Zorki 6 shutter curtain problem.

[Xyse]

Hello everyone, this is my first post and to be honest, I am pretty ashamed that it is a post asking for help. Recently I have gotten the FSU virus and started playing and collecting FSU, I manage to bring most of the ones I have to good working condition except for a zorki 6.

The zorki is doing fine for all shutter speed except 1/500, I am guessing it is a tension issue that I would try to fix later.

The main problem is that the shutter curtain does not open completely. In bulb mode and actual film test, the extreme right will have some of the curtain blocking the frame.


--------------
| OPEN |C|
| OPEN |C| <-- C denotes the curtain. Actual size is lesser.
| OPEN |C|
--------------

Can any expert can pinpoint me the problem?

 

[wolves3012]

Does the shutter work normally apart from this problem? Try firing the shutter on "B" and lock it open (twist the shutter button to lock). Now try VERY GENTLY opening the curtain with your fingernail, does it open more and stay open?

There are a few reasons why thy could be happening. Firstly, it could be that someone's had the camera apart and not set the restrictor gears back in proper sync. The gears are responsible for limiting the curtain movements and it would mean stripping it down to put this right. The other possibility is that the curtain lath (the thin metal vertical bar) is jamming against the light baffles or the body - there's very little room in there when the shutter is cocked! When you wind on, does the lever come to a solid stop at the end of its travel or is there some "give" in it? If it's solid then the problem is likely the restrictor gears.

By the way, welcome to RFF!

 

[Xyse]

Does the shutter work normally apart from this problem? Try firing the shutter on "B" and lock it open (twist the shutter button to lock). Now try VERY GENTLY opening the curtain with your fingernail, does it open more and stay open?

There are a few reasons why thy could be happening. Firstly, it could be that someone's had the camera apart and not set the restrictor gears back in proper sync. The gears are responsible for limiting the curtain movements and it would mean stripping it down to put this right. The other possibility is that the curtain lath (the thin metal vertical bar) is jamming against the light baffles or the body - there's very little room in there when the shutter is cocked! When you wind on, does the lever come to a solid stop at the end of its travel or is there some "give" in it? If it's solid then the problem is likely the restrictor gears.

By the way, welcome to RFF!

I tried to expand the curtain like you suggest, the curtain wont stay completely open and would spring back out again. So I am guessing it isn't the curtain lath jamming.

I am guessing it is the gears, I guess I would mess around later. Thanks for the tips.

Hope to get this zorki working fully, I really love the serial number.

 

[wolves3012]

Take a look at the "sticky" by TVphotog on disassembling the Zorki 6, it looks pretty useful to me. I've never taken one that far apart but it looks to me as if you won't have to dismantle the top of the camera, just the bottom, to get at the gears. You can see one of them in the pictures in the sticky. I'd guess they are least one tooth out of whack, possibly two. You may need more than one attempt to get it right so be prepared to be patient!

 

[wolves3012]

Ok, so I've had a closer look at TVphotog's thread myself and I think I've got it wrong. The restrictor mechanism looks to me like it's sitting on the bottom of the curtain drum (some models are indeed like that, such as the Zorki 3 and 4 models). If that's the case, it's not possible to reassemble it incorrectly so that cannot be your problem - my mistake!

That leaves a likely possibility that the curtains have been removed and refitted/replaced wrongly. Not good news if so, since correcting that will be very tedious and involve a lot of guesswork!

Question: when the shutter is cocked, do the both laths appear at the side of the frame or just the second curtain one? In other words, is only ONE curtain wrong or are they both wrong?

Just another thought - are you quite sure the shutter will wind no further? If the lever ratchet is mis-assembled you may need a second part-stroke to cock it fully. Try and find the exact cause before you start disassembling, it could save you a lot of time and frustration!