Zorki or Fed?

Carter64

Carter64

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Mike
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I'm looking to get myself one or the other. Probably both, knowing me, but for now, either :)
I've been looking at Zorki 4K and Fed 3's. I have no experience of range-finders at all and would love some comments/recommendations?
For preference, I'd like one with Cyrillic, though this is just a whim.
 
The trick isn't which one to get, or which model, it is getting a camera in which everything still works. Shutter, speeds, finder...
Personally I'd avoid the selenium meter ones cos almost all of the meters are dead, plus they look uglier.
Buy one from a collector/user. Check rangefinder forum, they're brilliant in there.
I got a couple from e-bay and both bodies have issues : but I only wanted the lenses so it didn't matter to me. They were about £13 each, inc post.
Great-looking cameras!

(I just saw youe camera list : you should buy a used G1 body too, to fit the lenses from your OM and rangefinders on too...)
 
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I bought a FED-3 for the grand sum of a £2 plus postage last year. Amazingly everything worked, though it was described as untested by the fleabay seller (which usually means "I've tested it and it's munged!"). It worked fine for the first half of the test roll, then the shutter delaminated (the shutter is a pair of cloth curtains with a rubberised coating to make them light-tight) leaving the shutter leaking light like a sieve.

Test Shot...

Fed3 - Test reel - frame 30 by The Big Yin, on Flickr

Shutter Curtain...

Film Side by The Big Yin, on Flickr

After a bit of reading, I found that the shutter curtain can be re-coated with latex based fabric paint. After 3 coats, each allowed to dry overnight in the airing cupboard the shutter was back as good as new (i.e. it ran a bit slow and wasn't totally consistent, just like most Ruski Rangefinders :LOL:)

After Repair...

HP5_2010-03-24_030_800px by The Big Yin, on Flickr

So - there's my Russian Rangefinder Story - for around a fiver I've got a very solid, completely manual, non-metering rangefinder camera, with a pretty good lens. It's not much smaller than my Canon A-1 with a 50mm lens, and I think it's probably heavier, so it doesn't get a great deal of use, but when it does, it works, and I'm happy to keep it in the collection.

I bought the FED3 on a whim to be honest, just to see if I got on with rangefinders. For that purpose alone, it was well worth the money. However I have to say, I don't really feel comfortable with a rangefinder, in the same way as I do with SLR's - thats probably a function of using SLR's so much in comparison, I admit, but it's how it goes.

I picked the fed3 over the other models on the basis that the 4 and 5 were even bigger and uglier than the 3, where the 1's and 2's whilst undoubtably better looking were also quite a bit older, and with russian engineering being what it is, probably had a fair chance of getting the mechanical never-get-overs. If I was buying something like that, I'd bite the bullet and get a proper Leica - though as I've found I don't really get on with rangefinders, the £5 FED has saved me that expense.
 
How about a Zorki 6? It was the model before the 4K and personally I prefer the look.

Though, as Mark says, if you're thinking of using it seriously you might be better getting a (Bessa or) Leica straight away.
 
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It was more for a dabble than serious use. It's on hold for now anyway, some $h*t snapped my car door mirrors off, so funds diverted.
I'll remember all the above next month though, so thanks everyone :)
 
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