Zorki 4 Questions

Hello all,

I have a Zorki 4 and have a couple of questions:

First, the shutter speed setting knob; it takes a lot of force to pull it up to make changes to the shutter speed. Is this normal? Yes, I know you have to cock the shutter first.

Second, about half of the shutter speed numbers are worn off of the ring surrounding the knob. I printed a label and placed it over the ring as a temporary fix; I'd like something more permanent. Any suggestions or recommendations?

Thanks for your help

Yeah, it will take some force to lift up the speed knob. But if it's a lot, then it might be time for a CLA. Actually, if you've never had it done before, it might be worth getting a CLA done anyway.

As for the numbers, the best solution is to remove the knob, sand it smooth, and reapply all of the numbers with a silk screening machine. That's going to be costly and difficult though. So I wouldn't do that. But that's probably how it was applied at the factory. The second best solution, and this is what I did to mine, is to just reapply them with a brush (I used a round 0000) and some enamel paint, like the kind people use to paint models with. It'll take a couple of day to a week for the paint to dry, and maybe a month or more for it to fully cure. But once cured, that enamel paint will hold up really well on metal. It doesn't look perfect, but it looks pretty good. I can easily read the numbers anyway, even if you can clearly tell they were applied by hand and not printed on.

Would this be of any help?



See also here
http://ussrphoto.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=610

Yes, that is considerably better than what I have. Short term I'll print and attach to the dial. Long term I may see about getting it laser etched into the dial.

Thanks for your help.

@pentaxpete reviewed this camera on youtube. He'd be the one to ask.

Earlier version of Z4 had engraved numbers. Then it went late soviet way.
Crude shutter dial is norm.