Using a Zorki in winter

[lxmike]

-22 is the coldest I've shot stuff in, (pentax lx) and the camera and film survived, phew

 

[kievman]

I have had good luck shooting my Kievs in cold weather (-5F) the uncla'ed Zorki's not so good of luck. Best advice for cold weather shooting- keep all cameras inside jacket till ready to shoot and in between shots, that works the best for batteries or lubs in Manual cameras - Kievman

 

[society]

My Zorki 6 has been just fine so far this winter which has been a steady 0F - 25F for the last month or so.

 

[tho60]

I have cleaned my Zorki-S with petrol to remove lubricants, yet the cold had paralized the shutter completely.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Cleaning and LUBRICATION.
To clean Zorki from old gunk you'll need to disassemble shutter completely, get to each curtain spring, get it cleaned and lubricated. This will make huge difference.

 

[ForestCap]

For the models with spinning shutter speed dial sitting close to shutter button, one needs to be careful not to touch the dial when shooting with thick gloves on.

I like Zorki-6 for the faraway located speed dial.

 

[Fotohuis]

It will depend on the type lubrication. Leica in Solms can use lubrication for their M cameras which guarantee -40C in working condition. However probably your battery will be dead then. I tried my Zorki's-6 at -20C and they still work. I have to try that for my FED-3 and Kiev-4AM too.

 

[Sid836]

Last year, the one of the two curtains of my Fed-3 came off while using it at -10 degC. It is a pain repairing it and thus I do now use them (Fed 1-2-3, Zorki 1 & 4) when it is freezing cold outside.
I am not saying that they aren't reliable, I am just being afraid of having to repair curtains again.

 

[fanshaw]

I have an English manual for a Fed-4, printed in USSR, which advises that in conditions of hard frost the camera should be kept under the coat and brought out only to take pictures.

 

[ForestCap]

Just finished the roll inside my Zorki-1d.

The camera was lubricated with bicycle oil (CRC 5.56) labelled with -10 C working temperature.

The picture was taken when it's around -3 °C. Camera was exposed in the air for more than 30 min. No obvious uneven exposure (fading). Shutter speed was 1/100s or 1/250s.

Lens was a collapsible Industar-50.

 

[Fricetix]

I am regularly rocking my Kiev 4 at -20 celsius in the winter, along with my Nikon DSLR gear if I'm out shooting landscapes. If a mid-range Nikon DSLR can handle this kinda temperature, then considering Russian winters, I'm sure Kiev can shoot below at least -40 celsius although at that temperature, the problem is, I can't shoot 😉

With that said, I have not used a Zorki and have no idea about its internals, so take this with a grain of salt.

And I should also mention that Kiev is an all metal camera which, as well, has metal shutter curtains. I know some of those FED's, Zorki's and older Pre-M Leicas have cloth shutter curtains if I'm not mistaken.

 

[JoeV]

I wonder if FSU cameras were originally lubricated with fish-based oils, that don't have the gelling problems of petroleum-based lubricants. Then, years later, they get CLA'd and end up with cold temperature problems.

~Joe

 

[bobby_novatron]

I am regularly rocking my Kiev 4 at -20 celsius in the winter, along with my Nikon DSLR gear if I'm out shooting landscapes. If a mid-range Nikon DSLR can handle this kinda temperature, then considering Russian winters, I'm sure Kiev can shoot below at least -40 celsius although at that temperature, the problem is, I can't shoot 😉

With that said, I have not used a Zorki and have no idea about its internals, so take this with a grain of salt.

And I should also mention that Kiev is an all metal camera which, as well, has metal shutter curtains. I know some of those FED's, Zorki's and older Pre-M Leicas have cloth shutter curtains if I'm not mistaken.

I just used my 1957 Kiev 2a today outside in a blizzard, with blowing snow and -15 Celsius temperatures. The camera seemed to function fine -- tomorrow I might just take my Zorki outside and try out some cold weather testing.

IMHO these FSU cameras were made in a cold climate (Russia, Ukraine, etc.) so I don't see why they shouldn't hold up well in low temperatures.

 

[David Hughes]

I wonder if FSU cameras were originally lubricated with fish-based oils, that don't have the gelling problems of petroleum-based lubricants. Then, years later, they get CLA'd and end up with cold temperature problems.

~Joe

Hi,

I've known elderly engineers and very specialised ones swear by castor oil; not fish but plant based. It would be interesting to see the specification.

Regards, David

PS And there's those stories about bananas used for emergency repairs. Ask any 2CV owner...

 

[btgc]

I wonder why many assume FSU cameras were built to be operated in deep cold Siberia between bears and moose? It's a cliche of Hollywood from 80's. When USSR were alive, absolutely biggest part of population lived outside of mentioned climate zone. No one camera maker would specially make cameras deep cold ready if there would not be high demand for them.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I've a small collection of USSR issued instruction manuals and have been looking through them. In the Zorki 6 one it mentions the precautions when using it at -10˚ and then coming indoors; in other words the usual condensation worry. Only in the turret universal finder instructions they say -15˚ to +45˚ C as the working range and humidity up to 80% or 85% (vague due to creasing of the paper).

BTW, looking in the FED, Kiev and Zorki manuals and they guarantee the cameras for a year and give an address for repairs too...

Regards, David

 

[David Hughes]

I wonder why many assume FSU cameras were built to be operated in deep cold Siberia between bears and moose? It's a cliche of Hollywood from 80's. When USSR were alive, absolutely biggest part of population lived outside of mentioned climate zone. No one camera maker would specially make cameras deep cold ready if there would not be high demand for them.

Hi,

Stereotyping as usual. It would be interesting to get hold of the soi disant 'Siberian' model and its instruction manual. It's probably a military version.

Regards, David

 

[bobby_novatron]

In solidarity with those forgotten Zorki engineers, I loaded up my Zorki-4 (1969 manufacture) with some HP5+ and went out on a winter walk today. It was about -12 Celsius and snowing lightly.

I took about 20 photos. The camera seemed to function 100% fine. In fact, my fingers grew numb and started to malfunction long before the camera.

I'm developing the HP5+ at the moment, scans to come.

Here's a photo of my Zorki-4 in the frozen Canadian wilderness:

 

[Fotohuis]

At least the Kiev-4 manual is clear:

http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/Kiev%201979%20manual.pdf

I can not test it under cold conditions unless I put it in my freezer at -18C. We have Spring temperatures here in Holland, last week 16C. 🙂

 

[santino]

according to a soviet book I have the Kiev 4 is winter tight because of the metal shutter curtain...

The only camera I had problems with in winter was the Pentacon Six. It has a giant rubberized cloth shutter (how does a Pentax 6x7 perform btw. ?)