Travellin' Man

Rodchenko said:
There's a Zorki 5 on ebay now looks decent. Any advice, folks?

I know I sound pretty clueless, but I have owned and pushed a lot of film through both a Zorki 4K and a Kiev 4 (the Zorki I enjoyed, for all its faults and ugliness, but the Kiev I loved), but have had almost no experience of other Russian cameras (short of a dreadful Zenit a friend had), and I know there's a wealth of it here.

The market in FSU cameras on ebay in the UK is pretty much cornered by an English chap who lives in the Ukraine. He has a good rating, and many of his cameras are CLAd.
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Zorki 5 might have problems with film advance. One of the reasons they came with Z6 after it.
Yes, UK guy in Ukraine. Not sure if cameras are CLA'd, but at least they do check them, for him.
 
Yeah, the seller is called emjaybe or some such. I accept that a seller saying something is CLAd is no guarantee, but, as I say, his ratings are good.

Thanks for the heads up on the Z5. That's the sort of knowledge I need, and I had wondered why so few seemed to be in circulation.

Muggins, when I've got a camera I've confidence in, I'll set up a thread and get names down. I bought a Taron before with wide angle and tele attachments. Great bargain. Or at least it would have been if the shutter had worked. I took a chance and it turned out bad. never mind - I sold that on for spares/repair for about the same I'd bought it for.

I want a proper bargain this time. I've bought a few for myself which have been corkers, so I thought I'd target my efforts this time.
 
Rodchenko said:
Yeah, the seller is called emjaybe or some such. I accept that a seller saying something is CLAd is no guarantee, but, as I say, his ratings are good.

Thanks for the heads up on the Z5. That's the sort of knowledge I need, and I had wondered why so few seemed to be in circulation.
.....

I want a proper bargain this time. I've bought a few for myself which have been corkers, so I thought I'd target my efforts this time.
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Yes, exactly him.

Check hero4g as well. 100% PF and warranty.
Also, alex-ukr-alex.
 
Muggins said:
While it completely fails the RF requirement, David's suggestion of a Trip 35 is good - this one made it all the way:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/travelling-trip35/
(Yes, I had a session with it - it went to Orkney and Shetland in my hands)

Wouldn't mind joining in whatever gets chosen, mind...

Adrian
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HI,

Thanks; I was going to suggest a Cosmic Symbol too, just to see what would be posted (photo's not comments).

Well, it's tough, no batteries required and the lens is OK. I've a set of slides somewhere that goes from Leica Summicron to Symbol halfway due to a total failure of the Leica wind on (something expensive snapped and was replaced when they were at Luton).

Regards, David
 
Well, whatever camera ends up circulating UK, it will be the photographers who make it a "good" one or a "bad" one.

I still like the Fed 3 as your best bet. Fed 2 as a good second. I have both and they still get use (and I have many cameras to choose from). I also have a Zorki 6 and a Kiev 4 somewhere, I dislike them both. The Kiev because it is quirky and difficult to use, more than any other camera I own (I have a LOT of cameras to choose from). The Zorki 6 is really just a fine camera, but I don't connect with it. The film transport is the finicky thing with those. If you have a Z6 that has a great film transport, you will like the camera. If, like most of us, you have a Z6 with a rough film transport, you will cringe with each advance. Again, this is probably the biggest complaint with these cameras, by far.

The FSU cameras that get the most attention from me are an early Fed 1 (don't recommend for you), and a Zorki-C. The Zorki C is probably the most undervalued deal in FSU cameras... It's very reliable. Its small. It doesn't have the limitation for when you set the shutter speed. It has a reasonably nice viewfinder. It just feels nice to handle. I don't see Zorki C on the market as much as I used to. Maybe they're all gobbled up by "people in the know"? But, if you see one of those -- just get it! That will be your traveller.
 
Hi,

I like the FED 3 but the eyepiece surround is a problem for people who wear glasses; OK, there's corn plasters to cover it but my vote goes to the 2 out of the whole range. BTW, a camera with or without a meter in/on it?

Regards, David
 
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