Zorki 1 problems + CLA in the UK?

[Coldkennels]

I recently bought a Zorki 1 that's in cosmetically wonderful condition off the 'bay. The seller told me it was recently CLA'd, but after a roll of film, I found uneven exposures and, occasionally, the shutter would jam partially open on 1/500.

So I dismantled it, tested and retensioned the shutter, and found out what the jam is: the arm that causes the delay on the B setting is occasionally getting involved on the 1/500 setting, too. But I can't figure out how the bloody hell to fix it - at least not permanently. Right now it fires consistently 99% of the time, providing you don't press the shutter button too hard.

I got in touch with the seller, and he's been pretty good about it. He said he'd either give me a full refund, including return shipping, or letting me keep the camera with a £20 partial refund as an apology. I've spent a week thinking about it and I can't figure out what to do. Other than this one problem, it's in really good shape.

So is it worth me keeping it, do you think? Can you think of anyone in the UK that could CLA it for me and get it working flawlessly? Or does anyone have any way of fixing the faulty delay lever?

 

[fanshaw]

Roger Lean – Russian Camera Repairs
32 Ravenstone Road
Hornsey
London N8 0JT

0208 881 5208

 

[ErnestoJL]

IMHO, keep the camera and accept the £20 refund to reduce repair costs.
It´s a nice and small camera (better if you have the I22 callapsible lens) that fits perfectly a shirt pocket. Only flaw, it doesn´t have strap lugs. Mine is waiting for a curtain replacement (something I expect to do soon), which is perhaps the most common fault in cameras unused for many years.
Check the Jay Javier´s Zorky Survival site. It´s worth.
Cheers
Ernesto

 

[wolves3012]

I recently bought a Zorki 1 that's in cosmetically wonderful condition off the 'bay. The seller told me it was recently CLA'd, but after a roll of film, I found uneven exposures and, occasionally, the shutter would jam partially open on 1/500.

So I dismantled it, tested and retensioned the shutter, and found out what the jam is: the arm that causes the delay on the B setting is occasionally getting involved on the 1/500 setting, too. But I can't figure out how the bloody hell to fix it - at least not permanently. Right now it fires consistently 99% of the time, providing you don't press the shutter button too hard.

I got in touch with the seller, and he's been pretty good about it. He said he'd either give me a full refund, including return shipping, or letting me keep the camera with a £20 partial refund as an apology. I've spent a week thinking about it and I can't figure out what to do. Other than this one problem, it's in really good shape.

So is it worth me keeping it, do you think? Can you think of anyone in the UK that could CLA it for me and get it working flawlessly? Or does anyone have any way of fixing the faulty delay lever?

This might help, as you've delved far enough inside to determine the problem, you'll probably understand the parts....

The crescent-shaped arm isn't a simply a delay for B - it forms the second curtain release. That arm is pressed inwards and downwards by a light spring but is normally held upwards by the main shutter release spring - until you press the shutter button. When you fire the shutter, both curtains are released at once. The first curtain is free to open fully. The second curtain is not, it's detained by the crescent-arm which moved downwards and into the path of the little pawl attached to the second curtain shaft.

That pawl stays engaged until one of two things happens. Either you take your finger off the button, or the first curtain pin reaches a point where it kicks the crescent arm out of the way. Unless you are rather good, you can't press and release that button in under 1/20th second, so the first curtain controls it. On B, however, the first curtain's pin never contacts the arm, so the shutter stays latched until you release the button.

Ok, that's the "how it works" - here's the "what can be wrong". Assuming things are clean and lubricated and the rollers tensioned properly, the main reason for the shutter to hang is that the light spring that rests on the crescent-arm is either displaced from its proper rest or it's not exerting the right pressure. It needs to be pressing inwards and downwards, fairly lightly but in a positive fashion. The crescent-arm should drop and move inwards when the shutter button is pressed. Check that the spring is correctly sitting against the post on the crescent-arm for starters.

If the tension is too great, the arm won't get moved aside, so the first curtain will stall and then the pair move together when the shutter button is released. Either no exposure or very little/partial exposure results. Sounds like this is your problem and yes, it most definitely can be an intermittent fault.

If the tension is too weak, the crescent-arm fails to hold back the second curtain, it simply follows the first one closely. All speed settings result in the same exposure, which will be very short and quite possibly partial.

It's possible to bend the light spring, carefully, so that it applies a bit more or a bit less tension - as appropriate. Twisting it around in the direction of its coils, until it bends a little, will reduce the tension and vice versa. Just do it carefully, you don't need a massive change.

