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Joenail

Joenail

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Joe
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So I just got a new rangefinder (Zorki 4K). It broke on me 5 minutes after opening it :eek:

I'm now looking for another one because it will cost more than the camera is worth to repair. Problem is, when it was working, it was rubbish! No framelines, dark purple finder, could barely see the rf patch in bright sunlight, never mind in low light, screw mount lens means stiff/slow focusing, which pretty much defeats the purpose of a rangefinder camera entirely :thinking: Apart from the finder the camera is great though. Well built, quirky, really nice sounding shutter, good lenses.

I also have a Yashica Electro 35, which is pretty much the same but in aperture priority.

Does anyone know of any rangefinders along the same price range (£50ish) with a bright finder? (sadly, Leica & Voightlander are not an option) I don't mind having to zone focus when it's completely dark, but I'd like to be able to use it fairly low light (think 400iso, f/2, 1/2sec. I've tried quite a number of RFs & they all seem to be the same. Is there any special reason for this?

-J
 
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I sympathise with you, I was in Estonia looking around for interesting cameras in all sorts of places and every Zorki or FED rangefinder viewfinder I came across was like looking out of the end of a distant tunnel. And they were overpriced........
 
I've seen a few older RFs like Canonets/Olympus etc fog and haze up as they are after all 30 years old etc. They can be cleaned, lubricated and adjusted though. If you are in Glasgow does Merchant City cameras not have any clean examples of RFs in? Might be worth a little trip.
 
What about a Konica C35 or Ilford? They go quite cheap on fleabay, i also saw loads of Olympus Trips, mostly reconditioned and with nice coloured exteriors for about £50.
 
I just got my zorki 4k back from a CLA and I have to disagree with you about it having a dim finder. When cleaned up it's lovely! But as Laudrup says, 30+ years of haze is not good for them..
 
Cuchulainn said:
I just got my zorki 4k back from a CLA and I have to disagree with you about it having a dim finder. When cleaned up it's lovely! But as Laudrup says, 30+ years of haze is not good for them..
Click to expand...

Actually, after cleaning mine up a little it's now fairly bright. Couple of questions though since I don't know anyone else with this camera:
Does your finder have a purple haze? [Hendrix pun goes here!]
are you having a hard time seeing the rf patch? I have no idea what I'm focusing on until I see something move!

zak5ive said:
What about a Konica C35 or Ilford? They go quite cheap on fleabay, i also saw loads of Olympus Trips, mostly reconditioned and with nice coloured exteriors for about £50.
Click to expand...

Problem with most of them is that they're either fully auto or very compact. I'm looking for something fully manual.

Laudrup said:
I've seen a few older RFs like Canonets/Olympus etc fog and haze up as they are after all 30 years old etc. They can be cleaned, lubricated and adjusted though. If you are in Glasgow does Merchant City cameras not have any clean examples of RFs in? Might be worth a little trip.
Click to expand...

MCC rarely have RFs in I find. Plus the prices in there are too steep to go buying a camera. I only really use them for film & CLAs
 
There are a few Fed4's on flea bay at the moment under your price range. I have one and I prefer it over the Zorki.
They are never going to be very bright and focusing does take a while till you are used to them.
How about having a look at those?
I did think about selling mine sometime, but I just can't let it go at the moment.......

Allan
 
Hi Joe,

yup, viewfinder has a purple tint - it's supposed to allow increased contrast with the rangefinder patch (my patch is yellow). To be fair to your earlier post, my patch area isn't the brightest, but one you see it, it's clear how the two images are aligned and focussing is fine.
 
I have a zorki 4 in nice nick that I bought for the Jupiter-8 lens attached to it. I don't need the camera but I'd like it to have a good home, so if you PM me your address, I'll pop it in the post to you. Can't get cheaper than that :lol:
 
Cuchulainn said:
Hi Joe,

yup, viewfinder has a purple tint - it's supposed to allow increased contrast with the rangefinder patch (my patch is yellow). To be fair to your earlier post, my patch area isn't the brightest, but one you see it, it's clear how the two images are aligned and focussing is fine.
Click to expand...

I suppose I should really try it outside of a dark room with a 40watt bulb :lol:
The gaffer's tape on the viewfinder trick seems to have helped anyway :thumbs:


paulcamcas said:
I have a zorki 4 in nice nick that I bought for the Jupiter-8 lens attached to it. I don't need the camera but I'd like it to have a good home, so if you PM me your address, I'll pop it in the post to you. Can't get cheaper than that :lol:
Click to expand...


Brilliant, sending PM now :D
 
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