A Tale (and Test) of Two Zorki's

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm obsessed with my two Zorki rangefinder cameras, especially the older one, my little Zorki 1. Come to think of it, I'm quite fond of my Zorki 4 as well. Both of these cameras have a special place in my heart and in my camera arsenal, and I've written about them before in this blog (see links above and below). I love seeing them sit on my window sill, and I love putting film in them and making photographs with them. 
They are fun to use, not because they are fancy or loaded with features, but quite the opposite, actually. Using them connects me with the basic functions of a camera:  shutter speed, aperture, focus, and depth of field. I sometimes feel as it I have stepped back to an earlier time in photography when photographers learned to think carefully and quickly about composition and exposure to avoid missing shots. I am not fast with these cameras yet, but the more I use them the more comfortable I get. 

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know that Zorki was a brand name for a series of cameras manufactured in Russian beginning around the time of World War II. They were meant to be copies of the very fine (and very expensive) German-made Leica rangefinder cameras that Russians citizens could no longer get because of the war. My Zorki 1 greatly resembles a Leica ii, and my Zorki 4 is loosely based on a Leica iiic. Of course, the Leica's were far better cameras with outstanding optics, and today Zorki's are dirt cheap compared to the investment one must make to own a Leica. Ironically, I used to own a Leica iiib beginning back in the 1980's until it my house was broken into in 1994. Maybe someday I will own one again. Maybe not. However, for now I have these two Russian copies to play with. 

If I had to pick one really good thing about these cameras, it would be that they actually work. I have had to made some repairs on the shutter curtains of the Zorki 1, and I have had the Zorki 4 shutter completely overhauled by a professional camera repair person, but hey, eventually you have to service all vintage cameras including Leica's. so functionally, my Zorki bodies work fine. But what about the lenses?

In my experience so far, the quality of theses Russian-made lenses are the most significant difference between the Leica and the Zorki. My early experiences with both cameras produced results that ranged from mediocre to out-of-focus bad. It was enough to make me question actually using them until I was able to afford better lenses. However, I decided to try again and do something along the lines of a test. I decided to try shooting subjects at difference distances with different apertures to see what the lenses can do under the best of conditions. Also, I strove to make sure that I was focusing carefully and holding the camera steady to get the sharpest photos possible. 

I started with my Zorki 1. It is equipped with a Russian-made Industar 22 50mm f3.5 collapsable lens that is a copy of the German-made Leica Elmar lens, a very fine lens indeed. I loaded the Zorki 1 with some Ultrafine Extreme 100 film and looked several walks around downtown Chattanooga on sunny days, which gave me easy-to-calculate exposures. I shot subjects at close distances, and subjects at infinity. I developed the film myself and made some prints at Safelight District Community Darkroom, where I am a member. I decided to make prints of only the best shots.

The best way to describe what I found is this:  inconsistency, especially with distant subjects. Some photos of our river bridges (a favorite subject of mine) were just not sharp, even though I set my focus at infinity. Using different apertures, like f8, f11, and f16, did not make a significant difference, either. However, a shot of our local aquarium from a distance was much better and certainly acceptable. Photographs of subjects at a medium distance (about twenty feet) also were reasonably sharp. 

The Tennessee Aquarium. Reasonably sharp
at infinity, unlike other photos at similar distance.

Universal Joint, a local pub. Good focus from about twenty feet.

Where this lens really shone was with shots with five to ten feet. I made several photographs of a public art exhibit called Passages, which commemorates the tragic removal of the Cherokee Nation from Tennessee and Georgia in the 1830's. There are several large ceramic disks that tell of the history of the Cherokee, and I wanted to see how well the Industar lens would render the details. The resulting prints are very sharp indeed! 

Strength of Life, Passages, Chattanooga. I was surprised at how
sharp the details are. Good job, Industar 22!

Warrior Birds, Passages, Chattanooga. I'd take this level of
sharpness from this lens anytime.

I am left with several conclusions. First, it is possible that the built-in rangefinder on the Zorki 1 needs some adjustment. Perhaps the lens is not really at infinity when I set it to infinity, but such a condition would show up more on close up, I would think. Second, I should try again with a tripod to achieve maximum control and rule out "Shaky Hand Syndrome." Putting a 35mm rangefinder goes against the very purpose of these cameras, which was mobility and spontaneity. Third, I would love to try a better lens. I have given thought to either selling or trading some cameras to get a genuine Leica Elmar. Anybody out there have one I could at least try out? 

Lastly, I'm not giving up. I'm going to continue to find out what can this camera and lens can do best and/or how I can improve my skills to make better shots with it. Maybe it will make me a better photographer along the way. 

Next time:  My Zorki 4.

Happy Shooting!