Zorki 4 Shutter

klop · Dec 31, 2014

I received my Zorki 4 today, I think may just need CLA.... after winding the film advance knob and setting the shutter speed....... Two ways the shutter fires.... One, after pushing the shutter button down, shutter will fire after letting up on the button... Two, hold the shutter button down then after 3 - 4 seconds the shutter fires. Is this a sign of any other problem..?

Lamar · Dec 31, 2014

I have three Zorki 4's and one 3S. All of them had and still have shutter issues to one extent or another, but none like you describe. There could be issues in the timing mechanism or in the curtain ribbons or springs. I am no expert on the Zorki's although there are several here that are and should be able to point you in the right direction. The Zorki's are great looking and feeling little cameras. They appear inexpensive at first but if you want a reliable shooter you will need to put some money into a CLA from a reputable repair service or learn to repair them yourself. With help from the experts here and at rangefinderforum.com I was able to get a couple of mine to a fairly reliable state but they do need a real CLA. There is a guy named Yuri (YB <mail@fedka.com>) that runs Fedka.com who can send your Zorki off to the Ukraine for a CLA, he quoted me $90 for one body about a year ago. That was as inexpensive as i could find. I did not send it at the time because of the instability in the Ukraine. I would probably do it now but I've been using a Canon 7 for my rangefinder fix and have decided not to sink any more money into the Zorki's for the time being. Do a search in this forum for my name and you will find quite a bit of information from about a year ago when I was getting started with the Zorki's. I suspect you will have some of the same questions.

Here are links to some shots I've taken with the Zorki's:

'71 Zorki 4
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lamarlamb/sets/72157642783363733/

'61 Zorki 4
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lamarlamb/sets/72157642780888575/

'56 Zorki 3S
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lamarlamb/sets/72157642781383815/

gone · Dec 31, 2014

I sent a Fed 2 to Yuri. In addition to a complete CLA, I had him put in a brand new shutter. It came back w/ the shutter capping. Sent it back, it came back the second time w/ the shutter capping. Over $240 in a junk camera, counting all the insured priority mail shipping back and forth, and it never did work right. I was able to get $30 for it w/ the shutter isues when I sold it. I only have three things to say about buying a Russian LTM camera. Buy a Bessa R. Buy a Bessa R. Buy a Bessa R.

But keep the Russian lens.

Ricardo Miranda · Dec 31, 2014

Of my Fed 2, 4 and 5, only the 4 needs a service.
My Fed 2 was bought from Ukraine and apart some adjustment on the rangefinder, it works very well.
And it is 56 years old.

summicron1 · Dec 31, 2014

momus said:
I sent a Fed 2 to Yuri. In addition to a complete CLA, I had him put in a brand new shutter. It came back w/ the shutter capping. Sent it back, it came back the second time w/ the shutter capping. Over $240 in a junk camera, counting all the insured priority mail shipping back and forth, and it never did work right. I was able to get $30 for it w/ the shutter isues when I sold it. I only have three things to say about buying a Russian LTM camera. Buy a Bessa R. Buy a Bessa R. Buy a Bessa R.

But keep the Russian lens.

or do it right and buy a leica in the first place.

John Koehrer · Dec 31, 2014

klop said:
I received my Zorki 4 today, I think may just need CLA.... after winding the film advance knob and setting the shutter speed....... Two ways the shutter fires.... One, after pushing the shutter button down, shutter will fire after letting up on the button... Two, hold the shutter button down then after 3 - 4 seconds the shutter fires. Is this a sign of any other problem..?

It's very likely you've already thunk of the solution. ^^^^

As for any other problem? Holes in the shutter or capping? You're not going to find out until some of that funky old lube is out of there.

Ko.Fe. · Jan 1, 2015

klop said:
I received my Zorki 4 today, I think may just need CLA.... after winding the film advance knob and setting the shutter speed....... Two ways the shutter fires.... One, after pushing the shutter button down, shutter will fire after letting up on the button... Two, hold the shutter button down then after 3 - 4 seconds the shutter fires. Is this a sign of any other problem..?

First curtain goes and second finishing at after some delay?
It is common problem. Old grease needs to be cleaned, shutter springs including and new lube has to go in.
Other very common problems with this condition - shutter clothes are dry and cracked, plus misaligned RF.

Lamar · Jan 1, 2015

Additional contact info: I found a reply to an e-mail I sent to Ken Ruth at www.baldmtn.com a year ago. He said previous Zorki repairs they had done ranged from $98 to $250. I've read good things about him here. I remember seeing the high end cost and thinking that the repair could be 8 times more expensive than the camera itself. When it's all said and done though it may be worth it if you can get it to work like new. Not that you would get any more out of it on ebay but if you like the camera and enjoy using it then maybe it's worth it.

blockend · Jan 2, 2015

summicron1 said:
or do it right and buy a leica in the first place.

