New to me Zorki 1(b)

[dexdog]

I bought a Zorki camera with a 1951 J-3 from a US seller on eBay recently. The lens is a beauty after cleaning the sand and grit out of it, removing and cleaning the lens groups, flushing with lighter fluid, and doing some limited re-lubrication. What really surprised me was the camera body, which appears to be a Zorki 1(b) according to the archived Soviet Cams.com hosted by Mike Eckman at the following link.

https://www.mikeeckman.com/sovietcam..._menu_i_id=204

Based on the 1951 J-3 that was attached to the camera body, I am guessing that the body was probably made in 1951 or so. Given the reputation of Soviet-era consumer goods I was was expecting the camera body to be a kinda crudely made, but it is better than I expected. Not quite as nice as an early Canon or Nicca but works well in spite of the overwhelming stench of stale cigarette smoke and obvious mold on the fake leather. (Wiped the moldy areas with bleach and will be placing the camera in a plastic bag with Febreeze clothes dryer sheets for a couple of weeks to deal with the smell). Shutter was kinda crunchy at first, but after exercising it for about 20 actuations it is actually pretty smooth but quite stiff. The mechanism would clearly benefit from some cleaning and lubrication. The rangefinder arm is sticky and rangefinder and viewfinder windows are grungy with brown nicotine residue. When I bought this on eBay i figured I would just trash the camera and keep the lens, but now I am considering some DIY maintenance following the famous Maizenburg manual. What surprised me the most was the nice satin chrome finish and the over all fit and finish of the camera. Also, the engraving of the Zorki name, KMZ logo and shutter speed dials is really nice. I am not a leica guy, but I am really impressed that the camera appears to still function after 70 years. A testament to why everybody copied the barnack leicas after WW2.

 

[dexdog]

I have a number of KMZ Jupiter 3 lenses that are nicely made. I also formerly had a 1950 KMZ Jupiter 9 in Contax-Kiev mount that I sold because because the fit and finish was not as nice as a pre-WW2 or post WW2 CZJ 8.5cm Sonnar (yeah, that was dumb move that I regret). I am surprised I am so biased in that my recognition of the good quality of early KMZ lenses did not transfer to early KMZ cameras.

 

[Coldkennels]

I have a Zorki of similar vintage that also runs wonderfully smoothly. Unfortunately one part is heavily worn and so the shutter has some issues - it's obviously seen a lot of heavy use through its life. Those things were real workhorses.

Personally, I'm quite fond of the Zorki 5; I have one from '58 that works perfectly to this day. The lever wind is a bit more ratchety than something like a Leotax or Nicca - if you've ever used an early Zenit, you should know what to expect - but other than that it's a very well-finished and useable camera, and a damn sight nicer than the Zorki 4 and the 4k that followed.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I completely CLA'd two Zorki which where not functional. Didn't touch RF prisms, but everything else, including new curtains.
All I used as guidance was guide from https://www.fedka.com/jay/
Next by simplicity is FED-2.

 

[dexdog]

I was not aware of the link to Fedka- thanks! I will bookmark the link.