Zorki C fails the test

Ambermile

Ambermile

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Arthur
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So, finally got a film throught the Zorki C and cooked off today... seems the curtains are knackered big time - worse than BY's Russina wearout sadly so looks like I will need to sort something quickly. Changing curtains is something I have secretly swore never to do... is it expensive? Is it worth it? I mean, underneath the big blobs of light leak the pics look well-exposed and in focus so the camera itself is a go-er...
 
When I found the rubberised coating had fallen off my Fed, I had a look around and found a site with instructions but to be honest, if the fabric paint hadn't worked i'd have given up on the camera - then again this was a £3 fed :shrug:

Fortunately it was only one of the shutter spools that had degraded, and three nice thin coats of fabric paint sorted it. I guess I was just lucky that the underlying cloth was intact, it was just the rubber coating that had flaked off.
 
This is *real* bad. Looks like I'd best find a new one - or sell some cameras so I can get that Bessa R2!

zork-curtain.jpg



Above is one of those things you need to strip the camera to see. Looks perfect from the front/lens side too :(
 
Unless the actual fabric is perforated, I'd give it a try with the fabric paint, tbh. Brush off any flakey bits and just give it a very light coating. Half a day to dry, and repeat. Shine a bright torch through from the other side and see where it needs a third coat. To be honest, what do you have to loose?

Fabric paint I used was from here - £2.99 got to be worth a try ??

Honestly - that doesn't look a great deal worse than mine did - maybe over a bit more of the area, but exactly the same problem - if you say it looks okay from the other side, then the fabric itself must be intact, as was mine.

Only thing to remember is to not operate the shutter until the paint is thoroughly dry, or it'll all wind up into a nasty sticky mess.
 
There's a small tear to the centre left of the bottom right quadrant BY, and the fabric itself is stiff, I think I'll bite the bullet and chase something like the Voigtlander or a Leica now :(
 
No fed 3a's in the "big box of wreckage"* you could canibalise for shutter curtains ?




* I assume you have accumulated a big box of wreckage, I seem to do with every mechanical based hobby I have :LOL:
 
I have a Zenit B which is the same (well... a couple of mm bigger) but I am not really wanting to do curtains to be honest... so shoot me!
 
Arthur - i've read the blurb, and I wouldn't try curtains for a gold pig. Then Again, i'm not exactly Mr. Precision Engineering... I can't fault your choices of alternative bodies though - the Bessa R2 looks a lovely bit of kit - I'm not all that fond of rangefinders as a style of camera - too many years with SLR's and a propensity to leave the lens-cap on means I screw up many more frames on a 'finder, but If I was in the market for one, the Bessa would be on a short list of 2 - the other one being a certain pano-capable Fuji TX-1 :LOL:
 
Either really Richard, as soon as I can shift some of these things around here I'll go after something nice :D


Arthur

PS - what you got?
 
Wonder if my first 35mm Camera a Fed4L would be any good these days, it's been in my Dads and my Loft for about 35 years.

Maybe time to dig it out and have a look :D
 
Gotta be worth a try - it's a travesty leaving it where it is!
 
ChrisH said:
Wonder if my first 35mm Camera a Fed4L would be any good these days, it's been in my Dads and my Loft for about 35 years.

Maybe time to dig it out and have a look :D
Click to expand...

I always wanted one when I was younger so I've just got a FED 4 from the 'bay' I'll be running a film through it very soon.
 
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