Slide film in Zorki

tho60

tho60

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Hello Buddies!

Can I use slide film in a Zorki? Some people mean that old shutters are not accurate enough for slide film. This is very fussy about exposure, so 1/3 stop of shutter error can ruin the pictures. I am eager for knowing your experiences. :rolleyes:


Thanks
 
I tried a roll of Kodachrome in one of my FSU rangefinders, either a FED-2 or Zorki C, several years ago and it came out fine. Bracket your exposures to get an idea of how accurate your shutter is.
 
It is up to you to expose your film correctly. Know your camera and it can do anything you want it to regardless of make.
 
tho60 said:
Can I use slide film in a Zorki? Some people mean that old shutters are not accurate enough for slide film.
Click to expand...

Well, for one, you must know your shutter (and camera), in general - few cameras of similar vintage are accurate throughout all shutter times.

Besides, the amount of errors the average user will make with handheld meters (or the TTL metering/AE schemes available up into the dawn of the film age) is a stop or two bigger on average than the shutter tolerances of a reasonably working FSU camera. And people have successfully done slides prior to the F6.

And there is no technical reason why a Zorki should not be well adjusted - if you want it to be accurate, fix it or have it fixed.
 
I would even recommend silde film above ordinary color print film, if you use it for scanning purposes. I have made many slides with Fed/Zorki and Zenit cameras. But they have to be exposed very accurately. In bright daylight its better to underexpose them a half or full stop.

Test your camera and light meter with normal film, and shoot several light conditions with different exposure. Write down the aperture and speed for each shot. Look at the density of the negatives, hard or soft.

Just remember what Rover said! ;)
 
Hi,

In your shoes I'd carefully go through a cassette of film with a notebook used for each exposure's data. Stick to boringly average subjects and keep the light mainly behind you. A few shots bracketed would not be amiss, either. Make sure you use every shutter speed and aperture. (I list them all in the notebook and cross them through once used.)

Then look at the slides and notebook to discover what was right and what was wrong. You'll then have a lot of confidence in the camera.

BTW, which model from the Zorki range was it?

Regards, David
 
tho60 said:
Hello Buddies!

Can I use slide film in a Zorki? Some people mean that old shutters are not accurate enough for slide film. This is very fussy about exposure, so 1/3 stop of shutter error can ruin the pictures. I am eager for knowing your experiences. :rolleyes:


Thanks
Click to expand...
The first roll I put through my first FSU was slide film, deliberately done to avoid the print-process "correcting" any problems. All the frames came out fine, exposure-wise (composition might be a different matter!).

I've put slide film through other FSUs since and had no issues. Having siad that, you do need to be confident that the body is working properly.
 
Zorki-1 with slide film

Zorki-1 with slide film

David Hughes said:
Hi,

In your shoes I'd carefully go through a cassette of film with a notebook used for each exposure's data. Stick to boringly average subjects and keep the light mainly behind you. A few shots bracketed would not be amiss, either. Make sure you use every shutter speed and aperture. (I list them all in the notebook and cross them through once used.)

Then look at the slides and notebook to discover what was right and what was wrong. You'll then have a lot of confidence in the camera.

BTW, which model from the Zorki range was it?

Regards, David
Click to expand...

Thanks for your answer!

I would use a Zorki-1 from 1954. Some people tell us that the earlier the better. Later models of Zorki/Fed line are more sophisticated, but their quality deteriorated. But I have several Zorkis. If I get across with this Zorki-1, I will use other models as well.
 
tho60 said:
Thanks for your answer!

I would use a Zorki-1 from 1954. Some people tell us that the earlier the better. Later models of Zorki/Fed line are more sophisticated, but their quality deteriorated. But I have several Zorkis. If I get across with this Zorki-1, I will use other models as well.
Click to expand...

Yes, I think the Zorki 1 is a very pleasant camera and it usually comes with a very nice coated lens.

I have had other Zorkis but this one is my favourite.

Regards, David
 
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