Questions re: My New Zorki 4

[prunci]

I just bought a Zorki 4 with a Jupiter 50mm lens, my very first rangefinder camera. Both appear to be in exceptionally good condition. However, I am having a problem with the camera that could be the result of my own ignorance or could be a technical problem. I can't seem to focus on anything closer than ~20ft away. That is, I can't get the dual images in the viewfinder to converge at short distances. This particular lens also has a very narrow range in which the focus ring turns easily; it turns fully, but with much greater difficulty beyond the middle of the dial in either direction, so to speak. I'm not sure if there is a problem with: a) the viewfinder, b) the lens, c) me, or d) some combination of these factors.

Also, surrounding the shutter speed selector knob on the top of the camera body is a dial marked at regular intervals from 0 to 35 in increments of five (0, 5, 10, etc.). I have no idea what this does and the online user's manual I found doesn't mention this feature.

Could anyone help me solve either of these mysteries? Sorry if this is well trodden ground here on the forum.

Thank you very much!

Paul

 

[prunci]

The focus ring turns more easily and more evenly when the lens is off the camera.

 

[prunci]

I gently moved the RF level back and forth to free it up and that seems to have solved my problem. Thank you for your advice, Greyhoundman. By the way, I just got my first roll of film from the Zorki developed. COnsidering that I couldn't focus properly and have never worked without a light meter before, I'm pleasantly surprised. The sharpness was actually better than that of my old Nikon FG slr. I used ths "sunny 16" rule as a guideline for exposure and got very good results. Just goes to show that you can do quite well with less than you might think you "need."

 

[exaktamoment]

You're going to like that Jupiter 8 - it is one of the best 50mm lenses around, bar none. I shoot my Zorki 4k (with Jupiter 8) at 'sunny/f16' all the time, with the 'Infinity' mark on the lens set on the right-hand f16 mark. That way everything from about 2 meters to Infinity is in focus. All I have to do is play with the shutter speed to accomodate the changes in the light and bingo! Good luck with your Zorki 4 and Jupiter 8 combination - personally, I think you'll like it - a lot.

Lou

 

[reagan]

Congrats on getting the Zorki up and running. I agree with above, I think you'll enjoy it for a long time. Others here have posted that they applied the slightest bit of sewing machine oil to the shaft of the RF lever, turning the camera upside down to allow the oil to run "down" the shaft and had good success. I haven't had to try that myself, but it might help prevent future problems of this sort. Good luck and.... ENJOY!

 

[Apostata]

The Zorki-4/Jupiter-8 combo is - in my limited experience with FSU RF's - a wonderful introduction. I received mine a couple of months ago, and I've been very impressed with the results. The great thing is that the lenses generally go for a modest price on eBay if you can find good sellers.

 

[dll927]

Exaktamount: How did that Exakta get in here?? It's neither Russian nor an RF. Only problem is, I have three of them - one VX and two VX1000s. The VX has the (preset type) Biotar, and the VX1000s have, respectively, a Zeiss Jena f/2.8 and a Pancolar f/2. So I have one of each of the three main lenses. May one of these days decide to get some additional lenses for them.

In the spring semester of 1956 I took a photo class at San Jose State. In those days the Exakta was a highly-vaunted camera and king of the SLRs. (Pre Nikon F, of course.) One of the students had one ( I don't know which model), and even the professor drooled over it. So even if they were put together by an obviously left-handed person and were hardly fast to use by today's standards, they were damned good cameras and were known for closer focusing than the then-common Leicas and Contaxes.

Now about the Zorki-4. I have two of them, among several other Zorkis. By then they had put in a less-loosable takeup spool and easier loading than the bottom-loading earlier ones. Oddly enough, with the Zorki-5, they went BACK to the bottom loading. Such is progress.

 

[exaktamoment]

dll: Exaktas got me started with the notion of collecting cameras. And the 'handle' comes from the ID I have established on an Exakta-based mailling list. It's a takeoff on the old advertising notion - 'Kodak Moment'. Exaktamoment.

Anyway, I use everything I own - I don't collect for the sake of collecting and putting things in a case someplace. Nowadays, part of the fun of deciding to shoot pictures is deciding which camera and film combo to shoot. I have three RRF's now - 2 Zorki and a FED-2. Each has a different lens - Jupiter 8, Industar 61 and Industar 26m. I also have a 135mm Hektor which I use on the Zorkis - it hangs up when removing it from the FED.

I really like the RRF's. I use these cameras to shoot candids - I shoot the 'sunny f16' rule with the lens set at the hyperfocal. That way the only thing I have to adjust is the shutter speed - to accomodate changes in the light. Half the time no one even knows I'm taking pictures. I use the Exkatas when I'm doing more deliberate shooting.

I have a 27 year old Konica T4 (and a whole bunch of lenses for that) and a Sony DSC-S70 digital that I find I shoot less and less. I like the notion of using the un-metered, no autofocus tools that the Zorkis and FED and Exaktas are. They make you think about what you're doing. And so, you do it better than you might otherwise have done.

Lou

 

[dll927]

I hear you. I haven't even gone digital yet. I don't think much of those FED-2's, even if they were one of the better FED models. I've bought three of them, partly because I have a stable full of Zorkis and wanted to get some 'colored' bodies. So I decided to go to the FED-2s for that, and I haven't been much impressed. That viewfinder is like looking into a tunnel-shaped peep-hole. Many seem to feel that the FEDs never were as good as the Zorkis- FEDs were the 'everyman's' camera in the FSU, according to some I've read.

My real primary RF is a Leica M4-2 that I bought brand-spanking new. Needless to say, that was a few years ago. It's as quiet as a mouse, and no ever claimed you could beat Leitz lenses. Since I've always been primarily a color slide person, the Leica is great for low-light shooting.

You may have guessed by now that I'm old enough for Medicare and to remember when Contaxes and Leicas ruled the pro-level world. I lived through the "RF versus SLR" days. No need to wonder who won!!

 

[exaktamoment]

I have always had a problem focusing a camera, for some reason. Something to do with vision, I suppose. That being said, I seldom get the Zorkis or the FED-2 up in front of my face to the point where I look through the viewfinder. By using the hyperfocal, I don't have to futz with the focus - I just point it and shoot it. At the same time, I have to think about it, because I have had to adjust the shutter for the light and I'm not looking through the finder at the scene, so I have to concentrate on where I'm pointing the camera while also concentrating on just WHEN I'm going to pull the trigger on the shot. The most important thing to me is whether the camera is reliable enough to give me the exposure I expect - for me, what the viewfinder looks like in these rangefinders doesn't matter much - because of the way I shoot.

Lou