Zorki 4 film tension problem

P

PhotoJim

Guest
I have a Zorki 4 that I've owned for a few years. It was my first FSU camera and although it isn't the best model, I rather enjoy it.

Unfortunately I've had a persistent problem with the film advance. The tension on the film takeup spool is insufficient and after shooting ten or twelve frames, the film will suddeny loosen and jam up the camera.

I tested this with a garbage 12-exposure roll of slide film (it was about ten years old, not worth shooting!) and the problem was pretty consistent. Trying another takeup spool from a different camera didn't help.

I wonder if this is something that I can fix myself? The shutter is really accurate (I actually had Oleg CLA this camera but he didn't fix the film advancement problem - if I can't fix this problem myself I will probably send the camera back to Oleg, but it's been a couple of years since he fixed it so I don't think it's fair to ask him to do it free. Theo ther cameras of mine he repaired are all in excellent shape and run really well; I'm very happy with his work.)

Jim
 
When you take the spool off there is a drum which holds the spool. At the end there is a small knob with a spring under it pressing this drum to the gear. You can loose the silver knob with a flat screwdriver. The spring may need to be replaced or restreched. If the drum is to tight, the film will not rewind. If it is too loose, the film wil not advance properly.

Greetings :)
 
The whole assembly is straight-forward in design and would have been
removed during a CLA. Perhaps Oleg just didn't tighten it well enough.
In any case, he should have fixed it.

As Valkir suggests, just remove the base-slotted,top-threaded
45x4mm shaft, the drum, a thin 7x.15mm seating washer ahead
of the spring, and the spring itself. Normal length of the spring is
~ 11mm. The drum seats up against the main drive gear. Check for
and remove any excess lube you might find there, and then put
everything back together, preloading the spring with tension to
get the shaft threaded back in. If you are missing any parts, pick
up a whole camera off eBay or put in a request on the forum. Someone
will help you out.

Regards,
Jim
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys. I disassembled the shaft and reassembled it (before Jim's post) last night after stretching the spring a little bit. I don't know if it's 11mm (I'll check tonight) but after doing this, I could get a 24-exposure roll of film to advance without jamming, although it still lost tension during rewinding. At least that isn't a fatal flaw. I think that means that I've gotten the spring closer to the tension it ought to have, but not close enough.

One other possibility that might be complicating this... the take-up spool can spin a little bit on the shaft. In fact, if you get to the end of the roll, the winding knob will still turn. I wonder if I should put a piece of tape inside the take-up spool or on the shaft to make it fit a bit tighter? or is this unnecessary? It isn't horribly loose, but it's definitely much looser than the takeup spool in my Fed 2b, which takes a lot of effort to remove.
 
Jim,

Check out the 4th image in this eBay auction (200010008441).
If the drum/shaft assembly is the same as on your camera, and
it should be, you're probably using the wrong spool. Either this
or the drum has been hacked. It shouldn't spin. Does the spool
look the same as the one on your 4K ? If not, use that one.
 
My 4 looks almost identical to the one in that eBay listing, and is only a few different in serial # (same year)... interesting. The winding shaft looks identical to mine.

My take-up spool in the 4K is fixed and looks completely different from the one in the Zorki 4.

I stretched out the spring last night and reattached the takeup spool. Now the spool fits extremely tight. I'm not sure why it would be tight when it wasn't tight before (it is actually so tight that I am having trouble getting it off), but perhaps that's a good sign.
 
FYI, I put two rolls of 36 through my Zorki 4 today and all is well. No film advancement problems, nor any film rewind problems. I can't get the takeup spool off the shaft anymore, but you know what? At least I can't lose it. :) It isn't that hard to load the camera without removing the spool anyway.

Thanks for the help. It's nice to get the Zorki back in service.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom