I broke my Zorki

rigtenzin · 10-20-2004

I broke the Zorki rule: don't set the shutter speed before advancing the film.

The result is that the film advance knob spins uselessly.

I plan to take it apart and look at the damage when I have some extra time. In the meantime, I hoped someone had some guidance for me.

Does anyone know what part inside the camera is broken?

In the past, I've adjusted the rangefinder on this camera, so I'm a little familiar with the inner workings.

Have I turned my Zorki into a parts camera?

FrankS · 10-20-2004

I don't have a Zorki but I've heard about this issue. Just curious, how hard did you turn the knob or advance the film? Did you feel much resistance?

GeneW · 10-20-2004

If you take off the back, you can see that the pin is not coming up far enough at the bottom to engage the film advance. Sometimes you can force it back into contact. Try moving the shutter to a different speed and pushing down hard. I used a couple of small screwdrivers once to force the film advance to advance and after that the shutter worked again.

I hope you'll be able to get it working again without engaging in a major stripdown and repair. Yuri, from Fedcom, says jammed shutters are easy to fix, so if these bandaids don't work, your cam should still be salvageable.

Gene

vladhed · 10-20-2004

So the good news is, if you didn't force anything, nothing is actually broken!

Try turning the rewind collar up and down (well, turning clock-wise and ccw, which makes it go up and down) while turning the wind-on knob. Check the photos I atteched to the following post to see that the wind-on know actually engages the shutter.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...7&postid=14562

rigtenzin · 10-20-2004

Thanks for all the responses. This is why I read this forum. It is visited by knowledgeable, helpful people.

I don't remember turning the film advance with too much force, but I could be wrong. The film advance is smooth and easy compared to my Mir. I have to use brute force on the Mir. Maybe I was confused and applied brute force to the wrong camera.

I'll take a look at my Zorki when I get home.

Thanks for the help.

Francisco Madar · 10-22-2004

I believe you did not broke your camera. Try this: first see that you are nor in rewind mode ( this puts the camera in a simillar state as yours is now) then gently move the the sprokets wheel to the left and then to the right. This usualy frees mine. Good luck. Francisco

Francisco Madar · 10-22-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Francisco Madar
I believe you did not broke your camera. Try this: first see that you are nor in rewind mode ( this puts the camera in a simillar state as yours is now) then gently move the the sprokets wheel to the left and then to the right. This usualy frees mine. Good luck. Francisco

I should also have advised you to be sure that your camera is not in T mode. This also puts it in free wind on drum movement.

Fco.

khingdheano · 10-22-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by rigtenzin
I broke the Zorki rule: don't set the shutter speed before advancing the film.

The result is that the film advance knob spins uselessly.

I plan to take it apart and look at the damage when I have some extra time. In the meantime, I hoped someone had some guidance for me.

Does anyone know what part inside the camera is broken?

In the past, I've adjusted the rangefinder on this camera, so I'm a little familiar with the inner workings.

Have I turned my Zorki into a parts camera?

Oh man. Good luck to you if you can repair this, but you are probably screwed.
I did the very same thing with my 1st FSU camera, a FED 5. I still have it, but it is now "art". The good news is you can certainly salvage the lens that came with your Zorki.
I searched, lord how I searched the web for help, I tried every suggestion, I followed every instruction, to no avail. You will never again commit the mortal sin of FSU rangefinders:
Thou shalt NEVER change the shutter speed before winding on the film advance.
I actually avoided FSU cameras for some time after my initial bad experience, but I could not resist their lure forever... I have acquired several since, but my practice is to NEVER CHANGE THE SHUTTER SPEED! I load mine with ISO 100 film, set 'em for 1/125, and LEAVE 'EM ALONE. Adjustments for exposure are accomplished by changing the aperture. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but not without carefully monitoring what the hell I'm doing. ("Okay, the shutter is COCKED. Is it? Yeah, it's on 1/125 and I saw the dial rotate when I wound. OK, change to 1/250 WAIT! Check to see if you can wind the film... No? Then go ahead...)
I love these cameras, but you can sure get a (fortunately not too expensive) lesson from them real quick.
Good luck to you, and I hope you are lucky and your Zorki recovers.

nwcanonman · 10-22-2004

Having read the manual on my Zorki, I wondered what would happen, now I know. I guess if it's not an easy fix, it's cheaper to spend $30 on a new one than spend $100 fixing the broken one.

wierdcollector · 10-23-2004

Hi, just thought I'd add my two cents worth. I tried exactly what you say you did on my Zorki (hey, I'm not the smartest guy and I'll try anything once) and got a similar result. Then as other posts say, I tried putting the camera in rewind, still loose, then back to advance, still loose, then rocked the rewind/advance collar/button back and forth a bit and presto, hunky dory again. Seems the shutter release button looks like its all the way up but sticks down about 1/8 inch or so. Rocking the advance/rewind collar freed this up. I even tried it three more times just to be sure, same problem, same cure three times. Hope this works. It could also be that if you've been under the top of your camera before, the speed selector dial is loose (it's only held on by a set screw) and the camera is actually on B or between speed settings. Is the lower dial on 0, if not maybe stuck in slow speed setting?