#Zorki

Finally getting round to finishing off a roll for the #crappycommiecamerachallenge #Zorki

Gearing Up For The Crappy Commie Camera Party, Part III: The Zorki-6 Rangefinder Camera

I’d never imagined needing another Soviet era camera for the Crappy Commie Camera Party (CCCP). After all, I have the Zenit 11 SLR and it’s collection of lenses, the Chaika II Half-frame, umpteen Smenas to play with, and the supremely dodgy KMZ Horizont panoramic camera. Surely that’s enough? But then a mutual on BlueSky posted about his Zorki-6, and, well, I’m sure that you can guess the rest.

Actually finding a Zorki-6 wasn’t that difficult. There are certainly a lot available on the ‘Bay. Eventually, I whittled my selection down to one reasonably priced model from Poland, and the deed was done. The item was described as follows, ‘I’m offering for sale a set consisting of a ZORKI-6 camera and an INDUSTAR-50 50mm f3.5 Tessar type lens. This is a “swirl bokeh” lens and it can be used with a mirrorless camera using an adapter.’ Well that was a plus point from the start. I have an LTM39/M43 adapter that I’d love to try with my mirrorless cameras. 

The description of the condition of the camera was promising, ‘a nice looking camera with some traces of use [and] no major scratches or dents on the camera body.’ It continued, ‘The camera seems to be fully functional — shutter cocking and release work fine as do all the knobs and controls.’ So that was good. The condition of the lens was good, with ‘no visible scratches on the lenses. No fungus nor fog inside, maybe a few particles of dust …  the aperture ring works properly, the focusing ring works a bit unevenly but no problems with focusing.’ So, all in all a decent enough cameras and, for that matter, my first rangefinder.

The Zorki-6 is a Soviet-era 35mm rangefinder camera, made by KMZ between 1959 and 1966. According to the serial number of the camera (620045286), the year of manufacture can be found from the first two numbers, which dates this one to 1962. The early Zorki models were based on the design of the Leica cameras, but by the time of the Zorki-6 they were a more ‘standalone’ design. The Zorki-6 will allow changing the shutter speeds before or after cocking the shutter, which is good because this always catches me out with older Soviet-era cameras like the KMZ Horizont. The shutter speeds are 30, 60, 125, 250, 500 (+B). The frame counter must be reset manually when changing films, so I know that’s going to catch me out.

The standard lens that came with the Zorki-6 was the Industar-50. This model was fitted with a silver M39-mount Industar 50mm f3.5 lens, serial number 5762482, which dates it at 1957. Focusing is achieved through a rangefinder, and as this is my first rangefinder camera I really expected to have problems. I needn’t have worried, though. After setting the diopter adjustment under the rewind knob it was quite clear to see the ‘ghost’ image in the viewfinder,  and lining these up suggested the rangefinder was perfectly aligned.

Eager to test the camera, I loaded it with what I thought was an offcut of a roll of Harman Red film. After decanting some Harman Red into Rapid canisters, it seemed like a good idea to leave the rest in the 35mm cassette and use that to test out a new camera. However, instead of the 8—12 exposures I expected, I ended up getting around 22 exposures from the roll. Rewinding the film was a little awkward, you hold in the little button between the shutter button and the shutter speed selector, and turn the rewind knob.

For exposure I used the Camera Meter app and rated the film at ISO 125, which is the box speed of Harman Red. In the event, the exposure was fine. Harman Red kept its high contrast tonality, and some of the images came out really well. What I did notice, though, were the marks over many of the frames. I wasn’t sure what these were caused by, I did wonder if they were artefacts caused by the shutter curtains starting to fail.

https://flic.kr/p/2r6bWDY

https://flic.kr/p/2r6bWDs

https://flic.kr/p/2r6hptw

All in all, though, I was delighted with how this roll came out. I’ve posted the whole roll in an album on my Flickr, light leaks and all, if you want to see the rest of the images.

https://flic.kr/p/2r6gssS

https://flic.kr/p/2r6hEkp

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#CrappyCommieCameraParty #Industar #M39MountVintageCamera #Rangefinder #Retro #Shittycamerachallenge #SovietCamera #Zorki #Zorki6

An abandoned building in a field. Taken with a Zorki-6 using Harman Red film.
Marrickville laneway.

#Zorki 2c, Jupiter-8, foma 200
Marrickville. Zorki 2c, Jupiter-8 lens, Fomapan 200.
#BelieveInFilm #35mm #Zorki
A plane taking off from Sydney airport, ascending and banking over a light industrial area. Shot in B&W. There are streaks down the middle, faintly, from the development of the film.
Jean François Huguel 🇨🇵jeffhug
2024-10-01

Miracle...en fouinant dans mon stock de vieux matériel argentique, j'ai réussi à faire rentrer parfaitement mon Zorki 1, avec son posemètre moderne, dans l'étui d'un Zenit 1...Je peux même laisser l'objectif ouvert...Ça doit probablement marcher pour les autres copies du Leica...(et pourquoi pas le Leica lui-même, dans un étui de Zenith...😅)

Jean François Huguel 🇨🇵jeffhug
2024-09-24

Mon Leicaski...Un Zorki 1d que j'ai réussi a réparer, l'entraînement du film patinait ...J'y ai collé l'Industar 22 qui était fait pour lui...un appareil russe, copie a 99% d'un boîtier allemand des années 30...pillage des trésors industriels allemands.
Mais un boîtier attachant et robuste, et qui se glisse facilement dans une poche.
Avec un posemètre moderne et une Foma 200 dedans...

Don Trueten :antifa:thomas@mastodon.trueten.de
2024-06-26

Izaak S. Maizenberg: All You Need to Know about the Design and Repair of Russian Cameras

I had Oleg Khaliavin do a CLA on my Zorki and at the same time had him check the Industar 22 and tune it. He does this very competently and at a good fixed price. (…)

trueten.de/archives/13289-All-

#Zorki #FED #Kiev #Rangefinder #Leica #Howto #Camera

Zorki camera with Industar 22 f 1:3.5/5mm lens. - Russian Leica clone / Rangefinder camera for 135 film

Photo: 32bitmaschine, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Don Trueten :antifa:thomas@mastodon.trueten.de
2024-01-24

Der Postbote hat soeben meine neuesten Errungenschaften angeschleppt. Einmal das #Leica Pocket Book in der 9. Auflage von 2023, dann die für Liebhaber:*Innen russischer Kameras praktisch kaum noch erhältliche Übersetzung der 1961er Auflage des Buches "The Constuction and Repair of Photo-Devices" von Isaac Solomonovich #Maizenberg.

Die Bücher sind englischsprachig.

#FilmIsNotDead #Zorki #FED #Rangefinder #Messsucher #Messsucherkamera
#Photography #Fotografie #

Die Bücher aus dem Beitrag liegen auf einer Tischdecke.
2024-01-06
Tree Bed
📷 #Zorki 4(1957), Jupiter-8 with yellow filter
🎞 #ilford HP5+
🧪#rodinal 1+50(too much rinceaid!) , Scanned #plustek Opticfilm 8200i
#photography #believeinfilm #filmphotography #analogphotography #shootfilmbenice #BlackAndWhitePhotography #Monochrome #Bnw #BlancoYNegro #NoirEtBlanc #trees #moss #forest
In the top right we see a smooth trunk of a beech tree. At its foot lies a thick bed of moss. It is strewn with twigs, dry leaves and the husks of beechnuts. A ray of sunlight falls over the bed at about 1/3 of the picture from top to bottom. There is a small round lump of tree root sitting in the bed at the centre.

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