Which Zorki?

http://jay.fedka.com/index_files/Page345.htm

This page was a tremendous help. I've found you can quite easily cut the leader with just scissors and a steady hand. My take-up spool was quite worn so the film kept slipping off, but a piece of sticky tape can fix that. Just make sure no bits of tape or film get loose, if any of them get into the mechanism they can jam up the works - I had to take my Zorki apart once, it's not going to happen again if I can help it.
 
Awesome! I'll have to start saving for the Zorki 1.
Should I get the $70 Zorki 1 or the $100 Zorki 1 and industrar 22 lens?
I already have a Jupiter 8 from my broken zorki, but the 22 looks so small!
 
I have the I-22 on mine and I *personally* think it's worth it for the collapsing feature alone. It depends on what you want to do with it, of course; you're better off asking someone who knows more about the advantages and disadvantages of each.
 
Whateverist said:
I have the I-22 on mine and I *personally* think it's worth it for the collapsing feature alone. It depends on what you want to do with it, of course; you're better off asking someone who knows more about the advantages and disadvantages of each.
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I'm gonna be doing people photography, how easy is it to collapse the lens?
 
MarkoKovacevic said:
Hmm should I get the Zorki 1 with lens for $100, or get a real Leica III for $220?
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if you can get a real Leica III for $220, working properly and preferably CLAd then I'd grab it! At that price I doubt you can find one in full working order unless you have more than your fair share of luck. You're still likely to need a lens though but you could do a lot worse than an Industar 22 or 50 collapsible. Beware that a Jupiter 8 may or may not work well on a Leica III - I had to get one adjusted specially before it would focus correctly on my IIIC.
 
wolves3012 said:
if you can get a real Leica III for $220, working properly and preferably CLAd then I'd grab it! At that price I doubt you can find one in full working order unless you have more than your fair share of luck. You're still likely to need a lens though but you could do a lot worse than an Industar 22 or 50 collapsible. Beware that a Jupiter 8 may or may not work well on a Leica III - I had to get one adjusted specially before it would focus correctly on my IIIC.
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KEH is selling a working IIIC BGN with engravings for that price.

So my J8 wouldn't focus correctly on the Leica?
 
MarkoKovacevic said:
KEH is selling a working IIIC BGN with engravings for that price.

So my J8 wouldn't focus correctly on the Leica?
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Excuse my ignorance, what's BGN and what engravings? That's pretty cheap for a IIIC, although I confess I'm not a Leica buff.

The Jupiter 8 may or may not. Sloppy quality-control may mean it won't focus accurately close up and wide open. I can't remember if mine back or front-focussed a little but Kim Coxon corrected it for me. I have to admit I've not tried any of the others I own since they live on other bodies and the one I had adjusted was a "spare" from a junker Zorki 4k, so it now lives on the IIIC. Kim did comment that it was out of spec anyway and might well not have focussed properly on an FSU body either.
 
wolves3012 said:
Excuse my ignorance, what's BGN and what engravings? That's pretty cheap for a IIIC, although I confess I'm not a Leica buff.

The Jupiter 8 may or may not. Sloppy quality-control may mean it won't focus accurately close up and wide open. I can't remember if mine back or front-focussed a little but Kim Coxon corrected it for me. I have to admit I've not tried any of the others I own since they live on other bodies and the one I had adjusted was a "spare" from a junker Zorki 4k, so it now lives on the IIIC. Kim did comment that it was out of spec anyway and might well not have focussed properly on an FSU body either.
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BGN is a light user camera, showing signs of wear. Engravings could be someones name engraved on the camera, or whatever.

Here are some shots of my BGN grade Nikon F5.
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MarkoKovacevic said:
BGN is a light user camera, showing signs of wear. Engravings could be someones name engraved on the camera, or whatever.
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Ok, my understanding is that engravings can devalue a Leica unless they are genuine military ones so that probably explains it. Good for a user, not interesting to a collector.

My first reaction to that F5 was "jeez, that is ENORMOUS!". I can't imagine carrying something like that around (but then again, I used to lug 2 Minolta bodies with power-winders, 28mm, 50mm, 70-210mm and 500mm Cat lenses, a flashgun and assorted odds and ends around).
 
It's a slippery slope. You'll eventually have them all. It's okay; you're one of us now. We are your brothers, your comrades and will not judge you as your FSU bucket slowly but surely begins to overflow. :angel: After all, it's for the good of the people - for the good of the Motherland.

I have both a very nice Zorki.4 and a couple of Zorki.1s. (eww, wait, I have a third Zorki.1 in a box somewhere waiting on a pressure plate.) Anyway, between the 4 & 1, my Zorki preference is either one of my Ones. It's nothing to do with looks ... I like their simplicity and small, comfortable size. No bells and whistles here; a light-tight box with shutter and RF that will fit in most jacket or vest pockets.

Bottom loader? Yep, my preference. Again, simpler with less chance for leaks. Cutting film is a piece of cake. I just lengthen the existing film leader by counting off 12 more holes and zippin' it off with a knife, box cutter, scissors or whatever is handy. Leader cutting is easily learned and pretty hard to screw up. You can do it.

I would suggest looking for an export model nicknamed "Zorki-Zorki" ... they have Zorki engraved on top in both English and Cyrillic. Rumor has it that the exported models were a slightly better quality than those sold at home. Don't know; could be myth. But I have no complaints about the Zorki.Zorkis I have.

The Zorkis with the name stamped on the top [rather than engraved] have a slightly weaker body than those engraved. And yeah, from my experience, Fedka is truly trustworthy. Any questions you have about anything he's got can be emailed to him and he answers rapidly; open and honest.

I shoot 28mm or 35mm most of the time, but the I.22 is a really neat little 50mm; great bang for the buck. Everyone should own at least one.
 
Regarding BGN grade gear from KEH, I have had good experience with them with 2 lenses, but I also got a 20mm f/3.5 Nikkor AI at BGN (still the most expensive lens I bought from them) but I was disappointed because it looks to me the lens was either dropped or someone tinkered with a fair bit of force. Either way, I would have thought it hard to miss. Since I live in Australia, the cost and hassle of returning it and disputing was offputting to me so I don't look at their site again. Different story if you are in the US.
 
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