Show Off Your FSU

Jagdtiger said:
Pretty nice one 🙂

My recently purchased pre-war FED from 1936:

055433a0c3c3.jpg



I wonder how lucky I am, because this camera costed two bucks!😱
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Odd, that little stud in centre of the back is odd. Or is it a screw filling in a hole that someone has drilled to aid collimation? Earlier Feds had a collimation plug very similar to the contemporary Leica but I think yours is a little too late for that.

Very nice though, congratulations!
 
Dralowid said:
Odd, that little stud in centre of the back is odd. Or is it a screw filling in a hole that someone has drilled to aid collimation? Earlier Feds had a collimation plug very similar to the contemporary Leica but I think yours is a little too late for that.

Very nice though, congratulations!
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Nope, it's a handmade brass screw, that held a film plate inside the camera. The original plate was lost a years ago, I think. So someone replaced it with a plate from Smena 8M. I have one postwar FED with a suitable plate, so I replaced it.
 
My Zorki 3-C

My Zorki 3-C

This nice orphan came to me, but now the second shutter curtain hangs at speeds 50 and longer :-(
EK_Zorki3c_4390.jpg


EK_Zorki3c_4391.jpg



Will need to find someone in holland who can do something about it, she's to nice to only live on a shelf..
 
This is actually likely to be a very easy fix, so you might consider doing it yourself if you have some tweezers and small screwdrivers and are a bit handy. I am assuming that the shutter curtain hanging is not a definite hard stop, but that it slows down and stops- if you pull on the curtain a bit, you should be able to close it further. I have some suggestions about cleaning the shutter mechanism in a different thread.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128890

The Zorki 3C/4 shutter mechanism is not quite as simple as that of the FED 2, but nearly. The slow speeds are controlled by a separate mechanism off to the side, and it is not necessary to do anything with it if it is working properly. There are many repair services available that can do this job for you, but unless you are very lucky, the cost of the repair will exceed the value of the camera.

One more thing: black leather dye, available from shoe repair stores or leather hobby stores, will restore the black vulcanite to a new appearance, and once dry, does not rub off.

Cheers,
Dez
 
Dez said:
This is actually likely to be a very easy fix, so you might consider doing it yourself if you have some tweezers and small screwdrivers and are a bit handy. I am assuming that the shutter curtain hanging is not a definite hard stop, but that it slows down and stops- if you pull on the curtain a bit, you should be able to close it further. I have some suggestions about cleaning the shutter mechanism in a different thread.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128890

The Zorki 3C/4 shutter mechanism is not quite as simple as that of the FED 2, but nearly. The slow speeds are controlled by a separate mechanism off to the side, and it is not necessary to do anything with it if it is working properly. There are many repair services available that can do this job for you, but unless you are very lucky, the cost of the repair will exceed the value of the camera.

One more thing: black leather dye, available from shoe repair stores or leather hobby stores, will restore the black vulcanite to a new appearance, and once dry, does not rub off.

Cheers,
Dez
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Thank you for your kind advice, the point about the cost of the repair being higher than what it is worth was what im affraid for.

But it does stop slowly like you suggest so I will have a go at trying the fix myself!
 
My newly aquired Zorki C (S) with relatively clean Industar 22. The lens hood is a British FIKUS look-a-like, finished with black crinkle paint. #4040 from Aki Asahi. Wrist strap from Gordy. This camera is surprisingly nice to use. The rangefinder is very contrasty and easy to focus. Love it!

Andy



 
Zorki C PM1525

Zorki C PM1525

I have too many rangefinders: M6, G1, G2. ALL have and had every kind of rangefinder issues. They just can't focus right no matter what.

Guess which one is my favourite? The one which NEVER failed me?

zorkicindustar61p101022.jpg
 
XFer, very nice Zorki C! You have great taste in FSU RF's! I'm amazed at how bright the RF is on this camera, do you not agree? I feel as though it will never fail. Brilliant.
 
