Zorki 4 "wobbly" Viewfinder!

[Chillibones]

Help, any experienced a wobbly viewfinder? When looking through the viewfinder, it seems to 'ripple' everso slightly, not sure if this is the view-corrector lever or something inside.

Anyone any ideas on what it is and the best way to fix it? Best Z4 I've had so I dont want to trash it.

Thanks.

[ZorkiKat]

Is the finder loose? Or does it just appear to vibrate when the shutter fires?

The latter is common on Z4 and even FED-5 cameras, and should be considered a minor problem. In some cameras, the top plate is so thin that it's not able to absorb the vibration of the shutter blinds rushing home.

If it wobbles on its own, its likely that its gluing went loose. The prism is cemented to the top plate. There's a metal brace over it, but the brace doesn't really fix the prism firmly.

In case that the prism is indeed loose, it must be glued back. Use glue which does not set quickly to allow repositioning. Shellac glue or dissolved acetate film are best candidates for this. Cyanoacrylate obviously isn't.

[Spyderman]

It's most probably just some play in the diopter correction lens inside the finder. The one that moves when you move the diopter correstion lever under the rewind knob.

[pakeha]

have a play with the diopter lever, mine does the same but not when the the diopter lever is pulled slighthly back, fortunately this is the position that suits me . The wobble gets worse the further the lever is moved rearwards.

[wolves3012]

I'd take a guess that it's either a loose prism, as Zorkikat suggests or a loose diopter-correction lens. How bad a problem is it? You could take the top cover off without too much trouble and have a look to see what's causing it....

[OpenWater]

My 4K's diopter lever is very loose. I've wedged a piece of paper (business card paper works well) under it to give it some friction and make it stay put. Although I never noticed the viewfinder to wobble, perhaps something like this could be going on with yours.