 

[Coldkennels]

Thanks for the indepth explanation, Wolves. I spent a fair bit of time examining the mechanism last time I had it open, and my money was that the problem was caused by the plate spring at the bottom of the camera; it looked like it was allowing the arm to drop too much, so I put a bit more tension in it, and (touch wood) it seems to have solved the problem - or at least lessened it.

At any rate, I ended up keeping the camera, taking the £20, and a user on here - Ron (Netherlands) - offered to have a look at it for me, which seemed like a good arrangement. It turns out I can't judge shutter calibration using an old tube-style TV for sh*t.

 

[wolves3012]

Thanks for the indepth explanation, Wolves. I spent a fair bit of time examining the mechanism last time I had it open, and my money was that the problem was caused by the plate spring at the bottom of the camera; it looked like it was allowing the arm to drop too much, so I put a bit more tension in it, and (touch wood) it seems to have solved the problem - or at least lessened it.

At any rate, I ended up keeping the camera, taking the £20, and a user on here - Ron (Netherlands) - offered to have a look at it for me, which seemed like a good arrangement. It turns out I can't judge shutter calibration using an old tube-style TV for sh*t.

It's an unusual idea for the arm to drop *too* far, since it's pretty much limited by hitting the "deck" below it. However, it's not impossible that it's a tad bent downwards to give the same effect.

Glad to hear you're keeping the camera though, they are nice users when working properly.

As for the CRT-test - practice, I guess! I've used it on quite a few cameras, with good results.

 

[Coldkennels]

It's an unusual idea for the arm to drop *too* far, since it's pretty much limited by hitting the "deck" below it. However, it's not impossible that it's a tad bent downwards to give the same effect.

Glad to hear you're keeping the camera though, they are nice users when working properly.

As for the CRT-test - practice, I guess! I've used it on quite a few cameras, with good results.

It just seemed to me that every time it was snagging (and only on the 1/500 and 1/40 - which was odd, and I still can't figure out why that is), it was just going slightly too far down. Now - with the extra tension in the bottom plate - it only ever jams when I press the shutter firmly. If I depress the shutter steadily until it just releases the mechanism, it fires fine, which seems to corroborate my theory. I'm not entirely sure what the proper fix would be, though.

I don't think I have good enough eyes for the CRT test. When my Zorki 5 started displaying shutter problems (caused by something caught in the mechanism), I used a borrowed DSLR to test for even exposure. That's a much easier test to work with - albeit much harder to set up!

 

[wolves3012]

I still think easing that light spring would cure it but as long as a workable solution has been found, it may be better to leave alone!

If your eyes aren't good enough for the CRT test, you wouldn't be taking photos of the standard you seem to be - based on what I've seen on here. It's really only a case of knowing what you're looking at and what "right" and "wrong" look like. I use a CRT PC monitor and pull up a blank document (web-page etc) to give a white raster. Since it's a PC monitor I have the option to change scan frequency, quite useful at higher shutter speeds where a TV scan would be a bit slow. Not owning a DSLR puts me out of that option, though I could probably borrow one, at a push.

 

[Coldkennels]

Being as it's still not completely fixed, you've got me tempted to pop it back open again, Wolves. I should have just put it in the mail by now instead of arsing about with screwdrivers again.

Thanks for the compliments re. my photos, but it's a whole different thing to be able to compose, focus and shoot than being able to gauge the angle and thickness of flashing lines. Maybe a PC monitor would help - it certainly sounds like a better solution than a CRT TV set to static. If only technological progression hadn't left the CRT behind (I'm still not sure LCD+Plasma are really better technologies, but that's a different topic altogether...).

 

[wolves3012]

Being as it's still not completely fixed, you've got me tempted to pop it back open again, Wolves. I should have just put it in the mail by now instead of arsing about with screwdrivers again.

Thanks for the compliments re. my photos, but it's a whole different thing to be able to compose, focus and shoot than being able to gauge the angle and thickness of flashing lines. Maybe a PC monitor would help - it certainly sounds like a better solution than a CRT TV set to static. If only technological progression hadn't left the CRT behind (I'm still not sure LCD+Plasma are really better technologies, but that's a different topic altogether...).

Well, that spring isn't hard to adjust - as per above. More a case of patience and not everyone can be bothered.

As for the photos, I speak as I find so no thanks needed. I'd probably be more diplomatic or refrain from comment if I thought them to be p*nts but I liked the ones I've seen.

Yes, the CRT has been eclipsed for PC use but personally, I'm sticking to the one on my older desktop PC. Not least, CRTs provide more accurate colour rendition and although you can find LCD ones that'll do 1600 x 1200 and more (easily available on CRT) the price is a bit frightening yet.