Show Off Your FSU

[David Hughes]

Zorki 4 and my Leica MP


Some impressions about the Zorki...

Difficult to cock the shutter, the button is too small and too deep in the camera (FED 2 is better). Heterogeneous arrangement of the speed dial, the release button and the accessory shoe at the top of the case. Their aluminum construction does not give off the same feeling of sturdiness as the rest of the camera case.
The trigger is located too high (compared to the Leica M) and too hard to trigger (and is pretty loud).
The viewfinder is relatively clear, but pinkish in color and the outline of the frame is not well defined. Small frame of the rangefinder don't have enough contrast, always compared to Leica M.
Erratic slow speeds, they sometimes work ... Rewinding defective, the armament does not recover properly after having actuated the button.
In fact the impression of an unreliable device on which we can not really count. (The FED 2 seems better drawn, better finished, even if its viewfinder seemed too small.)

Let me guess; did you buy it online?

The problem with comparing a Leica M with a Zorki is that people neglect Zorkis and then sell them but they spend a lot of money on the M's. Treat any Leica like a Zorki and it will fail and treat a Zorki like a Leica and it will delight you.

As I see it - this is an unpopular view, btw - all cameras need looking after and servicing from time to time. One of my Nikons said, in the manual, that it should be returned for a check every two years and I see no reason why that shouldn't apply to any other camera; although 2 years seems a bit extreme to me.

The real problem is that cameras decline slowly and you don't really notice until it's a bit too late. But the next owner will; it happened when I bought my M2 years ago.

Regards, David



Regards, David

 

[aton]

Let me guess; did you buy it online?

The problem with comparing a Leica M with a Zorki is that people neglect Zorkis and then sell them but they spend a lot of money on the M's. Treat any Leica like a Zorki and it will fail and treat a Zorki like a Leica and it will delight you.

As I see it - this is an unpopular view, btw - all cameras need looking after and servicing from time to time. One of my Nikons said, in the manual, that it should be returned for a check every two years and I see no reason why that shouldn't apply to any other camera; although 2 years seems a bit extreme to me.

The real problem is that cameras decline slowly and you don't really notice until it's a bit too late. But the next owner will; it happened when I bought my M2 years ago.

Regards, David



Regards, David

Dear David,

I love the Fed and Zorki, but I only made a descriptive feedback on my Zorki 4, my feelings. I have a different and more positive experience with my Fed 1 from 1940, which offers a more advanced level of mechanical engineering (also perhaps because it's a close copy of Leica 2.)

 

[pippy]

Zorki 4 and my Leica MP......Some impressions about the Zorki.........always compared to Leica M....

With all due respect - and no offence intended I assure you - I'm failing to see any value whatsoever in comparing these two cameras. What, exactly, was the point you were trying to make? That a £30 Zorki isn't as well designed, engineered and manufactured as a £3,000 Leica?

If you wish to contrast the differing qualities of FSU cameras with their German antecedents then you could compare a Fed 1 with a Leica II. You could also compare a Zorki 1 with a Leica II. You could, furthermore compare a Kiev II with a Contax II and a Kiev III with a Contax III.

But to compare a Zorki 4 with a Leica MP? This is akin to comparing a Trabant with a Mercedes Benz...

Pip.

 

[wolves3012]

Zorki 4 and my Leica MP


Some impressions about the Zorki...

Difficult to cock the shutter, the button is too small and too deep in the camera (FED 2 is better). Heterogeneous arrangement of the speed dial, the release button and the accessory shoe at the top of the case. Their aluminum construction does not give off the same feeling of sturdiness as the rest of the camera case.
The trigger is located too high (compared to the Leica M) and too hard to trigger (and is pretty loud).
The viewfinder is relatively clear, but pinkish in color and the outline of the frame is not well defined. Small frame of the rangefinder don't have enough contrast, always compared to Leica M.
Erratic slow speeds, they sometimes work ... Rewinding defective, the armament does not recover properly after having actuated the button.
In fact the impression of an unreliable device on which we can not really count. (The FED 2 seems better drawn, better finished, even if its viewfinder seemed too small.)

On the other hand, I have a Zorki 4 and 4K, both of which have been fully and properly CLA'd. Ergonomics aside and not comparing them unrealistically to vastly more expensive cameras, they are both reasonably quiet. Both are smooth and easy to wind on. The slow speeds all work flawlessly, as do all the other mechanical functions. Do you suppose the CLAs have something to do with this?

There's no doubt that some FSU cameras were pups straight from the factory and the ergonomics and aesthetics suit some people and not others. Comparing to a Leica MP though, really?

