Zorkfedstein on ebay

[kiev4a]

For those of you interested in such things this Ebay Item is an example of how sellers try to get the most mileage out of available parts.

The camera is advertised as a FED 1 but as near as I can figure, only the rangefinder housing is from a FED. The body is from a 1955 Zorki 1E and the lens is from a 1956 camera -- probably a Zorki 4. Just goes to prove "parts is parts."

 

[reagan]

Just goes to prove "parts is parts."

Yeah, or in this case, "Parts is Cash!" Sort of steep starting price for me... though the lens might be inviting for half the money.

I might consider mixing and matching parts to get the function I wanted for a particular unit, but I'm not sure I'd take it to the Bay. ... Unless I could advertise it as a

"Homemade Copy of a FED Copy of a Zorki Copy of a Leica Copy ... 35mm Something"

 

[Kim Coxon]

The starting price is not that bad when you consider most J3's start at this or higher. If you need a J3, you get a free camera!

Kim

Yeah, or in this case, "Parts is Cash!" Sort of steep starting price for me... though the lens might be inviting for half the money.

I might consider mixing and matching parts to get the function I wanted for a particular unit, but I'm not sure I'd take it to the Bay. ... Unless I could advertise it as a

"Homemade Copy of a FED Copy of a Zorki Copy of a Leica Copy ... 35mm Something"

 

[reagan]

most J3's start at this or higher

Yeah you're right there! And my eyes went right to the J3 too. The pics just aren't good enough for my old eyes to be able to discern good or bad. That's my point. If someone throws some parts together and calls it a FED1, I'm not sure I want to trust the "everything work properly" description of the J3 ... except for maybe half-price.

I've got a J12 on the shelf that was described as EXC+ that I almost need vise grips to focus it. Even a J3, I can't see "work properly" being worth more to me than about 25 bones. But hey, that's just me. I'm pretty much a tight wad. I'll acquire a J3 one day and I'm sure I'll pay lots more than this guy's $49.99 for it, but I hope I'll have a good idea that it's going to be functional when I get it. 😕

 

[kiev4a]

When I was getting interested in FSU gear, I paid a premium for what I thought was a unique Zorki 1B without a serial number. FSU camera expert and master customizer Jim Blazik diplomatically explained to me that what I had was a FED 1 body and a Zorki 1D or E top. Anybody here remember the infamous FSU camera dealer gasmasks_ru? He got me.

 

[Kim Coxon]

That's partly how I got into camera repair. I found I was buying stuff "fully guarenteed" only to find they didn't know what they were talking about. I was paying much the same price as if I had bought a dud and paid for a CLA so started doing that. Then bought a couple of very cheapo's at about $1 each to play with and found many jobs were not that difficult. With lenses, I wouldn't touch a fully automatic SLR lens but many of the older ones and certainly the FSU RF lenses are easy to take apart and re-lube. I got my J8 for $3 because the guy said ir had a hair in. It was a 2 min job to take the rear group out and blow it out. It worked but was a bit notchy so It took 20 mins for a re-lube.I could have paid 15-20 and still had to do a similiar job. So I am not too worried about the mechanics as long as the glass is good.

Regards
Kim

Yeah you're right there! And my eyes went right to the J3 too. The pics just aren't good enough for my old eyes to be able to discern good or bad. That's my point. If someone throws some parts together and calls it a FED1, I'm not sure I want to trust the "everything work properly" description of the J3 ... except for maybe half-price.

I've got a J12 on the shelf that was described as EXC+ that I almost need vise grips to focus it. Even a J3, I can't see "work properly" being worth more to me than about 25 bones. But hey, that's just me. I'm pretty much a tight wad. I'll acquire a J3 one day and I'm sure I'll pay lots more than this guy's $49.99 for it, but I hope I'll have a good idea that it's going to be functional when I get it. 😕

 

[reagan]

I found I was buying stuff "fully guarenteed" only to find they didn't know what they were talking about.

Yeah, I keep telling myself "...that's part of the fun!" I just started the fun of cleaning and lubing lenses. Like I've said before, I'm a tourist in these waters. Presently I'm waiting to get a little better tools to disassemble and clean the gunk out of the aforementioned J12.

But not long ago I purchased a I26m that just looked new in the photos. And paid diddly for it. Sure enough, I got it home and it was primo looking, but was so stiff I couldn't believe it. But a short clean and relube session on the kitchen table and it functions like it looks (though I haven't shot another roll since the relube... we'll see.) Anyway, it sure moves better. And I'm a bit of a tinkerer at heart so FSU stuff affords me that enjoyment witout the pressure of screwing up expensive stuff.

So while we're on the subject, (or now that I've rambled completely off-thread] I've looked around a little for a reputable place to get a few tools and found this guy, Romney. Anyone know of others? I've seen that Oleg has some, but haven't looked closely at them. Any tips would help. Thanks.