Zorki 3 slow speed help

[comp_wiz101]

I'm having a bit of trouble with the slow speeds on my Zorki 3. The arm that links the slow speed mechanism to the high speed section does not always return back to its original position, in other words it does not "wind back". I cannot seem to remove the front of the camera, as two screws are behind the vuncanite (?). Any help with this one would be great.

 

[comp_wiz101]

Thanks to some help from Joseph Esmilla, and some brain matter work I have gotten the slow speeds working perfectly now. Thanks Kim! I had to take the front cover off, remove the slow speed escapement, and cleaned it out with lighter fluid. Realigned the RF, now I have a great little '55 Zorki 3.

 

[reagan]

hey comp - just came back to check your progress. saw your post early this morning, but had a busy day. glad all worked out. sounds like "gunk" was the culprit, right? not unusual. hope you enjoy the zorki.3. . . shoot 'em up!

 

[comp_wiz101]

Yep, it was gunk... A lot of it! First wash of lighter fluid reveals a fine "fog" of dirt into the fluid...

 

[dll927]

I've read a good deal about the slow speeds on the 3's, and it seems the slow dial (which really made the camera look like a Leica!) and that infernal connection arm were the culprits. Maybe that's why later models went back to everything on one dial. (Eventually, of course, so did Leica.)

One thing that keeps coming up - and bringing denials as well as agreements, is the question of changing shutter speeds only AFTER winding the film. Given that the Zorkis we have purchased are at least second-hand and old, how do we know that everybody along the line followed that advice - assuming they believed it? Also, considering that quality control was at times rather iffy in the factories themselves, it's a wonder we get any of the Z's to work any more. But I have quite a collection, in some cases more than one of some models (I have two 3's), and they are fun to play with.

 

[comp_wiz101]

I'm not sure if the linkage itself is to blame - the escapement was so gummy that it could not return (even without the linkage) to the correct position under its own power. The system as a whole seems rather simple, allowing for easy fine-tuning of all of the slow speeds at the same time. So long as everything was fairly close to spec at the factory (and not too much abuse since), I think that you can get them going again with a bit of work.

 

[Kim Coxon]

The slow speed mechs are designed to run dry. If the get contaminated, they will stick. This goes the same for some of the single dial cameras as well. A good clean will quite often bring them back.

The shutter speed changing is perhaps a little overstated but still good advice. For many speed changes it is not a problem. However, in some cases you can cause the mech to "crossover" and it jams. It doesn't break and it is fairly easy to "uncross" if you take to top off and it's back to normal. Generally, if it is working when you get it, it won't matter what someone has done in the past about speed selecting. I had a link somewhere, I will try and find it.

Kim

 

[comp_wiz101]

Yes, I didn't use any oil on the slow speed mech. (Thankfully I remembered that advise from some repair site) I'm really suprised how smooth it runs when it is dry.