Share your favorites on Show & Tell

Zorki-4 USSR rangefinder camera, Leica copy, Jupiter-8 f2/50mm lens

In Cameras > Show & Tell.
Cameras1148 of 1483Very old wet camera1968-camera-zorki 4-russian leica copy.
1
Love it
0
Like it

michaeln544michaeln544 loves this.
Add to collection

    Please create an account, or Log in here

    If you don't have an account, create one here.


    Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate


    Posted 13 years ago

    g-billy
    (1 item)

    Description:
    The Zorki-4 (??????-4) is a real Russian classic. It was manufactured by KMZ, the Krasnogorskij Mekhanicheskij Zavod Imeni S.A. Zvereva (the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant, Bearing the Name of S. A. Zverev). KMZ was, and still is, located in Krasnogorsk, a suburb of Moscow, and made all kinds of optical equipment, both civil and military. The Zorki-4 was manufactured from 1956 to 1973, and evolved out of the Zorki-3S. J.L. Princelle says, in his book, that 1.715.677 were produced over those seventeen years.
    The Zorki family started off as copies of the Leica Screw series, like a lot of Russian cameras did. The basic pre-war Leica design was copied since the thirties (by FED) and after the war continued by KMZ in their Zorki series. '??????', by the way, means 'sharp-sighted' in Russian.
    After a range of Zorki cameras during the forties and early fifties, KMZ finally cooked the Zorki range down to the one Zorki-4, which contained all the advantages of its predecessors, such as all the shutter speeds combined in one dial, a variable flash sync delay, and (for those days) a reasonable finish. And when the Zorki-4 was finally taken into production in 1956, it stayed so for seventeen years. Talk about the Russian plan economy...
    The Zorki-4 is a small camera, which still looks a bit like its inspirator, the screwmount Leica. My neighbour, a photographer who knows, said it has the feel of the pre-war Leicas. Generally the finish is fine, with all the parts fitting reasonably. On my camera, there is only some tolerance between the top plate and the body, which is quite harmless. One of the things perhaps less elegant, are the cogs and rods inside the film compartment. The knobs might also have been a bit more smooth and elegant, than the big protruding cylinders they are now.
    The thick body metal is cast aluminium, but the top plate with the viewfinder is made out of thin sheet metal which was pressed into shape. The Zorki-4 is skinned in a fake leather substance, which on my camera has started to peel off.
    Specification:
    Produced: 1963-1973
    Name: Zorki 4
    Variant: 3A
    Producer: KMZ
    Frame size: 24x36.
    Lens: Jupiter-8 f2/50mm
    Shutter: 1-1/30S, 1/60S, 1/125S, 1/250S, 1/500S, 1/1000S + B.
    Diaphragm scale: 2 - 22
    Focusing: from 0.9m - ?
    Serial: 72250036
    Condition:
    Body: 9/10 (very good, almost no signs of use)
    Optics: 9/10 (very good, no fungus, dust that might affect the image quality)
    Functions: 9/10 (all functions works as it should except timer knob is missing)
    What's included:
    1. Photo camera Zorki 4
    2. Leather case

    logo
    Cameras
    See all
    The Lost Ways (HardCover special edition)
    The Lost Ways (HardCover special ed...
    $49
    ESTATE LIQUIDATION- LOT OF NEW OLD VINTAGE UNOPENED MLB BASEBALL CARDS IN PACKS
    ESTATE LIQUIDATION- LOT OF NEW OLD ...
    $12
    Vintage Polaroid SX-70 OneStep White Rainbow Stripe Instant Camera & Film TESTED
    Vintage Polaroid SX-70 OneStep Whit...
    $98
    The Road - Paperback By McCarthy, Cormac - GOOD
    The Road - Paperback By McCarthy, C...
    $4
    logo
    The Lost Ways (HardCover special edition)
    The Lost Ways (HardCover special ed...
    $49
    See all

    Comments

    1. michaeln544 michaeln544, 12 years ago
      bought one in 1968 it had the faster jupiter f2 lens had it about 3 years then part exchanged for a pracktica llc

    Want to post a comment?

    Create an account or login in order to post a comment.