The Zorki Takes Flight

[GeneW]

My Zorki 3M is flying home to the motherland and, barring theft, into Oleg's repair studio. On the last roll I shot with it, one side of each frame was darker than the other side. Now it might seem odd to pay the postage and pay for a CLA and maybe even parts, but it's what happens when one of the FSU cams gets under your skin...

I've owned a Zorki 4K, Fed-2 and Zorki 3M. I liked them all. I missed having strap lugs with the 4K though. The Fed-2 was a beauty and taught me that I actually LIKE a rewind knob, but as nice as the Fed-2 was, the 3M seemed perfect to me -- nice rewind knob, strap lugs, perfect balance in my hands, and beautiful lines. Sounds corny, but it spoke to me -- it was the one I wanted to shoot with.

So I told Oleg, fix it so it's good and I can use it for another 20 years 😀

Do any of you feel enough attachment to any of your FSU's that you'd go the extra kilometer to have it working well, or is this some rare condition with maybe parallels to GAS? ...

Gene

 

[taffer]

No Gene, it's also that you found your FSU perfect match, and that you actually WANT to shoot it 😀

Wise decision.

 

[GeneW]

Thanks Oscar. I forgot to mention that it was Oscar who reminded me about Oleg when I was describing the problem I noticed with the Zorki. I'd also heard several members here praise his CLA and restoration work.

Gene

 

[Kin Lau]

I looked at the title, and imagined a Zorki flying out the window of a highrise apartment 🙂

My 1st Zorki was a 4, which was a little cranky. I solved that by buying a 2S, Kiev & 4K 🙂

 

[wlewisiii]

Gene, that's how I feel about the way the Contax and Kiev cameras feel - and I find that they all seem just about the same, so I could pick any of the clan up and be comfortable. The only really different ones are the Contax I and the Kiev 5 and I'll know about the latter one soon enough. But when my Kiev 4a needs a CLA, it's going to Henry's Contax Day Spa for the works. And it will be just as worth the money as my Contax III, to me.

William

 

[GeneW]

William, one of these days I *know* I'm going to try out a Kiev. Especially when I hear how passionate you and other Kiev users are about them!

Gene

 

[Roman]

Well, I paid the 'all-inclusive holidays' in the Autonomous Region of Mari-El at Oleg's health spa for my Zorki 6....

Roman

 

[back alley]

the kiev is a very different 'feel' than the zorki.

too new for me to describe but if i had to try -- i would liken the kiev to a canon rf and the zorki to a leica -- in feel, not operation.

joe

 

[GeneW]

Roman, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who sends his camera to Oleg's Health Spa LOL!

Joe, thanks for the comparison. Since I've never used a Canon, the comparison isn't as useful as it should be ... maybe you want to lend me your Canons for awhile so I can 'get the feel'??

Gene

 

[back alley]

if you can grab a ftb that would do also.
it looks close to the canon rf bodies.

one thing about the kiev, the lens is much tighter into the body - makes for a narrow profile, easier to pack in a smaller pocket, etc. i thought it was a collapsable for a minute.

joe

 

[Gordon Coale]

I have a couple of FED 2s that will eventually end up at Oleg's Health Spa for Wayward Commie Cameras. It's the FED 2 that speaks to me. (But them I often hear voices in my head.) I love shooting them and I love just setting them down on the table and looking at them. I really need to get a life.

 

[GeneW]

I love shooting them and I love just setting them down on the table and looking at them. I really need to get a life.

A soulmate! 😀

Gene

 

[wlewisiii]

William, one of these days I *know* I'm going to try out a Kiev. Especially when I hear how passionate you and other Kiev users are about them!

Gene

Well, they are certainly worth a try. As joe mentions, they are different from other cameras. I've been corrupted by the zeisside enough that I prefer my Kiev to a Lieca CL that I fondled for awhile before selling it to Brian Sweeney for a friend. I doubt that I'm typical, but I also really like my 85 and 135 lenses and that much longer EBL rangefinder really helps. I've never had a hassle with my 85/2 wide open for example.

The Kiev itself, even in later simplified and of suspect QC versions, is still an amazing camera. It's summed up best in this quote from Peter Hennig's article at Cameraquest: “This is not a Soviet camera - it is a German camera, made in the Soviet Union” In it's soul, it's still a Contax.

William

 

[GeneW]

William, oh man ... you shouldn't do that to me ...

Anyone have a good-condition Kiev for sale??

Gene

 

[wlewisiii]

😀 😀 😀 😀

http://www.okvintagecamera.com/index.html
or
http://www.fedka.com/catalog/

are both very good places to start. I like fedka alot - he costs more but he really will go the extra 10 km for a customer.

William

 

[yauyaursk]

GeneW
Can you tell me more about the feeling using Zorki-3
Because I want to buy one be my No.2 when my Fed-2 go to repair

 

[GeneW]

GeneW
Can you tell me more about the feeling using Zorki-3
Because I want to buy one be my No.2 when my Fed-2 go to repair

I once read a description on a website that called the Zorki 3M the 'Queen of the Zorki's'. The 3M is like the Zorki 3 but the separate slow shutter speed dial was combined into a single shutter dial. The 3's had a relatively short run so there aren't as many of them around.

This is totally subjective, but something about the lines of the camera, plus the way it feels in my hand, makes it feel 'just right' to me. I'd even go so far as to say that if I were to have only one RF camera from my collection, this is the one I'd choose. (I'd probably like a Leica even more but I don't have one ...)

I owned a dandy Fed-2 and really liked it too, but the Zorki 3M just clicked with me somehow (no pun intended). It has strap lugs, and nice big film advance knob, but no flash sync. The back comes off the same way as the Zorki 4 series. It has Contax style locks on the bottom.

My hope is that the 3M comes back from Oleg's Health Spa ready to shoot for another 20 yrs! LOL 😀

Gene

 

[fraley]

Thanks, Gene!

Thanks, Gene!

Thanks, Gene

I've really enjoyed this thread. Since my introduction to rangefinders last September, I've tried a Fed 5c, a Yashica GSN, a Yashica Lynx 1000, a Kiev 4AM, and a Zorki 4. It's the Zorki that has had the most attraction for me. I like the built-in diopter and the bright viewfinder. It feels solid and reliable. I just recently bid and won on a second Zorki 4. This is the early version of the 4, same as a 3c with the addition of a self-timer. I don't know if the blue is original (seems doubtful) but I find it speaks to me strangely...

 

[Jon Goodman]

I'll second that, Michael. I've said before that I enjoy my Zorki 4 (1956) greatly. I've got another one from 1965 that I'm going to tear down, re-shutter and enjoy. This is the one with the odd engraved script on front...sometimes forgotten. I believe it may have only been made one year or two. The one from 1956 seems smoother and nicer. I'm going to see if I can re-create that feeling in the one from 1965.
Jon

 

[Solinar]

I have a Zorki 3M and now a Zorki 3. I already like the Zorki 3, the best even though I've read it can have problems with the slow speed escapement.

One draw back on both cameras, the range finder patch isn't as contrasty as a modern camera.

As mentioned, both fit the hand beautifully and the large 1:1 viewfinder while not so precise for framing is a totally new experience for me.