Question.. not heresy, sorry!

[italy74]

A shop here is selling a Zorki 4 as a "Copy of Leica rangefinder" for 50-60€.. Honestly I don't know such brand aside the fact it's clearly russian (seen also the cyrillic character). it's sold with a F/2 lens (no idea if a 50 or a 35) but before making the jump, I'd like to see if any of you knows it.
Thanks in advance

 

[Fred Burton]

Zorki 4's can be very good cameras. Much bigger and brighter finder than other FSU's. lenses are decent. But most will need a CLA before using them seriously.

 

[Kozhe]

It´s a nice simple camera. It´s not really a Leica copy but a soviet development of a Leica II replica, the FED I. As an evolution, they have a combined vf/rf in a big screen so they are more "usable". I find the earlier Zorki I and 3 models a lot cooler if you don´t need flash sync or self-timer but it´s just a matter of personal taste. Anyway, the price is ok as long as it´s in fully working condition.

The f2 lens will probably be a Jupiter 8 which is a Zeiss Sonnar copy and also very good.

It had definately nothing to do with a Leica M. There´s a nice FSU cameras forum at rrf too and you´ll find plenty of Zorki 4 information there 🙂

 

[januaryman]

The lens will be 50mm for certain, could be a Jupiter 8 or an Industar (there are several models, the 61, the 26-M, the 50.

As for Zorkis, I personally prefer the Fed 2 with an Industar 61. The Fed 2d is perhaps the best, but I have a very nice Fed 2b which was a black re-paint. The lens will probably need a relube, but you might get lucky.

 

[John Lawrence]

My Zorki 4 unfortunately packed up just after I purchased it, but I understand they can be fixed quite reasonably at places like www.okvintagecamera.com .

For more information on the camera, have a look here:

http://cameras.alfredklomp.com/zorki4/

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

You can get a quick education at Fedka.