Zorki

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Zorki I (serial number 5500025), lens cap with original Зоркий lettering

Zorki (pronounced Sorki , Russian Зоркий for German sharp-sighted ) was a brand name of 35mm cameras from the production of the Soviet manufacturer "Krasnogorski Mechanitscheski Sawod" (KMZ). The Zorki brand is best known for its early models, all of which were replicas of the Leica II .

history

The Mechanical Factory Krasnogorsk , or KMZ for short, is a manufacturer of optical devices in Russia. Among other things, KMZ also manufactures Zenit cameras .

In 1948, KMZ began production of the Zorki I. The model was a complete copy of the Leica II from 1932, but also identical to the FED 1, an earlier Soviet Leica II copy from the 1930s, hence the name of the first models also "FED-Zorki". This copying was quite common for this time, copies of the Leica were made around the world. The rather flat camera - like the Leica - had an M39 connection for the lenses, which could be retracted telescopically. The Zorki I cameras were delivered from the factory with the Industar-22 1: 3.5 / 50 mm, alternatively with the Jupiter 8 1: 2 50 mm.

The shutter speeds were 1/20 to 1/500.

construction

Closure of a Zorki 1c

The Zorki brand cameras are heavily influenced by the Leica II , whose central design features have been adopted almost unchanged. The Zorkis are made of metal for 35 mm film with a mechanical focal plane shutter , interchangeable lenses with screw threads and coupled range finders . While the Zorki 1 is an almost exact copy of the Leica II, the design has evolved over the years, with the viewfinder / rangefinder combination being changed again and again. A mechanical self-timer and flash synchronization have also been added over the years .

Models

Camera Zorki 1C, replica of the Leica II, approx. 1950
Zorki 4 camera with a Jupiter-8 1: 2/50 mm lens and a Zorki universal viewfinder 28–135 mm in the hot shoe
Camera Zorki 4K
Camera Zorki 5 with lens Industar-50 1: 3.5 F = 5cm

The model range from Zorki is confusing, as various further developments and improvements could only be incorporated sporadically due to the difficult conditions (shortage of materials, rigid production specifications on the part of politicians). The similar or identical FED cameras were also produced at the same time, and later even the Zenit single-lens reflex cameras, which were also derived from the Leica . Therefore, a consistent model policy is often not clearly recognizable. This list can therefore only provide an indication of which cameras were produced and where the fundamental differences lie.

  • Zorki 1 - copy of the Leica II. Manufactured from 1949 to 1956.
  • Zorki 2 - Like Zorki 1, with self-timer and revised shutter. Manufactured from 1954 to 1956.
  • Zorki 3 - New viewfinder with integrated rangefinder and diopter adjustment. Revised shutter with 1/1000 second as the shortest shutter speed and an extra wheel on the front of the housing for setting times below 1/30 of a second, similar to the Leica III. Manufactured from 1951 to 1954.
  • Zorki 3M - Like Zorki 3 but with only one wheel for setting the time. Manufactured from 1954 to 1956.
  • Zorki 3S - Like Zorki 3 and Zorki 3M but with a new housing cover that houses a flash synchronization. Manufactured from 1955 to 1956.
  • Zorki 4 - Extension of the Zorki 3S with self-timer. Manufactured from 1956 until at least 1978 as Zorki 4K.
  • Zorki 5 - Large housing cover, film elevator with quick release lever, rangefinder with an extremely large base. Manufactured from 1958 to 1959.
  • Zorki 6 - Further development of the Zorki 5 with a mechanical self-timer and, for the first time, a hinged housing for inserting the film. Manufactured from 1959 to 1966.

"Russian Leicas"

The cameras of the brands Zorki and FED have become known to collectors as "Russian Leicas" because at least the first models were almost exact copies of the first Leica cameras. This was possible because the USSR did not recognize international patent treaties and allowed its industry to copy Western cameras. The same fate befell z. B. also the German Contax or the Swedish Hasselblad (both copied under the Kiev brand ).

Many collectors today see the Zorki and FED brand cameras as an inexpensive way of taking Leica-style photos. This is quite possible because the Zorkis were mostly built robustly and therefore many cameras are still functional today or can be repaired relatively easily in the event of damage. One weak point of the design is the shutter mechanism, which can be damaged if the shutter speed is set before the film is advanced for the next exposure. This applies to almost all Zorki and FED cameras as well as the early Zenit SLRs.

Because they are very similar to the mostly very expensive Leicas, cameras from Zorki and FED cameras are often offered as real Leicas. There are known cases in which counterfeiters' workshops made “real” Leicas from cheap Zorki and FED cameras by skillfully exchanging lettering, serial numbers, etc. These fakes are usually easy for the connoisseur to recognize because the Russian cameras were built with different materials and with greater manufacturing tolerances than the real Leicas. So is z. For example, the shutter sound on Zorkis is much louder and details are much more coarsely worked out. Furthermore, various imitation Leicas were never actually built. For example, it is extremely unlikely that a Leica that was produced for the German military (popular forger engravings : Luftwaffe or Navy ) has a luxury that is superfluous for use, such as a "gold-plated" brass case or a cover made of snakeskin . Such cameras are consistently imaginative forgeries.

proof

  1. ↑ Harry Wondraschek: Russian Cameras - 1930-1990 , Mainz, 1995, pp 72-81.
  2. ↑ Y. Ryshkov: Russian And Soviet Cameras - (1840-1991) , Rostow-na-Donu, 1993, pp. 65-70.

Web links

Commons : Zorki  - collection of images, videos and audio files