Need Help w. Zorki 4k

[sooner]

Hi folks,

Once again I have a Zorki 4k problem. Got one from russia, shot a test roll of film, rewound it and turned the rewind ring around the shutter button counterclockwise to the up or shooting position, but now the shutter won't cock or fire. Any ideas, did I do something wrong? Or is this just an incredibly finicky, i.e. poorly constructed, camera? This is my second problem camera, but buying a new one was cheaper than repair.

Any help would be appreciated. --John

 

[sooner]

Come on, guys, no help out there this morning?

 

[RichardS]

I have a Zorki 4K and as far as I can see you haven't done anything wrong. With mine, I have to move the film advance lever about one and a half times to cock the shutter after having moved the rewind ring, but I assume you probably have done that by now. Sorry I can't be of any help.

Dick

 

[sooner]

Thanks, Dick,

Yes, I did move the film advance lever several times, but obviously something is not engaging as it doesn't "catch" and neither the shutter advances nor the shutter button cocks. And here I was so excited to have a "working" Zorki!

 

[Peter Klein]

I was about to start my own thread, but this seems to be the same problem I had today.

I have a Zorki 4--not 4K, so it has a wind knob, not lever. This afternoon I had to change film. The same thing happened to me--after inserting the film and turning the rewind clutch back to the forward position, I wound it several turns and the shutter would not cock. The rewind knob was turning backwards, so film was advancing, but the shutter was not engaging at all.

I finally tried moving the shutter speed dial very slightly, and all of a sudden I felt the proper resistance, and the shutter cocked.

After reading this thread, I think I realize now what I did. I was shooting in the shade, and the shutter was set at 1/60. If I recall correctly, 1/60 is actually a "slow" speed on the Zorki 4--the slow speed gear train is engaged at that speed. Perhaps if you leave a slow speed engaged when you release the rewind clutch, it won't re-engage until you get the shutter out of slow speed mode.

The solution would be to always turn the camera to a fast speed--1/125 second or higher--just before rewinding.

Can anyone else confirm this?

--Peter

 

[Nickfed]

If I recall correctly, 1/60 is actually a "slow" speed on the Zorki 4--the slow speed gear train is engaged at that speed.
--Peter

While you may have fixed the problem, I'm sure this is not the reason. 1/60 is not a "slow" speed, it is a "fast" speed, as is 1/30. That is why cameras that don't have "slow" speeds still have 1/30, and therefore 1/60.

 

[ChrisN]

Hi Sooner

You might find some useful information in this thread

My camera is a Mir, like the Zorki 4 but without the slow shutter speeds.

Do the pins at the bottom of the sprocket drive line up like those in the photo? If not you may have the problem I described in the linked thread.

Good luck.