Odd Fed Zorki and Zorki 10

I appear to have 2 oddities in my collection.
1) 1948 Fed Zorki body # 01437 with a ZK 1:1.5/5 cm lens #001030 also has 1948 engraved. I cannot find any reference to this lens.

2) A gold Zorki 10 #6915151 engraved "made in USSR" in english. I cannot find a reference to any gold Zorki 10...looks like it is engraved for export, but I purchased it in Kiev.

Any info would be appreciated.
thanks
jay

jay bjerke

Hi Jay!

The Zorki-10 is I'm sure is a fantasy camera made for tourists as there never was such factory unit.. I collect the pretty fantasy pieces myself as well and would really like to see that Zorki-10 as this is first time I hear of such gold one. I can't answer the #1 but I'm sure there are plenty of folks here with FED-Zorkis that will be able to solve that mystery.

Thanks,
Vlad.

Vlad - this may well be as you say, but I purchased it in a little camera repair shop in Podol (Kiev) before 1999, and paid very little for it. Can't believe anyone would go to that much work for a very few dollars (I know I paid less than $10 for it).

jay bjerke

Vlad - this may well be as you say, but I purchased it in a little camera repair shop in Podol (Kiev) before 1999, and paid very little for it. Can't believe anyone would go to that much work for a very few dollars (I know I paid less than $10 for it).

jay bjerke

Jay, $10 was a LOT of money for some people in Ukraine in 1990s. You could almost live a month on it..

Vlad

Yes - I lived there for nearly 4 years. Times were very tough for the local people. I did not mean to minimize thier plight by my comment that $10 was very little. Hope it did not offend anyone!
There were very few tourists at that time, I thought the fantasy camera game came along later. Either way, it is a fun addition to my collection, and very well done. I am travelling this week, but i will try to send you some photos over the weekend.
regards

jay bjerke

Hi Jay,

I don't think you're offending anyone, we're talking purely history here, I just remember I worked for a whole month back in 1993 doing fairly well by local standards and after exchanging the whole amount to U.S. dollars it cames out to $5 .

But about the gold Zorki-10, I am confident it is not a factory model, someone may have had access to gold-plating and had done that as a present or for personal use as well, as production of Soviet good had a fairly non-exiciting selection a lot of people loved to personalize their items, I think if this was not a camera made for sale, it must've been a personalization.

Cheers,
Vlad

Vlad and All: here are some photos of the Gold Zorki 10 and a regular Zorki 10 for comparison. After our discussion, I looked very closely, and there are places where the masking did not fully protect the area around the back hinge...so you wre correct - it is a fantasy piece.
Also put in some photos of the 1948 Fed Zorki, and a few close-ups of the lens. I still have gotten no input from anyone on the lens.











jay bjerke

Hi Jay,

the Zorki-10 is quite interesting, it's not chromed gold it's almost like a single coat tint.. never seen anything like that before. Thank you for posting it!

Cheers,
Vlad

Hi Jay,

Nice FED-Zorki. The lens is rare but not unknown. It can be seen on page 144 of Princelle's second edition (upper left corner of the page), on the top row. The one shown in the book is identical to yours and is from 1950. Princelle notes that it is coated and went on a FED-Zorki. Very rare lens! I have a FEDZorki with this kind of lens also and when I find it (packed away) I will write what the number of the lens and camera are on this thread.

Regards, Bill

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the photos. I've never seen a gold Zorki-10 before, although not original, it's an interesting item. Like Bill, I have a FED-Zorki with a ZK f/1.5 5cm lens. My FED-Zorki is a 1948 model #02757 and the lens is #000472.

Regards,

David

(http://www.rcccuk.com)

that looks furiously like a real CZJ LTM sonnar, with ZK engravings... all the screws are at the right place... it's a pre jup-3 mount

Stephan

Thanks Stephan: any idea on rarity and /or value?

jay bjerke

difficult to estimate... but quite rare... it would be interesting to see if the rear optical block has a zeiss serial number...

You can discuss the matter on rangefinderforum... and ask Bryan Sweeney...

good luck

Stephan