Zorki 4K Viewfinder Seems Way Off for 50mm

[cameron.knight]

I have a great Zorki 4K and Zorki 1. I also have a turretfinder. And other SLR cameras with 50mm lenses.

I wear glasses so many older cameras have viewfinders that are difficult for me to use, but the Zorki 4K seems to be the worst.

When I look through the viewfinder, it seems like a 90mm or even longer than that. Even when I take my glasses off, and really get in there it seems too long.

I'm wondering if my viewfinder is missing an optic or something. And it's not the diopter corrector either, I've tried that.

So first, are Zorki 4Ks known to have "telephoto" viewfinders? Secondly, any glasses wearers out there found a good FSU camera to use? Any other solutions? The turret finder would work, but it's just ugly.

Thanks!

 

[batterytypehah!]

I used to have a Zorki-4 but I gave up on it precisely because of that. It's a pitiful finder if you wear glasses. I find the FED-2 a little better but I still keep an accessory VF on it most of the time, even for 50.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I don't wear glasses, and the Zorki-4K gives me closer to a 35mm-ish Viewfinder area when I get my eye up close can see the front edges of the VF.

I just checked with my eye further way from the VF-eye, and it does indeed appear to rapidly decrease the view-size to about 90mm. So I would say there's nothing wrong with your camera.

 

[stevebrot]

The Zorki 4K viewfinder is sort of a hit or miss device. For the life of me I can't find the frame edges, though the general view is appropriate for 50mm. Move your eye a few millimeters back and the view is much narrower.

Two votes for you not being crazy...


Steve

 

[kievman]

I have 2 4ks and a Zorki 4, and if you press your eye very close into the viewfinder ( not possible with eye glasses unfortunately) you can see about 95 percent of a 50mm lens perspective. The Zorki 4s have a 1to 1.15 magification, so items in the viewfinder look bigger than they do when viewed with the naked eye. This feature is good for focusing in low light, which is my favorite use for the Zorkis -Kievman