Lowest serial number for "Zorki-Zorki"?

Hello,

what is the lowest serial number you have seen for the "Zorki-Zorki", the Zorki with both cyrillic and latin engraving on the top plate?
My earliest "Zorki-Zorki" has number 33201, so it must be built in 1950.

Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

Hello Ulrich

In March 2008 I've seen a Zorki-Zorki with the number 28844 on eBay.

Best wishes - Guido

... or was it the number 24844? (May 2008 on eBay)

i have one (for Vlad ? ) n° 232791
mines are : 121595 , 156287 and 55135989 !!!

I can say for sure ... It was Zorki #24844 with rigid white I-22 lens.

Best Regards,
Aidas

Thank you Aidas ... ;->

Best wishes - Guido

quote:

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Originally posted by mermoz37

i have one (for Vlad ? ) n° 232791
mines are : 121595 , 156287 and 55135989 !!!

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Hello Alain

The highest number for a Zorki-Zorki I saw was 56003238 on eBay in October 2006.

By the way: Why the #232791 (1952 probably) is for Vlad?

Best wishes - Guido

Guido,

on May this year? Why is it not mine? 8-) I havn't seen it...
The other one I have has serial 94695 and has a black faced rigid I-22.

Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

Alain,

interesting, I've had one with number 121249, really close to the one that you have. Seems, that they have built them in batches?

Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

Let me just throw out some food for thought.

Unless you have the passport, you do not know that the lens that is on the camera was on the camera when it left the factory! So you can not draw any conclusion other than "When I got the camera this was the lens that it had on it."

Model changes were made when the old parts ran out. They were not model year changes like we do it in the west.

I know that everyone is trying to make sense out of the system but it fits their model of production not ours!

quote:

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Originally posted by mermoz37

i have n° 156287

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And mine is 158915 so not far away from yours

Hi all,

If this can help, my 2 "Zorki-Zorki"s have :
# 195065 - Industar 22 #5116322 stamped in rear of the lens barrel
# 263354 - Industar 22 #0152082 (coated, letter "n")

But, I agree with nathandayton, I have no proof that the lenses were appaired to the cameras when they left the factory. (No passport).

By the way, according to the s/n of the cameras, can somebody tell me the dates of making ?
(Or where do you think I could find such datas?)

Regards,
Michel.

Michel,

I have found the numbers in the web. As far as I remember the
Zorki numbers are from lausch.com, the FED numbers I have found at fedkas site (all serial ranges approx.)

Zorki SERIAL NUMBERS
1948: 500 - 2136
1949: 2137 - 17137
1950: 17138 - 55324
1951: 55325 - 125826
1952: 125827 - 254579
1953: 254580 - 406730
1954: 406731 - 667231
1955: 8 digits begins with year
1956: 8 digits begins with year

FED SERIAL NUMBERS
1934 SN 000031 - 004000
1935 SN 004001 - 016000
1936 SN 016001 - 031000
1937 SN 031001 - 053000
1938 SN 053001 - 082000
1939 SN 082001 - 116000
1940 SN 116001 - 148000
1941 SN 148001 - 175000
1942 - 45 (World War Two)
1946 SN 175001 - 176000
1947 SN 176001 - 186000
1948 SN 186001 - 203000
1949 SN 203001 - 221000
1950 SN 221001 - 248000
1951 SN 248001 - 289000
1952 SN 289001 - 341000
1953 SN 341001 - 424000
1954 SN 424001 - 560000
1955 SN 560001 - 700000


Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

I still have not gotten all of my cameras out and on shelves but here is one of my Zorki/Zorkis

A very special one, as we can see!
As for me, my earliest one will be the # 32870 with the lens 5021081.
If it comes: I've just bought it!

Amitiйs. Jacques.
PS: not sure these datas are always precise: I'm desperatly looking for a Fed between 186000-200000. Impossible, unless we add some false Leica II, visibly made from Fed 1, with numbers in that range!

Nathan,

a Zorki 1 with slow speed dial on the front? Is that for real? I have never heard of it.

Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

I have one with a rigid Industar, Black Face.

Body #183222
Lens #5111876

Steve

Yes this was made at KMZ. It was a proof of concept camera but the Zorki 3 was almost in production so after making this one it was abandoned!

Hello Nathan

Thank you for showing us this fine camera. Claudio Asquini presents an earlier example of a Zorki-Zorki with slow speed dail at the front (#123892 from 1951/1952 probably):

http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/8595/zorkiss.html

The first Zorki 3 prototype under the name "Zorki 2" was build befor 1950 (1949?) as M. Mladek says, the first real Zorki 3 prototype maybe was build 1950/51 (see page 131 in Pincelle's 2nd edition).

Best wishes - Guido

It was made as a test piece, but since the Zorki 3 was in prototype it was never produced in quantity!

Thanks, now we know that there were at least 2!

quote:

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Originally posted by Guido Studer

The first Zorki 3 prototype under the name "Zorki 2" was build befor 1950 (1949?) as M. Mladek says, the first real Zorki 3 prototype maybe was build 1950/51 (see page 131 in Pincelle's 2nd edition).

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In addiction see the page (in Russian):
http://www.zenitcamera.com/archive/zorki/zorki-3-in-production.html
This is the article from the KMZ newspaper.