Buy a new Leica, or accept servicing bills that might dwarf Momus's Fed.

Xmas · Jan 2, 2015

blockend said:
Buy a new Leica, or accept servicing bills that might dwarf Momus's Fed.

Well a new MP is astro.
A used M2 or M6 from Red Dot with a preemptive routine service by his repair guy a lot cheaper. I'd not bother with the service.

A Zorki needs the same TLC as a M.

A Bessa is uber reliable but may be difficult to fix.

blockend · Jan 2, 2015

Xmas said:
Well a new MP is astro.
A used M2 or M6 from Red Dot with a preemptive routine service by his repair guy a lot cheaper. I'd not bother with the service.

A Zorki needs the same TLC as a M.

A Bessa is uber reliable but may be difficult to fix.

I agree, I was responding to summicron1's contribution. Old Leicas are not the panacea they are sometimes purported to be, even if the user enjoys rangefinders. They have the same problems as any vintage/veteran camera with a few of their own, like rangefinder alignment and porous shutter curtains. APUG has many contributions from users who spent a lot of money on a Leica only to discover they required a similar or greater amount to make them usable. So long as the potential purchaser goes into Leica ownership with their eyes open, no harm done, but it's not a game to go into hoping for the best. Someone may get a Barnack for two hundred pounds and hit lucky, or they might pay £2k for an M and discover it's only the beginning of their investment.

If the user is on a budget, I'd stay clear of Leicas and their clones and get a Bessa.

Milldc · Jan 31, 2015

After reading about the experiences people sending out cameras to be repaired for more than they are worth and ending up with a unit that still doesn't work and $500 poorer, I just went out and bought 2 zorkis that don'work for about $15 each. I disassembled them with help from Internet manuals to gain. Insight and technique. Now I just bought new curtain shutters at nominal cost and feel comfortable changing them myself. Sure it will be time intensive but for me it beats sending it out and risking a bad repair for more than it is worth. Even if I screw this one up I can buy another one for a lot less. By the way they are not as intimidating as they appear. If you want an artifact for collection you might as well be familiar with its mechanics and be able to repair it your self.

Lamar · Feb 1, 2015

Let us know how it goes. I have a spare set of curtains I bought........ never put them on........ It was actually for one of the four I have but I have just relegated that one to a parts and training unit....

Milldc · Feb 1, 2015

Will do, shutters coming from Russia so will few weeks at most I hope but I am definitely going to try. Had perfectly working zorki and film got hung up on curtain while loading so I am determined to go ahead.

Milldc · Feb 1, 2015

I also found what appears to an excellent set of instructions on repairing Zorki. It looks like they were written in Russian because the last quarter of the page degenerates into gobbledy gook. If I could find the original my wife who is a native speaker and Russian professor could interpret (not translate) them. So if anyone has a good Russian post I can get them interpreted into understandable English.

Milldc · Feb 2, 2015

Disassembled Zorki per instructions but not able to mark where curtain is glued to spool since glue degraded with no marks. Will have to wing it unless someone has some insight.

barzune · Feb 3, 2015

There is a pretty interesting entry about disassembling and cleaning a Zorki 4 at
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33914.

Xmas · Feb 4, 2015

Or

http://jay.fedka.com/index_files/Page455.htm

Milldc · Feb 4, 2015

Thank you. I found them useful. Also found another site about lining up curtains when glue is degraded. In some ways I think it is better than marking where the original curtains were anchored. It works backwards from where you want the laths to be when camera is cocked. I think this makes more sense because this final position is what you really need to know

http://swcornell.com/camera/repair.htm

Milldc · Feb 12, 2015

I have my Zorki disassembled and am waiting for shutters. I gained a lot of insight and confidence doing this so I bought some Zorki 1's for parts on line. I was amazed that the ones I bought for $10-$15 were in much better shape for the ones the I bought that were in "working condition". They just needed a little cleaning of debris and lubrication. They are late production models and the curtains are in great shape. Now I have 4 zorki 1 that are just great and working better than what I previously bought for 3-5 times the price. Just some food for thought.

Juan Paller · Feb 27, 2017

Its been some time since this thread has been active, but I was hoping that by now someone out there may have some information or links on how to repair a Zorki 4K.

I presented a friend who's just getting into photography a Zorki 4K, and even after numerous time of reminding him to COCK THE SHUTTER BEFORE CHANGING THE SHUTTER SPEED, he managed to CHANGE THE SHUTTER SPEED BEFORE COCKING THE SHUTTER after about twenty tries and now the shutter curtain is stuck open, the shutter button is stuck in the depressed position, the film advance lever moves freely (you can cock it and nothing engages). Is this this the a classic case of a "jammed" Zorki?

Zorki 4 Shutter

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