Problem with my Droog

[RedTurian]

Hey there ! 😀

It's been some time that I'm hovering on this forum, but here I could use a bit of help though...

Long story short, I was shooting with my Droog (which is essentially a Zorki-7, the pinnacle of the Zorki RF camera lineup), but the cocking/advance lever somehow jammed so I had to force, which eventually un-jammed it, but the little thingy that's supposed to auto-deploy when you unfold the lever in order to lock said lever won't deploy anymore. I opened the back cover to take a peek but the whole thing is so well designed I can't figure out what's wrong. I tried pouring some WD40 drops on it but it had no effect but making it easier to deploy ... Using a screwdriver. If anyone has any insights, let me know.

I really like the camera so far, especially its viewfinder which is insanely wide, so I hope some of you will be able to help me 🙁

Oh and I didn't opened it up further since I have a film in here that's only at like 22 exposures (on 36) so it would be sad if I lost them all.

(Images below are not mine, just random internet pictures that I cropped, and then circled the thing that I'm talking about to make my speech clearer)

P.S. Sorry for my somewhat lame English as it is not my native language, as you may have noticed.

Thanks in advance !

 

[seany65]

Hello RedTurian, I hope someone can help you soon. This is a fairly lively place and I'm sure you'll get an answer quite soon.

There is another source of info you could try, which is the "ussr photo forum", which is only interested in cameras from the former soviet union. Although they don't mind talking about Contax and Leica models which the Russians copied. It is unfortunately a very quiet forum and can be difficult to post photos on. Anyway here's a link in case you want to try it:

http://ussrphoto.com/Forum/Default.asp

 

[julio1fer]

Probably a spring snapped out of place with the forcing. I am not familiar with that nice model, but I suggest reposting to the FSU subforum, down here in RFF, where you are very likely to get a good answer.

Forum link: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=34

[Sorry, I answered in the original place. I see that the message was moved to the FSU forum already]

 

[RedTurian]

Hello RedTurian, I hope someone can help you soon. This is a fairly lively place and I'm sure you'll get an answer quite soon.

There is another source of info you could try, which is the "ussr photo forum", which is only interested in cameras from the former soviet union. Although they don't mind talking about Contax and Leica models which the Russians copied. It is unfortunately a very quiet forum and can be difficult to post photos on. Anyway here's a link in case you want to try it:

http://ussrphoto.com/Forum/Default.asp

Well thanks ! Yep I've been considering posting there as well, I'll do so some day 🙂

Probably a spring snapped out of place with the forcing. I am not familiar with that nice model

Maybe, but I don't think so. I've opened the bottom of the camera to see what's going on but could not see anything wrong. The little pressure plate is still moving back and fourth fine, actually everything works except it just won't deploy for some reason...

 

[Abbazz]

Long story short, I was shooting with my Droog (which is essentially a Zorki-7, the pinnacle of the Zorki RF camera lineup), but the cocking/advance lever somehow jammed so I had to force, which eventually un-jammed it, but the little thingy that's supposed to auto-deploy when you unfold the lever in order to lock said lever won't deploy anymore. I opened the back cover to take a peek but the whole thing is so well designed I can't figure out what's wrong. I tried pouring some WD40 drops on it but it had no effect but making it easier to deploy ... Using a screwdriver. If anyone has any insights, let me know.

I really like the camera so far, especially its viewfinder which is insanely wide, so I hope some of you will be able to help me 🙁

Welcome to the forum. I'm afraid I won't be able to help regarding the jammed lever but I would like to congratulate you on the Droug, a mighty fine camera, if somewhat overengineered.

I guess the Droug was part of the Soviet effort to rivalize with the "free world" by producing "show off" industrial achievements. These products were not destined to be mass-produced (they were probably too expensive to manufacture on a large scale) but mainly to be exposed at a few international fairs in order to gain some awards and to gather laudatory coverage from the press.

It is nevertheless a great camera to use and a beautiful testimony to the craftmanship of the engineers of the time.

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[RedTurian]

Welcome to the forum. I'm afraid I won't be able to help regarding the jammed lever but I would like to congratulate you on the Droug, a mighty fine camera, if somewhat overengineered.

I guess the Droug was part of the Soviet effort to rivalize with the "free world" by producing "show off" industrial achievements. These products were not destined to be mass-produced (they were probably too expensive to manufacture on a large scale) but mainly to be exposed at a few international fairs in order to gain some awards and to gather laudatory coverage from the press.

It is nevertheless a great camera to use and a beautiful testimony to the craftsmanship of the engineers of the time.

Cheers!

Hey thanks ! Though the Droog was never exposed at any fairs that I know about, I think it was just some kind of luxury/High-end camera, which role it fulfills quite admirably for the time.

Okay so 2-in-1 post : my janitor (big house, y'know...) THREW the screws that are supposed to hold the bottom plate of the camera, so If somebody here has any ideas on where to find these screws that would be great, I think they're around 1.3mm or 1.4mm of diameter and maybe around 2mm of lenght ; head intended for flat screwdrivers.

Let me tell you she's not stepping into my desk anytime soon !

Thanks in advance again 😕

 

[seany65]

Where did you leave the screws, and why were only the screws thrown out?

 

[RedTurian]

Where did you leave the screws, and why were only the screws thrown out?

The screws were under the bottom cover of the camera, with a screwdriver on top of it. I think she did not saw it was screws since they are very tiny and she wears glasses.

 

[rfaspen]

Oh no. You will likely have great difficulty finding screws. I have been in that position. I would start by getting a couple contemporary Zorkis (Zorkl 4?) that you could use for parts.

Actually, I think you may want to rewind your current film and then send the Drug to Oleg for repair. He will be able to fix it, and for the best price. That's really your best option at this point.

 

[RedTurian]

Actually, I think you may want to rewind your current film and then send the Drug to Oleg for repair. He will be able to fix it, and for the best price. That's really your best option at this point.

Hmm... I already heard about "Oleg", could you eventually tell me a bit more about him ? Here or elsewhere I mean. And how much are we talking about ? Because the camera was $90 (a bargain, apparently)... But I'm considering this option.

 

[farlymac]

Hmm... I already heard about "Oleg", could you eventually tell me a bit more about him ? Here or elsewhere I mean. And how much are we talking about ? Because the camera was $90 (a bargain, apparently)... But I'm considering this option.

Don't know what cost you are looking at, but now parts will be included in that equation but it will still be better than buying another one. You can contact Oleg at http://okvintagecamera.com/

PF

 

[David Hughes]

A lot of us swear by Oleg and no one has ever sworn at him to my knowledge. He's your best bet.


Regards, David

 

[RedTurian]

Okay I think I'll send him the camera then. Thanks everybody, that turned out... Bad but actually not THAT bad... I understood myself haha.

Have a nice day, all !

 

[Zorkiiglaza]

It seems that this camera is not well known by users. I do have one, which I bought a few years ago and put several rolls of film though it. My problem was that the advance was rough. I took it to Bill at Pro Camera in Charlottesville, Virginia and he examined it. His assessment was that the gears were made of soft brass and had worn and there was nothing he could do. Mine is still packed up from my mover 2 years ago so I do not have it to look at at this moment. As I remember, there is the little latch which one pushes to release the lever.
good luck!