Original , restored , reinvented ?

dee

dee

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One of the fascinations of Fed / Zorki Land is the variations of a theme which the staid minimalist Leica mercifully never endured .
the recent aquisition of a restored 1952 Zorki 1 with 1954 rigid I 22 , prompted me to wonder about your preferences / pet hates .

A ] Original - with wear and history ?

B ] Restored with non matching lense , new covering etc ?

C ] Restored non - original with '' snake / black paint or similar '' enhancements ?

D ]Restrained recreation, ex Zorki / Fed Leica II pretender in modest black .

E ] Abused - something which happens to poor unsuspecting bitsa Zorkis and Feds that re-ivent the term OTT ?

I seem to have an example of each ....

dee
 
If it is a rare model (I mean really rare early versions of the Zorki or Fed) original is the way to go. If you are collecting original (including lens) is also desireable. For using, knock your socks off and just have fun. Be careful though becuase many jazzed up cameras sold by FSU vendors start out as wrecks.
 
A ] Original - with wear and history ?
Ai ] Original - broke on kitchen table ?

Dee

I've only got two sub variants

Noel
 
If I can't get an original version in mint condition, I am happy to get a customized/restored/rebuilt version. My third preference would be a beat up user that has exceptionally smooth operation.

All of the above implies near-full or fully functioning.
 
I'll have to go with A] there, since that is what I do have, but a C/D] (Dee]?) like in your profile pic looks sweet...

/J
 
Hi All,
Re: Fed-2:

From personal experience with a Fed-2 type b bought from Fedka,
AND a Kiev 4a bought last year from Fedka; also a superb J8m 53/2...
I can say that Fedka's Grading is very reliable, even if he is somewhat
more expensive than FSU sellers.

BTW: Yuri at Fedka is affiliated with http://www.jr.com/
This is an Online warehouse in New York, that sells electronic stuff, etc.
Three years ago, I bought a factory reconditioned ThinkPad Laptop from
them, which I'm still using.

A newer Fed-2 s/n 6824996 came my way recently; it was CLA'd
by Oleg, and I'm just test driving this one. Two reliable eBay FSU Sellers
are: alex-photo and leon1965jazz. It makes sense to expect to do CLA
on ANY Fed-2 or Zorki body, bought from an FSU Seller for $25- 30-.

'nuff said?
Cheers, mike
 
OOps - I missed the beat-up worker - I guess i will have to ask Oleg for his worst condition c l a Zorki / Fed 1 ... except i'd have to get rid of a reinvented camera first !
 
i would not dream of having a really rare camera re-created into a pretender -
It get's awkward with a really poor Zorki 3 / 3m - which way to go ?

A black one looks so good though . it gets odd when a Leica IIIc is prolific compared to an old USSR camera !

Off topic [ a bit ] the Zenit 1, from 1952 , is presumably derived from the Zorki 1 rather than the Zorki S.
I understand that less than 400000 were made , which makes it a rare-ish camera by any standards - yet I have seen one repainted in bright red [ asterliks , e-bay ]
Others I have seen are black covering repaints , which is sort of Ok , but I decided on a little bit faded original from 1953 ... which is unusual for me - ASdee likes as new ... not ''hurt '' !

of course , It won't be shown here - a minor dee viation from my straight and narrow Rangefinder recovery !!!



I
 
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