Zorky 4 compatible lens

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pedro.m.reis

Newbie but eager to learn
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I'm wating for my Zorky 4., it comes with a J-8 lens. Maybe i want to buy a wide angle and a telephoto lens to it. What kind of lens i'm looking for?
In a previous thread i was told that this camera has a Leica mount. This, i beleive, is an old leica mount so i can use old leica lens on it?
 
IIRC Focusing shouldn't be affected in any way.

However, you may need to purchase additional viewfinders in order to properly frame shots for non-standard length lenses
 
Focusing _shouldn't_ be affected, but you're best to check yourself. Check the J8 too. Standard method is to use some translucent tape across the film rails, put it on bulb and check the focus. J12's being a wide angle 35mm, you can get away with a lot because of the larger DOF. The J11 will need to be checked on that body since a 135mm needs to focused properly.
 
You *will* need an external viewfinder with any lens other than a 50mm on the Zorki 4 (or any FSU camera, reallly). The VF approximates a 50mm field of view, but is not parallax corrected. For any other focal lengths, a shoe-mounted VF is required.
 
pedro.m.reis said:
Ufff ... sorry about my ignorance, but, are these viewfinders "standard"?
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There's only one affordable Russian VF, it's the Universal Turret finder, and it'll cost more than your Z4 :) The price only goes up from there. The VF just sits in your accessory shoe, so they basically fit all cameras, even SLR's.
 
Kin Lau said:
There's only one affordable Russian VF, it's the Universal Turret finder, and it'll cost more than your Z4 :) The price only goes up from there. The VF just sits in your accessory shoe, so they basically fit all cameras, even SLR's.
Click to expand...

Actually, if you only have one non-50 lens, the Russian 35 and 85 finders can often be found on ebay for $20 or so. I even saw an 85 russian finder at $5 BIN once (shipping, of course, was more than $5). I paid $15 or so for my russian 35 finder. These don't have parallax correction, though, so I'm not sure how practical the 85 would be. Canon chrome finders can also be fairly cheap.

Scott
 
Well, I do have the turret finder, and the 85mm Russian fixed finder, but frankly, if you intend to shoot portraits with a 85mm and one of those, better take 5 to 10 shots of every subject, varying the framing - parallax is just impossible to deal with with those unprecise finders (and even more so with a 135mm lens like the J11). You could try to glue the finder to the flash-shoe of the camera (otherwise it is going to wobble all the time - and I'm speaking about 2 different 85mm finders, and 3 different turrets that I have tested on a plethora of FSU cameras, from Kievs to Zorkis to FEDs), and due some careful parallax-testing with the camera back open and a ground glass on the film-rails, and then make markings on the finder for parallax, but that is a lot of work. I finally gave up and bought a Bessa R. With 35mm lenses it is not such a big problem.
Also, prices have gone up a lot for these finders - expect to pay about 50 USD for the turret, and at least 25 for the 35mm finder, only the 85 can be found a little bit cheaper.

Roman
 
I have an AICO finder that i bought off Joe recently to go with my J-12. The Aico has marks for 35mm, 50mm and 90mm and is paralax correted. Another good thing about this finder is is fits nice and tight on the accessory shoe.

Heath
 
pedro.m.reis said:
I'm wating for my Zorky 4., it comes with a J-8 lens. In a previous thread i was told that this camera has a Leica mount. This, i beleive, is an old leica mount so i can use old leica lens on it?
Click to expand...

BE CAREFUL!! The Leica rangefinder coupling is circular and turns (like a bearing) while the FSU cameras used a curved tear-drop shaped coupling. Leica lenses with a full circle coupling MAY work or MAY NOT work on the Zorki. It depends upon the alignment of the lens coupling to the rangefinder coupling. The body coupling MAY hang too low, allowing the Leica lens coupling to go above it and not mate properly. If you compare the thickness of the FSU lens coupling to the Leica lens coupling, you'll find that the Leica lens coupling is thinner.

A Leica lens with a circular coupling that has a cut-out will NOT work properly with the Zorki as the Zorki body coupling will catch in the cut-out.

DO NOT try to use Leica or any other lens on the Zorki if it has the small flat-faced coupling with beveled sides (135mm Hektor, for example). The circular Leica body rangefinder coupling will easily ride the beveled face of the lens coupling, allowing the Leica lens to seat and couple to a Leica body. The FSU body coupling WILL NOT ride the bevel and will catch on the lens coupling! If you force it, you'll either break the body coupling or cause it to misalign and give incorrect focusing.

Just a word of caution as the FSU cameras with M39 LTM mounts are different enough to cause problems if you're not careful about which lens you try to mount on it.

Walker
 
Heath said:
I have an AICO finder that i bought off Joe recently to go with my J-12. The Aico has marks for 35mm, 50mm and 90mm and is paralax correted. Another good thing about this finder is is fits nice and tight on the accessory shoe.

Heath
Click to expand...

Heh.

That finder really is traveling the English-speaking world. I bought it off ebay from a seller in the UK (I'm in the US). Then Joe bought it from me, so it went off to Canada. And now it's in Australia.

Scott
 
I was interested to read the discussion on FSU turret finders as I have just acquired one ex Czechoslovakia which I intend to use with my 135 Sonnar. I'll try to run a film through this weekend, when I stop playing with the newly acquired Contaflex Super and Pro Tessars. It seems to fit snuggly on the accessory shoe of the IIIa without much play. In any event, for me it was the only affordable alternative!
 
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