 

[aton]

Another time.. I never wanted to compare a Zorki 4 and a Leica MP. If you read carefully my post, I evoke the leica MP for holding the camera in hand, finding the trigger of the Zorki too high upon the camera, and concerning the rangefinder frame I say that it is quite low contrast (the reference of quality being the Leica), being the same case for the FED 1, Zorki 5 or a Kodak Retina etc.... This is a fact and not a comparison, an experience of the camera in my hand, no more. I think and say again that the FED 2 is better designed, for example for the position of the shutter) and the button of the film advance too, which one has better in hand.

 

[pippy]

.. I never wanted to compare a Zorki 4 and a Leica MP. If you read carefully my post...

Actually, aton, I did read your post carefully. This is what you wrote;

...compared to the Leica M.........always compared to Leica M.

Philip.

 

[Geo Toreno]

Beautiful thread...

 

[Hannes]

I was out with my Kiev 5. It was a hot day and I needed a break and a beer 🙂

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

This is a cool, fairly scarce FSU, Zorki 3M, now wearing a spiffy Summitar, fitting and focusing well. This will be my knock-about combo when I'm riding the bike. The only thing that is weird, it is so easy for the shutter release button to spin over to the locked position. I know it when it happens, but why did they make this feature?

 

[carbo73]

This is a cool, fairly scarce FSU, Zorki 3M, now wearing a spiffy Summitar, fitting and focusing well. This will be my knock-about combo when I'm riding the bike. The only thing that is weird, it is so easy for the shutter release button to spin over to the locked position. I know it when it happens, but why did they make this feature?

Wow, a FSU camera with a Summitar. I've seen usually the other side arround (myself), a Leica II or III with a Jupiter or Industar lens. Now I've "corrected" this buying at last an Elmar for my Leica III (but also having several FSU "cousins", FED-1, FED-2, Zorki-4, and even a Canon IIB).

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

Thanks! I bought the Summitar for a (gone) Leica IIIc, I like its character. It is a heavy lens but it happens to balance well on the 3M. I like to "churn" FSU cameras because they are easier on the wallet to try, though there is some money lost in the selling compared to the big "L". This one may be the next one to move on, but I think my Zorki-Zorki will be my keeper, they are the highest quality build of all the FSU, I think.

Wow, a FSU camera with a Summitar. I've seen usually the other side arround (myself), a Leica II or III with a Jupiter or Industar lens. Now I've "corrected" this buying at last an Elmar for my Leica III (but also having several FSU "cousins", FED-1, FED-2, Zorki-4, and even a Canon IIB).

 

[abruzzi]

I visited Russia a few weeks ago, so I arranged to get a camera CLA'd which I picked up in Moscow. When we went to St. Petersburg, I dropped by a camera shop and added some lenses. This photo is missing two lenses. I went back to the shop after taking this picture and added a Jupiter 11. Then after shooting a couple rolls, I found that the stepless aperture on the Jupiter 8 was a bit of a pain as I was always knocking it between shots and getting off exposures as a result, so when I returned, I found a Jupiter 8M on ebay, which I bought and am using now.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

Thanks! I bought the Summitar for a (gone) Leica IIIc, I like its character. It is a heavy lens but it happens to balance well on the 3M. I like to "churn" FSU cameras because they are easier on the wallet to try, though there is some money lost in the selling compared to the big "L". This one may be the next one to move on, but I think my Zorki-Zorki will be my keeper, they are the highest quality build of all the FSU, I think.

I'm waiting to test my newly acquired Zorki 3M but it feels very well built (better than the Zorki 4), and I have absolutely no worries about taking it anywhere.

 

[ratm22]

My best looking two from collection 😛

 

[avidmaster]

Beautiful day in Columbus, Ohio. Went out with my Fed 2 and 85mm. Shot a roll of Ultrafine Xtreme 100.

IMG_1644 by Michael Kaplan, on Flickr

 

[Hannes]

Back to the future: Kiev 10 from 1966 and 1969 side by side

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

Double marked Zorki 1, loaded w/ Kodak 5222. Canon 35/f2 & Metrocase finder. Won't exactly slip into my jeans pocket, but since it has gotten cool in Texas, fits the coat pocket just fine. Sunshine today, hopefully.

 

[mpaniagua]

I was taking a snap of my FSU 'Barnacks' yesterday and, as I had a couple of minutes spare, thought I might as well get the Kievs out too. Here they are. The III top-left is a '52 and has some Contax parts. Next along is a Ukranian logo one. Bottom row starts with '55 Cyrillic II; '55 Export II; '56 IIa;

The Barnacks;

Philip.

But but but they are all the same!! 😛 Great collection Philip

Marcelo

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

My Zorki 3M with KMZ Zeiss finder copy. Such a pretty thing and it works perfectly (to date).

 

[Larry Cloetta]

ISKRA with Kontur finder