It's a great camera! I just love it. Sturdy, reliable (57 years of service, and counting), compact (smaller than my M6) and I really like its look. 🙂
I replaced its collapsible lens with this Industar 61L/D 53/2.8 to get sharper shots, this lens is very good. 🙂
 
Ewoud said:
Thank you for your kind advice, the point about the cost of the repair being higher than what it is worth was what im affraid for.

But it does stop slowly like you suggest so I will have a go at trying the fix myself!
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Hi,

That's not true because what you paid for it isn't what it's worth. And buying another might just start the same old sequence again.

Best thing, if you like the camera is to get it repaired and then use it. Often the difference between one on it's last legs because of neglect or old age etc and one that's been checked and repaired etc is nothing short of miraculous.

Regards, David
 
1949 Kiev 2

1949 Kiev 2

With FSU cameras, it has always seemed to me that the older they are, the better they were made. I am a Contax fan, so I have a few Kievs. Here is my oldest one, from 1949, with a scarce collapsible Zorki (later Jupiter-8) lens. These were only made for a very short time, and I also have a fixed mount ZK lens with a serial number about 350 higher. I think the production of the two versions of the lens overlapped in 1949. I recently got the collapsible lens, and all looks great, but I have not tried it with film yet.


Kiev1949_zps33bbf6d6.jpg


The camera works just fine, and did not require any cosmetic restoration other than cleaning. The chrome on the early Kievs is a matte finish, and seems to be much better than that of the prewar Contaxes. It came with a very well made leather case, at least as good as the Contax ones.

I would love to get one of the early Kiev prototypes from 1947 or 1948, but they are very scarce, and have too many digits in their price tags!

Cheers,
Dez
 
Dez said:
With FSU cameras, it has always seemed to me that the older they are, the better they were made. I am a Contax fan, so I have a few Kievs. Here is my oldest one, from 1949, with a scarce collapsible Zorki (later Jupiter-8) lens. These were only made for a very short time, and I also have a fixed mount ZK lens with a serial number about 350 higher. I think the production of the two versions of the lens overlapped in 1949. I recently got the collapsible lens, and all looks great, but I have not tried it with film yet.


Kiev1949_zps33bbf6d6.jpg


The camera works just fine, and did not require any cosmetic restoration other than cleaning. The chrome on the early Kievs is a matte finish, and seems to be much better than that of the prewar Contaxes. It came with a very well made leather case, at least as good as the Contax ones.

I would love to get one of the early Kiev prototypes from 1947 or 1948, but they are very scarce, and have too many digits in their price tags!

Cheers,
Dez
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Beautiful camera, Dez. There's something quite charming about using old Soviet war treasures.
 
Nice cameras, both the Zorki and the Kiev-2 ... I love the viewfinder and the focusing on the Zorki, very clear and easy to use.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Kiev cameras as well, I have a Kiev-2 from the 1950's, and a Kiev-4a from the 1960's. They're both 100% functional and built like tanks. Russian tanks, I suppose. 🙂

One of the oddest cameras in my collection, the Fotokor-1. Still can't figure out how to use it properly. But it came with a cool hard-shell case with a profile of Lenin on it.

5746597425_beb73d251b_z.jpg
 
Interesting camera!

Looks like it is supposed to take a 6 x 9 cm film pack, which is just about unfindable. If the groundglass back comes off easily, you may be able to fit it with a 120 rollfilm back.

Cheers,
Dez
 
David Hughes said:
Hi,

That's not true because what you paid for it isn't what it's worth. And buying another might just start the same old sequence again.

Best thing, if you like the camera is to get it repaired and then use it. Often the difference between one on it's last legs because of neglect or old age etc and one that's been checked and repaired etc is nothing short of miraculous.

Regards, David
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I think your right, either way I wasn't planning on just buying another one, but I'm not going to fix it myself since a very nice member of this forum offered to to do it for a small sum. Its on its way to him right now...

I hope to use it alot, once it's back 🙂
 
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