Quite strange zorki camera

Hello everyone

I am looking an auction on a famous web site for a zorki 1. It is at first sight a quite normal camera, sn. 466901, not in great shape but advertised as fully functional.

Strange is the lens (a FED 50M/M) and the lens mount (there is a picture without lens and looks like the distance scale lens ring is "attached"to the camera body). And a picture of the lens itself shows the lens without the ring. Also the ring looks in a very odd positiin.

I do have an idea about this camera. Maybe since the camera looks a pre war zorki someone did a sort of adaptation of the industar lens most likley the ring is glued to the body to match the sligtly different lens vs bidy register?

I woyl like to post some pictures or maybe i can put here the link to the auction. But not sure if i am allowed.

I'd like to read your expert opinion on this odd camera.

Kr

Marco

Hi Marco, go ahead and upload images or post a link, doesn't matter.. there was no pre-war Zorkis, they appeared in 1949, but I've seen lenses taken apart like that, the distance ring can separate from the rest of the lens, that's just incorrectly disassembled [:)]

Best regards,
Vlad

Hi Vlad

thanks for your reply!!

yes you are right no pre-war zorki were made, i've been confused by the fact i was researching for both FED and Zorki and i mixed-up.

the auction i am follow is this one
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZORKI-1-Vintage-Russian-Rangefinder-Film-Camera/173792623746

so if it is just a lens disassembled and reassembled in the wrong way, is it possible it is fully (and correctly) working? i mean the distance ring can be removed?

I'd like to have one of those beauty, possibly without spending too much, i already have and use with a lot of satisfaction a Kiev and a Contax III (plus a bunch of film SRLs)so this will be just becouse i really want to try a leica-style camera.

i am looking also at a FED1 auction,
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FED-1-236628-PE0300-Leica-II-copy/183682650324

I was wondering about the Industar lens coupled with the FED, it is possible there will be issues with the focusing?

At the end i will probably buy one or another [8D].

thanks for any comments!!

Marco

Hi Marco, yeah it's a late Zorki-1 in a very poor condition too.. yes if it's not too damaged I believe you can put the lens back together..

regarding the FED-1, it's a post-war FED-1f, I'm pretty sure you should be fine with an Industar lens on it, the earlier pre-war ones had a weird threading and manually adjusted backfocuses the post-war ones were more or less standardized for LTM mount.

Cheers,
Vlad

Hello Marco,

Vlad is right, that Zorki is a junk. Don't waste your money there ! The Fed is a better deal !

That zorki may clean up quite well, if you put it in a washing machine on a hot wash.


lol.[:D]