Zorki 4 shutter problem

newcan1 · Feb 2, 2020

I acquired a Zorki 4. The shutter seems to work on all speed from 1/125 on up, but on 1/60 and lower, the rear curtain lags and sticks. Is any guide available indicating how one could repair such an issue?

David

R.Gould · Feb 2, 2020

Sounds as if you have a Zorki 4 with a lazy shutter, a normal problem for Zorki 4 on the slower speeds, sometimes dry firing for a long times willmget the shutter, but it is most likely to be Russian grease, very heavy and thick, which gets thicker over the years, needs taking apart, de greasing

Ko.Fe. · Feb 2, 2020

Yes, gunk on both curtains rollers springs. Full disassembly. And some chances it will work after assembly. This is why those cameras are sold as rear caps for lenses.

BAC1967 · Feb 2, 2020

Just get another Zorki.

Kino · Feb 2, 2020

BAC1967 said:
Just get another Zorki.

Its quicker and less expensive to do the above.

I bought the $50 Isaak S. Maizenberg book on Russian camera repair. All that did was deter me from opening up my Kiev 88. Not worth it...

If you are bound and determined to fix it yourself, have a look at this video; might help.

newcan1 · Feb 4, 2020

I found a guide online that may help me to fix it. I guess that at this point, I have nothing to lose! Thanks all for your comments.

foc · Feb 6, 2020

I had a similar problem with an old unloved Zorki 4.
I did the following (I am sure some people won't recommend it) .

Set the shutter speed to B and take off the camera back. Press and hold the shutter button down.
I had cut a piece of light card to 10 x 1cm. I dipped the end of the card into WD40 oil I had sprayed into a 35mm film canister and let settle.
I ran the card along the grove where the shutter curtain ran, on the bottom and the top.
Set shutter speed to say 1/4 sec and fire it. If any shutter lag, then repeat above.

Now I know WD40 is not recommended and if you had watch oil it would be better but it could be worth a try.
You have nothing to lose.

removedacct2 · Feb 6, 2020

newcan1 said:
I found a guide online that may help me to fix it. I guess that at this point, I have nothing to lose! Thanks all for your comments.

yes, guides for Zorki are everywhere, there's also a detailed explanation somewhere on rangefinderforum.com. Zorki-4 is easy to do.
English isn't my native language, I had to learn some for online use around. Similarly for russian. I know that native english speakers don't want to learn a bit of other languages, but if you do for russian, life is much easier for camera maintenance. For instance this repairman in Dniepropetrovsk does also sell full disassembly/reassembly videos for some cameras, among others Zorki-4:
http://fotoremontnik.ru/service
video comments in russian, communication with him in russian, you could try machine translation like google and such but if you don't have basics of russian in order to check and correct, there may be weird to very weird results.

that fed and zorki are prone to problems is a meme, but in fact any old mechanical camera can suffer from combination of dry lubricant and dirt accumulation. If it's a Leica II, leicaists speak religiously of some holy CLA ritual that must be done every four/five years and pay huge money to sorcerers. In fact it's the same for Zorkis, if they hadn't have maintenance in twenty years they may have malfunctions. Because Zorki were cheap (communism was about stuff for the masses, not exclusive finesses for the happy few), they were often not maintained like Leicas are by their rich owners. That's all.

Jon Goodman · Feb 18, 2020

I bought a 1956 Zorki 4...first year of production. It was the smoothest, quietest and most precise camera you ever saw. It has been written by some the 1956 Zorki 4 was equal to any pre-war Leica. If you are fortunate enough to find a true 1956 model (most for sale today are clever to very clumsy counterfeits) and the Jupiter lens matched to it, then I'd say get it. To know the lens matches, you must get the papers with it (which sadly also may be counterfeit). When produced, each lens was individually collimated to one specific camera. Mine was in the original box with the manual (in Cyrillic) and all the papers including the lens check slip and a signed export release form. In 1956, nearly 17,000 of these were made. The world reacted, the Soviets got the message loud and clear and the next year they opened a new factory, hired lots of unskilled laborers, taught them to perform one task and produced slightly over 70,000 of them. Never again was the Zorki 4 the darling it had been in 1956. Production standards were relaxed. Never again would it be that smooth, that accurate, that quiet. There's one on eBay now which appears to be a genuine 1956 but it has some problems. All the others are counterfeit copies.

Ron (Netherlands) · Apr 16, 2020

Zorki 4 is a little simpler version of the 4K: see for servicing / disassembly here:
https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33914

newcan1 · Apr 19, 2020

Ron (Netherlands) said:
Zorki 4 is a little simpler version of the 4K: see for servicing / disassembly here:
https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33914

Thanks for this!

SilverShutter · Apr 19, 2020

Jon Goodman said:
I bought a 1956 Zorki 4...first year of production. It was the smoothest, quietest and most precise camera you ever saw. It has been written by some the 1956 Zorki 4 was equal to any pre-war Leica. If you are fortunate enough to find a true 1956 model (most for sale today are clever to very clumsy counterfeits) and the Jupiter lens matched to it, then I'd say get it. To know the lens matches, you must get the papers with it (which sadly also may be counterfeit). When produced, each lens was individually collimated to one specific camera. Mine was in the original box with the manual (in Cyrillic) and all the papers including the lens check slip and a signed export release form. In 1956, nearly 17,000 of these were made. The world reacted, the Soviets got the message loud and clear and the next year they opened a new factory, hired lots of unskilled laborers, taught them to perform one task and produced slightly over 70,000 of them. Never again was the Zorki 4 the darling it had been in 1956. Production standards were relaxed. Never again would it be that smooth, that accurate, that quiet. There's one on eBay now which appears to be a genuine 1956 but it has some problems. All the others are counterfeit copies.

I don't mean to doubt your personal experience, but that seems like an exaggeration to me. The quality of the Zorkis before 1956 wasn't that spectacular, some may say a bit shoddy so I would find surprising that for a year that suddenly changed and then dropped. I own a 1957 Zorki 4 and while slightly quieter and maybe smoother than the 1971 model I own, the difference is not much.I do still have a preference for the '57 model for the aesthetics though, a beautiful camera when bundled with the collapsible Industar 22.

gordonrgw · Oct 24, 2024

foc said:
I had a similar problem with an old unloved Zorki 4.
I did the following (I am sure some people won't recommend it) .

Set the shutter speed to B and take off the camera back. Press and hold the shutter button down.

I had cut a piece of light card to 10 x 1cm. I dipped the end of the card into WD40 oil I had sprayed into a 35mm film canister and let settle.

I ran the card along the grove where the shutter curtain ran, on the bottom and the top.

Set shutter speed to say 1/4 sec and fire it. If any shutter lag, then repeat above.

Now I know WD40 is not recommended and if you had watch oil it would be better but it could be worth a try.
You have nothing to lose.

Old thread I know, but thanks for this, just received a slow shuttered Zorki 4k and a light clean of the shutter grooves - with a small amount of lighter fluid - has sorted out the slow speeds, will open and lube properly once I've run a film through to check for any other issues..

foc · Oct 25, 2024

gordonrgw said:
Old thread I know, but thanks for this, just received a slow shuttered Zorki 4k and a light clean of the shutter grooves - with a small amount of lighter fluid - has sorted out the slow speeds, will open and lube properly once I've run a film through to check for any other issues..

Zorki 4 shutter problem

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