I was recently lucky enough to come into possession of a Zenit EM and a bunch of good lenses, including a Helios 44M. However, I have had some problems getting to grips with loading film into the camera and rewinding it correctly.
I had a reel of very good pictures ruined today when the reel of Fujifilm I was using snapped during rewinding. I have recently learned that the manual for the Zenith EM recommended against using Fujifilm for this reason, that it is more likely to snap. Is this still the case, even with modern Fujifilm? I also noticed that I may have wound the film a bit too tightly on the spool for the last couple of shots - can this cause a reel of film (of any brand) to be too tightly wound on the spool for it to be rewound properly?
"I have recently learned that the manual for the Zenith EM recommended against using Fujifilm for this reason, that it is more likely to snap."
I have shot Dozens of Fujifilm in several Zenit Camera's including the Zenit EM! Never had any problems with it.
When the film snaps or the transport gears damage the perforation, there could be a problem with the main take up spool. It's either too tight or the lubricants have dried out for a proper rewind.
That could well be the case - the takeup spool does feel somewhat hard to turn in reverse, but I wouldn't know what it's "normally" supposed to feel like.
I presume it's a simple enough problem to fix though once I find a suitable lubricant and know where to apply it?
The take up spool should turn in reverse with a little force. You can acces the spool by removing the base plate which is fixed with 4 screws. The spool is held with a pin from underneath, when the pin is removed. The spool can be removed by unscrewing the screw inside the spool.
Clean the parts and the top where the spool fits with lighter fluid. Apply a little grease on the moving parts. (I use ball bearing grease for this)
If you are in the Netherlands. I can help you out if it does not work out ;)
Introduction and Zenit EM questions
Posted - May 30 2010 : 1:07:28 PM
