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 .

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.