Zorki 4 with Jupiter-8

[ManicLamb]

I've been lurking on the forum for a while, reading about the various rangefinders available and resisting the temptation of the classifieds!

Last week, I scooped myself a Zorki 4 in very good condition bundled with the 50mm Jupiter-8 for less then £30. At that price, I was certain it was worth a go.

When the camera and lens arrived, I was happy to see that the Zorki was in great condition. However the Jupiter lens, although clear and mark free, had a very stiff focus ring, to almost a unusable state. With the help of friend (also a member here), I took the lens apart and cleaned all the relevant parts and re-oiled the focusing helix (thanks to http://www.pentax-manuals.com/repairs/j8service.pdf) and guess what? The lens feels great and as smooth as my other manual focus lenses!

Anyway, for my first roll through the camera, I used some 24 exp Superia 400 film, and snapped anything I could. I was happy to see that results where pretty good, even with my haphazard guesso-metering. I'm also very happy to see that the Jupiter-8 lens certainly has character, and is pretty sharp too.

I hope to throw some better BW film in the camera the next time around. But I must say, this cheap Leica influenced camera may have converted me to RF cameras! I was surprised how easy this thing is to focus, despite the smallish VF (compared to something like the OM-1), the RF patch really does help!


The camera..

Here's a few of my test shots (convert to BW).

Munching cow

Westwood

Tree and leaves

 

[NeeZee]

hey, looks like it's working fine, welcome to the world of rf's 🙂

 

[ManicLamb]

Thanks for the welcome NeeZee. I'm gonna load some BW film into it this weekend!

 

[trondareo]

I recently got the same rig, and have the oposite problem, that the apeture ring is quite loose. Not to highjack your thread, but from your experience dismantling the jupiter, do you think it would be easy to fix?

 

[janrzm]

Welcome to the world of rf's, you won't look back 🙂

Both camera and lens are looking good!!

I have both the Zorki 4 and Jupiter 8, as well as a few others...🙂

Cheers, Jason

 

[wolves3012]

I recently got the same rig, and have the oposite problem, that the apeture ring is quite loose. Not to highjack your thread, but from your experience dismantling the jupiter, do you think it would be easy to fix?

Probably the grease has dried up to nothing. It's not a difficult task to clean and re-lube a J8. You'll need a set of jeweller's screwdrivers and a suitable grease. Check out the link in the first post, it's a great guide and done by one of RFF's (former) lens-gurus.

 

[mszargar]

Any idea about where one can get spare (cone?) set screws for Russian lenses? I want to open and relube my lenses, but one of them has particularly crushed screws. I am pretty sure that once I open the screws, they will become unusable.

 

[ManicLamb]

Hmmm not sure mszargar, I know one of the screws on my lens was totally crushed and impossible to get out. Had to resort to drilling it with a tiny drill bit. Fortunately the other two screws came out okay, so it's holding okay.

I would say you could probably risk loosing one screw if you can't find a spare anywhere.

 

[mszargar]

ManicLamb, can you send me a link to the drill you used? I may need it soon!

 

[fidget]

Congratulations on your introduction to FSU cams.

In the main, the images posted look fine. But...before you invest too much time in rooting out great images with your FSU cam, some of the images show a speed variation across the frame. Several of mine did this. It is often the case that the effect varies at different shutter speeds.
All the images show a higher exposure on the left than on the right, in the case of the cow by quite a margin.
It could be down to the lighting at the time. For a test, shoot a frame on same scene twice, once with the camera the right way up, once with it upside down.

Don't worry about it, if you can live with it, it's not too much, not everyone recognises it.
A light service and/or shutter re-tension will sort it out.

I hope that you enjoy using it....

Dave

 

[ManicLamb]

ManicLamb, can you send me a link to the drill you used? I may need it soon!

Unfortunately, I don't have a link as it was a friendly neighbour who drilled it for me. I would say just try and get the smallest drill bit you can from a DIY shop.



fidget, thanks for pointing this out. I must say, I overlooked this, but now you mention it I can see it. 🙂

I recently went out with a friend on a evening, and pushed some Tri-X to 3200. I didn't notice the speed variation in the results, but the results are quite shadowing/grainy! I did however, have one frame that was half exposed (i.e half of the image was black), so do suspect something isn't quite right.

I will keep playing, and feedback on experiences.

Here are some samples from the night:-

A bit blurry but...

My favourite, very classic look about the image

 

[tho60]

Nice pictures.

 

[ManicLamb]

Nice pictures.

Thanks I'm pleasantly surprised with the flexibility of Tri-X at 3200! Guessing the exposure can work!!

 

[Blaufeld]

Welcome! I too have a Zorki 4 with Jupiter 8 (black), and it is a nice camera with an exceptionally good lens!

 

[ray*j*gun]

I have a Zorki 4 and an I61 really nice combo also.

 

[brokenarms]

I love the way you have composed the last shot. The eye seems to wander from the person to the light in the background .

You should get a tripod for nigh time though. Would be an even better shot if it was sharp

 

[MikeDimit]

I have a 4k version with jupiter 8. I just bought two versions of u26 50mm for 10 euros. You'll love the camera. In fact I find it easier to operate than my Minolta XG 9.

 

[ray*j*gun]

I know this is heresy around here but I like the I61 better than the J8, speed not withstanding. Sharper with better contrast IMO.

 

[rjbuzzclick]

I know this is heresy around here but I like the I61 better than the J8, speed not withstanding. Sharper with better contrast IMO.

Heretic! 😉

I would agree that the I61 is technically a better lens than the J8 (I've had two of each), but shots from my J8s grab me more. To each his own, and I do use the I61 I have (an L/D-like yours) once in a while.

 

[Blaufeld]

Jupiter 8 and Fuji Superia 200...


Little donkey di blaufeld66, su Flickr