taking it apart (curtains were already ruined when I got it). I took the shutter mechanism apart and couldn't figure out how to put it back together again. I don't mind experimenting a bit. But I'm only a so-so camera repairman 😉
I'm going to try adjusting the tenstion this weekend, I'll see how long the fix will last, and when it breaks down I'll think about taking it apart once more.

I've already cleaned everything I could get to inside the film/shutter part of the body. I still need to clean the RF and VF windows, which is something I'll be doing later today.
 
Here's a quick snap of the camera

zorki01.jpg


And innards

zorki02.jpg
 
A word of caution if you're cleaning the RF/VF windows: DO NOT try and clean the half-mirror that sits behind the VF front window (right-hand side, as you look from the front of the body). It's part-silvered and rather easy to remove what there is!

If you're adjusting the tensions, you'll need to increase the tension on the second curtain roller. If you need to add more than a turn or so, there's a definite CLA issue.
 
Thanks for the warning Wolves,
I know what can happen when you touch old half-mirrors.....

*Hides Retina II at the back of the cabinet*

I've only cleaned the prism surface and the lenses covering the VF/RF.
The beam splitter in this one isn't in great shape either, but still usable. If I have to replace it I've got some left-over 75/25 mirror material from my last project camera......

*Buries Retina II under the box cameras in the cabinet*

😀

I have been reading through the shutter-adjustment sticky in this section, I had figured I need to adjust the second roller. I don't think it needs more then half a turn or so as it only stops very close to the end of it's travel when firing the shutter on the 1/20th and Z.
 
After cleaning the VF/RF and a minute drop of oil in the shutter speed selector, it appears the curtains are now running smoothly on all settings! Huzzah!

Now all that is left is patching the final few light leaks in the curtain and fine-tuning the RF, and then this baby is ready for action!
 
Mr_Flibble said:
Thanks for the warning Wolves,
I know what can happen when you touch old half-mirrors.....

*Hides Retina II at the back of the cabinet*

I've only cleaned the prism surface and the lenses covering the VF/RF.
The beam splitter in this one isn't in great shape either, but still usable. If I have to replace it I've got some left-over 75/25 mirror material from my last project camera......

*Buries Retina II under the box cameras in the cabinet*

😀

I have been reading through the shutter-adjustment sticky in this section, I had figured I need to adjust the second roller. I don't think it needs more then half a turn or so as it only stops very close to the end of it's travel when firing the shutter on the 1/20th and Z.
Click to expand...
Just for info, 75/25 might not work too well, although it may be good enough. They're meant to be 50/50 I think, personally I would choose 60/40 (60 reflect, to allow for the tint via a piece of filter).
 
It was the only cheap half-mirror material available on short notice. It does work, but it works more like a two-mirror RF (like the Kodak 35 and Argus C-3). You can't see the two images overlapping. You have one image in the center and the second RF image surrounding it.
I'll replace it with 50/50 material when I find some in due time.


The only additional problem I had with the Industar-22 was that towards the end of the day the aperture ring got very stiff. I have let a few drops of an half oil, half naphtha mix work its way into the aperture mechanism.
That freed it up nicely, but I have to wait and see if it worked tomorrow when the naphtha has evaporated.
 
Rick,

Exactly the same problems I had in my recently acquired "good condition" Fed 1 from the Ukraine.

I have completely stripped the body and replaced the curtains (Aki Asahi material) due to them being more hole than curtain, and stripped the I-22 copy Fed lens. I found that the old lube, plus dirt and verdigris in the aperture adjustment actually got worse when I flushed it. It all turned into lumps and formed locking rollers in the annular gap. Had to take it right down, even had the blades out (!). All working fine now, and I'm running a test roll.

Hope you don't have to strip the lens right down 😉
 
I saw an Industar-22/Elmar 5cm disassemble guide online somewhere. I'll go ahead and clean it if my fix hasn't worked. If I screw it up I've got a few other FSU LTM lenses I can put on this camera. 😉

Good to hear you've managed to properly set up the new curtains john. Looking forward to your results as well.
 
Lucky find with your camera. Awhile back I sold a Zorki in which I mistakenly left a new Leica film spool. The spool cost me $80, and I think I got that much for the entire camera...
 
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