Zorki-zorki tight winding

[davidnewtonguitars]

My first rangefinder, now owned 3 years, was bought fully serviced by Alex in Ukraine. Took lots of pictures, everything works great.

Now after shooting 2 Barnacks fully serviced, the winding on the Zorki feels like the shutter springs are over tensioned, in comparison.

Do the Zorki 1's usually have higher tensions on the curtains than a Leica II?

Should I follow "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" or "fix it 'til it's broke"?

 

[xayraa33]

Some are like that, mainly to badly formed film rails at the focal plane and non lapped gearing for the shutter wind.
I have two Zorki 2C cameras and one is minty and the other is more than well used and there was good reason one is still in mint shape after 60 years, as film winding is very hard, difficult and rough. So rough that the knurled wind knob will grind down the skin of the thumb and index finger in less than half a film roll of 36 exp.

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

Well it isn't that hard, but compared to my Leica Standard which has been winding on as I pull it from my bluejeans pocket, it feels stiff.
I know it is well lubricated though, so I should leave it alone.

 

[xayraa33]

Well it isn't that hard, but compared to my Leica Standard which has been winding on as I pull it from my bluejeans pocket, it feels stiff.
I know it is well lubricated though, so I should leave it alone.

Most Zorki 1 or Fed 1 cameras will not match the LTM Leicas for smooth winding... but I am sure we will get RFF members commenting to differ with this claim, as they my very well are lucky enough to own butter smooth knob wind FSU cameras.

 

[ForestCap]

I have two Zorki-1s, one 1c and one 1d, both were dissembled, cleaned, lubricated, and had the shutter curtain spring tension lowered to minimum. The smoothness of my 1d just can't reach with 1c. I guess it has something to do with error tolerance during production. I don't have LTM Leicas to compare with but my 1c is so smooth that I don't think it lags behind even if compared to Leica or any other knob winding cameras.

One trick to know if it is caused by over tension: wind the knob at rewind mode and compare with your Leicas. If it's as smooth as Leica then it could be too much shutter tension. Vice versa you can spin the shutter speed dial slightly to feel the curtain tension alone.

 

[wolves3012]

I have a couple of Zorki 1s and a couple of FED 1s, plus a Leica IIIc. The Zorkis and FEDs have all been CLAd (as has the Leica but not for some time). There's not much to choose in winding on any of them, except the Leica is a little smoother - I'd suggest the gears are machined to higher standards.

 

[farlymac]

I've recently purchased a Zorki-1D to replace the one I got a few years ago. It came from an eBay seller called ussr_time_machine, and was overhauled before the sale. It works much smoother than my first Zorki, but wasn't as nice as my Nicca Type-III S. I'm not complaining though, as the second Zorki is still working, and the Nicca has a busted curtain.

Cameras that old, and with so many different people working on them to who knows what specs, it's no wonder you'll have variances in operation smoothness. Factor in things such as the quality of the original construction and design, especially the gearing, and still more differences will crop up.

If it's working, and you get good exposures, just keep using it. It will either get smoother with use, or rougher. That's just their nature.

PF

 

[rfaspen]

Yes, quite simply the vagaries of cameras.

I have multiple Barnack Leicas, and multiple FSU bodies (Fed 1, Zorki 1 among them). Some of the FSU cameras are smooth winders, some are less so. All my Leicas are smooth. All of these cameras work fine.

If it ain't broke, and its an FSU camera, accept it for what it is and let is surprise you with reliable operation. Seriously. I'm quite surprised with the robust reliability of some of my "simple" FSU cameras. I don't use them as much as I should.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

No. It shouldn't be significantly tighter than II. I rebuild two Zorki and if shutter rollers and inner springs are cleared from old gunk, plus lubricated and tensioned properly it is advancable by index finger stroke. Just like II.

 

[Valkir1987]

The best way to tell is to have a service person take a good look at it. A Zorki can be smooth and light winding. But you have to clean out every bit and polish every gear and axis and use the right lubricants.

When the curtains dry out, the camera becomes sticky too.

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

I can't leave well enough alone.
With Zorki Survival http://jay.fedka.com/ instructions at hand, I slacked off both take-up springs, and tensioned them according to Jay's notes. The camera is much quieter now, and the winding-on is much like the Leica in feel.
I think this is the nicest Zorki on the planet.
I am going to test it out with a roll of the new Bergger Pancro 400.

 

[DH73]

I got my FED 1g back from repair by Skears Photographic in Northampton (UK). Steve Skears has done a good job, and the wind-on is much easier now than it was. Previously, it would make my thumb sore. He said the gears were dry, and there were small shards of film in the gears.

 

[mpaniagua]

No. It shouldn't be significantly tighter than II. I rebuild two Zorki and if shutter rollers and inner springs are cleared from old gunk, plus lubricated and tensioned properly it is advancable by index finger stroke. Just like II.

Agree with Ko.Fe. Gunk tends to make advance really stiff. Some of that gunk is dried lubricant. Some comes from human grease. So it will get stiffer as time goes by. Most likely a CLA will leave it pretty close to a II advance. My Zorki was lubricated this way as advance is pretty close to my IIb and IIIf.


Best regards

Marcelo

 

[David Hughes]

I got my FED 1g back from repair by Skears Photographic in Northampton (UK). Steve Skears has done a good job, and the wind-on is much easier now than it was. Previously, it would make my thumb sore. He said the gears were dry, and there were small shards of film in the gears.

Yes, a good firm to deal with, they got my Konica C35 (RF) back from the dead and a proper photo shop...

Regards, David

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

When I bought the camera 2 years ago, the seller Alex Ukr did a full service before he sold it. It was clean and lubricated and I think he may have adjusted the tension of the curtains higher, with the idea that a long time may pass before another service and the drying of the lubes.

I'm not doubting his service, he knows his stuff I am sure. I certainly may have left the curtains with too little tension for the long term. We'll see what it looks like when I develop the next roll.

It is fun to have a camera to mess with, a nice one that I will have a fear to be careful with, not to spoil it, but not a huge loss if I do.

Is there a Latin phrase that covers this? An educated person may know it.