winston_smith
Newbie
Hi everyone,
Since I got the FSU bug, I bought several cameras, most of them Zorki 4K. Unfortunately, two of them suffer from the same problem, namely viewfinder prism separation. After some researching on the internet, I decided to try repair them. I separated them completely, cleaned them and then I used canada balsam to glue them back. I carefully painted them as they used to be. Now the bad part. Both viewfinders seem so much brighter (transparent) than the other working viewfinders that I have and there is no secondary image. Basically, I can see through them, but the rangefinder coupled image is simply not there. Except for the canada balsam, was there some extra layer between the prisms? Do you have any suggestion? Could it be because the fir resin that I used did not dry out completely and should I wait some more? I can't tell if it's dried or not, at this point, as I risk separating the prisms again. One more thing. If a take a flashlight and point it to the side (prism) that couples the secondary image, I can see a bright spot in the viewfinder. So, it seems like the whole thing is working, but only when the light is very strong.
I would be very grateful if you share your thoughts.
Thank you,
W.S.
Since I got the FSU bug, I bought several cameras, most of them Zorki 4K. Unfortunately, two of them suffer from the same problem, namely viewfinder prism separation. After some researching on the internet, I decided to try repair them. I separated them completely, cleaned them and then I used canada balsam to glue them back. I carefully painted them as they used to be. Now the bad part. Both viewfinders seem so much brighter (transparent) than the other working viewfinders that I have and there is no secondary image. Basically, I can see through them, but the rangefinder coupled image is simply not there. Except for the canada balsam, was there some extra layer between the prisms? Do you have any suggestion? Could it be because the fir resin that I used did not dry out completely and should I wait some more? I can't tell if it's dried or not, at this point, as I risk separating the prisms again. One more thing. If a take a flashlight and point it to the side (prism) that couples the secondary image, I can see a bright spot in the viewfinder. So, it seems like the whole thing is working, but only when the light is very strong.
I would be very grateful if you share your thoughts.
Thank you,
W.S.
winston_smith
Newbie
Hi,
Thank you for your answer, it confirmed what I feared. I guess resilvering it's a complicate matter. I wounder if there is another way around, something like inserting a semitransparent mirror between the two prisms. What do you think?
Thank you,
W.S.
Thank you for your answer, it confirmed what I feared. I guess resilvering it's a complicate matter. I wounder if there is another way around, something like inserting a semitransparent mirror between the two prisms. What do you think?
Thank you,
W.S.
brainwood
Registered Film User
I would have thought the cheapest and easiest way out is find another Zorki 4K with a good prism ???
Dralowid
Michael
Sometimes you can find bits of half silvered mirror in junk cameras that have brightline viewfinders (or obviously rangefinders) and cut them to size. Ditto junk accesory viewfinders.
Fiddly but most satisfying.
Michael
Fiddly but most satisfying.
Michael
