Oops ! Too Hasty Avatar Pic ?

[dee]

I love the black and red Zorki S in my initial avatar - but it had to go back to Russia 'cos it was dodgy ... now the respected seller can't find what's wrong , so it maybe refund time ...
Maybe , i should have really checked it out before posting the pic , but got a bit ASD about it !
But I have two more remade ZSs in chrome and black ... so my mini pic might change !

This is a great place to chill out , and to be less worried when I don't understand, or Zorki / Feds are being awkward !

dee

 

[FrankS]

Hello dee. Of the Zorki and Fed cameras, which is your favourite? I used to have a Fed2e and liked everything except the viewfinder. Have you got any Kievs?

 

[peter_n]

I have a FED lens (5cm f3.5) that is really very good. I think it needs a bit of a lube but the optics are great. It isn't red & black though! 🙁 😉

 

[ZorkiKat]

I love the black and red Zorki S in my initial avatar - but it had to go back to Russia 'cos it was dodgy ... now the respected seller can't find what's wrong , so it maybe refund time ...
Maybe , i should have really checked it out before posting the pic , but got a bit ASD about it !
But I have two more remade ZSs in chrome and black ... so my mini pic might change !

This is a great place to chill out , and to be less worried when I don't understand, or Zorki / Feds are being awkward !

dee

The 'remake' is the root of the trouble. When these black and red (they do look beaten black and blue! 😀) cameras were refashioned from their original chrome/aluminium/brass selves, a lot was lost in the process. It is often the cameras in the least functional and shabbiest conditions which are put through the make-over. Looking exotic in fancy colours and trims would guarantee sales- at higher prices to boot.

The stripping and application of layers of paint can adversely affect how the parts fit together later. Or else, selected "good" parts (chosen primarily for cosmetics, not fit) from several donor cameras are collected to replace the parts in a non-functional camera. Like most hand-made goods, the parts in these cameras are often made to fit during assembly. A similar part from another camera may look the same and appear to have the same size, but just like the old Leicas and Hasselblads, donated replacements don't always fit the mechanism work precisely, and render it, as you say, 'dodgy'. 🙂


Most repainted cameras -often re-engraved to bear a more expensive looking logo, rather than Zorki or FED- are made for cosmetics and display only. Their value is often for their looks, not functionality. There are truly well-made repaints where the remade camera works well, but then again these were made by competent hands (hard to tell if similar cameras found on eBay got the same treatment ) and retain their original parts.


Jay

 

[dee]

Yes Zorkikat , the copies are bad news ...and two Z ! ''Leicas '' are wingeing their way to Oleg for proper care , I was ignorant of it all , and just wanted the black Leica II that I could never dream of owning . However, I love the Zorki S in black or chrome / black - and had great results from a moscowphoto tricked-up Zorki S '' Olympic '', with i 22 '' Elmar '' - but even I could not cope with printed plastic inserts into the covers , so have replaced them with contrasing vinyl !
I think of them as '' work in progress '' having been butchered , I feel that I can play around with them in a way that I would not like to with a proper Zorki or Fed - pink anyone ? .
the black remade Zorki is from the well respected araxfoto , so I expected more than the usual e-bay sellers rehash - 'specially as it retains it's ID - but Gevorg is on the case , has the camera back ... so all might work out happily ! ... I really don't like the Zorki S in it's natural state , having said that my Fed 2s have arrived , and I am not sure that I prefer them ! OOPS !!

dee