Why is the Zorki 3M more expensive

[cysasam]

than the rest of the FSU rfs? Is there any specific advantage with them over the other Zorkis or FEDs?

 

[Kozhe]

It´s rarer than other models, it has slow speeds and looks pretty cool imho 🙂

Not so diferent from a -4 from a practical point of view... There´s also the -3 model, which has the slow speed selector on the front like the Leica III and is usually cheaper.

 

[cysasam]

Oh...thanks. I'm meeting up with a guy who's selling his 3M, along with a Jupiter 8, 9 and 12, for 200USD. Is it a good price?

It's an eyeball-to-eyeball meet, so I guess I can easily refuse if the stuff isn't up to scratch.

 

[Kozhe]

With all three lenses yes, it´s a good price, as long as it´s in good shape.

 

[outfitter]

The Zorki 3M has the feel and finish of a western camera (or the Japanese Canon it cosmetically copies). The Zork 3 is even cooler looking to my eyes. The Zorki 4 is the same camera uglied up to accommodate flash sync and worth considerably less - it is ALL about cosmetics. The only practical problem (I don't consider the lack of sync in a 35mm RF a problem) is that the viewfinder view is rather vague (I.e. hard to frame the subject)

 

[brachal]

The 3M is relatively rare, hence the price. If all of the gear you're looking at is in good shape, I'd say it's a very good price. Good samples of those lenses are capable of surprising results.

 

[cysasam]

Thanks for all the input, folks. I got the 3M yesterday, and the VF is a joy to use, specially compared to my Fed 2. On the other hand, the Fed 2 looks more sleek, and slick, so I'm planning to split up the workload - daylight street photography: Fed, low/available light:3M. Hope to post some scanned negs soon. 🙂