Zokri-4 Problems

[Wompa]

Hi.

I got back my first photos today and I was amazed how bad they were. And whats realy funny is the black ribbons on each side of the card.

Allmost all the cards was like this. The photos without the Flash was rather good but veryunfocused.

The focus is real off, dont know why...

Anyone that knows about these problems? The focusing is mostly my fault, any tips?
But what about the black bars? It must be something to do with the flash I used.

 

[Wompa]

But when I used it on the motoring show the pictures was great but unfocused. Is there only shutter problem on high speed or low speed do you think? On the motoring show I used about 250-1000 because of all the light.
This is so fun I could puke... Allways is there a problem with my new bought stuff. But who is to blame? The camera is 47 years old.

 

[Joao]

Two (simple) possible explanations:
First photo: the flash was used at a faster speed that it was supposed to be used - then the shutter curtains are not yet wide open or are already closing, causing the dark (unexposed) areas. If this happened only with flash, it sems the most likely explanation.
Second photo: diopter correction lever in the wrong position - it can make focusing quite erratic (very basic, but it happened to me...)
Regards
Joao

 

[wolves3012]

Wompa,

The first shot was taken with flash, right? If so then you have the wrong speed set and the wrong setting on the synchro-ring. Don't use speeds over 1/30 (you can use lower though) and make sure the synchro-ring (that's the one just under the shutter speed dial) is set to either "X" or "0" (older cameras have 0-25 on the dial, newer ones have X and M marked). The flash has to go off at the right moment, when the frame is fully open. On the first pic the synchro is set too early, so the first blind is not fully open. Then, by setting too high a speed the second curtain has already started to close. That's how it looks to me anyway, there could be shutter problems involved too. Take the lens off and aim the flash into the body. Now fire the shutter on 1/30 or slower - you should see the whole of the frame with no curtains visible.

On the second photo, you might have used too slow a speed so there's lots of camera-shake. If you didn't use a slow speed then either you mis-focussed by quite a lot or the rangefinder is way off or the lens is faulty in some way. Check the rangefinder accuracy by focussing on a very distant object and also another one at 1m from the film plane (roughly that's the back of the camera). Check that the lens scale agrees with these distances when the images in the RF are lined up.

If the RF is accurate then the most likely thing is that the lens is seriously out of adjustment. You could check this by taking the back off, focussing the lens on a distant scene and looking closely at an image on some frosted glass/plastic or tape held against the film rails while the shutter is locked open on "B" setting. To be honest your photo just looks like you focussed very badly though.

Let us know what you find...

 

[wolves3012]

You can only use flash at one speed, should be 1/30.
The focus being off is probably due to an RF unit needing adjusted.

The Zorki 4 actually has a "proper" synchro switch which will work correctly on ALL speeds of 1/30 or slower (even "B"). This is not true for FEDs which will ONLY sync correctly at 1/30 (or 1/25 on some models).

 

[Wompa]

Hmm.. alot of replys, Neat!

Im new at this with cameras so it may be that im a real bloke. The syncro was set to 5 as I saw now so it may be that im a bit clumsy. And I will keep in mind that 1/30 at least when flash is used, a thumb rule. Didnt know that before so.

At the focusing question I took a picture at great range and I couldnt find anything wrong with it. Maby a little focusing could make it better.
But when I take a photo near a object what should I think about?

Rules:
Wind up befor setting timer
Use 1/30 or loweron flash and Sync on "0" or "X"

Anything more I should think about.

 

[wolves3012]

It is well worth the trouble to check the RF accuracy as I said above. If the RF is wrong you will never get good focus using it. It's not hard to adjust the RF if it's wrong but it is a fiddly process that takes time.

Other things to think about: If you are new to cameras in general then it's well worth doing some reading on choosing the right aperture and shutter speed and the effects they have, such as depth-of-field for aperture (sorry if you have already done this!).

By the way, the other settings on the synchro ring are for various types of flash bulb. Hardly anybody uses bulbs now but the settings are there if you ever need them. For electronic flash you must use the "0" or "X" setting, whichever is on your camera.

 

[Wompa]

I learn new thinks all the time on this forum.
But as I feel is that the camera is fine but that it I that have the shutter problem. I will try to get a hold on a Photo book that tells about all the basics. Or I can read on the internet.
Aperture I hade a notice of what it was for but the DOF was a new thing.
I will try to learn about bot Aperture and DOF, so I can be a master on this subject 😉

 

[Wompa]

I have read a little, and now I want to see if its correct.

On the picture the Aparture is set to 22 and the focusring it set to Infinity. But the Other shows 2m.
The first pic has a DOF on Infi to 2m right? And the other has a from Infi to 0.7m. When im taking pictures of close objects I set the camera to Distant 1.5m and then the Aparture on how the Aparture will be, If i use 1.5 I can set on 11 and then get DOF of 1.2 to 2m.
This will show more of the background but make the object more focused and the other more blury?

Am I correct on this subject?

 

[Wompa]

How can I check that its done correctly then? Im trying to find the correct distanse, but even so it can be a failure.

 

[nzeeman]

How can I check that its done correctly then? Im trying to find the correct distanse, but even so it can be a failure.

put some object on 1m from the camera (measured from the back of the camera) and aim it through rangefinder. when you do that check what distance lens show. if its 1m your lens is adjusted if it smething else you need to adjust rangefinder.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~tomtiger/zenrep/calibration.html

 

[Wompa]

Hmm now I started to understand the camera, I will try the test now.

P.S I tryed the test from 1m range and it was no failure. The lense showed "1" exactly. So it must be me then and the camera works.

 

[wolves3012]

I have read a little, and now I want to see if its correct.

On the picture the Aparture is set to 22 and the focusring it set to Infinity. But the Other shows 2m.
The first pic has a DOF on Infi to 2m right? And the other has a from Infi to 0.7m. When im taking pictures of close objects I set the camera to Distant 1.5m and then the Aparture on how the Aparture will be, If i use 1.5 I can set on 11 and then get DOF of 1.2 to 2m.
This will show more of the background but make the object more focused and the other more blury?

Am I correct on this subject?

On the left hand diagram the subjects will be in focus between infinity and 2m at f/22, on the right hand one that will be infinity and 0.7m, you are correct. The second method is focussing on what is called the hyperfocal distance and it maximises the sharp zone. Notice the left-hand diagram wastes the DOF that goes beyond infinity...no-one lives there!

Before worrying too much about this method you should practice using the RF to focus on the subject and learn to control DOF with the aperture chosen. Hyperfocal distance is, however, very useful for shooting quickly by carrying the camera around already set to hyperfocal distance. Then, you are likely to get a sharp result even without stopping to focus properly, provided you are within the range shown on the lens scale for the aperture set. f/22 isn't a very practical setting much of the time, however, you'll usually have to compromise.

 

[gb hill]

I would load up with some 100 or 200asa daylight film and leave the flash at home. Go about town and get aquanted with your camera. If you don't have a light meter use the sunny 16 rule. Just remember if your lens widest apature is 3.5 this will give you your shallowest dof but you will need a fast shutter speed to compensate. F16 will give you an infinate (long) dof. The diaphram in the lens will look like a pin hole so you will need a slower shutter speed to allow more light to strike the film. It's a fun hobby. Have fun with it.