I love my Zorki cameras. More specifically I love the Zorki 4 series, they just have all the right looks in my opinion. I first purchased a 1964 Zorki 4 for myself for Christmas in 2018 after reading all the reviews I could find. Opinions were divided on these cameras which is what I like! First I purchased the body for about $30AUD to make sure I liked how it felt. After I had decided I would keep it I bought an Industar 50 3.5 for it.
I shot 1 roll in this Zorki that worked great, the subsequent 3 or 4 roll slowly deteriorated until the 5th roll I shot came out pure white, indicating my biggest fear. My Zorki had died! I had read and heard from like minded Zorki shooters that 1958 was the year the quality control really declined in the KMZ factory so when my birthday rolled around in 2019 I used my parents present money to buy a mint condition 1957 model Zorki 4 with a matching Red P Jupiter 8 from the same year.
I couldn’t tell you why the red P versions are considered better because nobody can seem to agree online about what it means, but I have one.
It functions flawlessly and hasn’t failed me yet so it was the perfect choice for me to spend a lunch break down by the river pushing Ilford Delta 400 to 1600.
I haven’t read much online about pushing Delta. It seems people aren’t a fan of the grain structure. I don’t know why, it’s beautiful! I developed the roll in Rodinal for an hour as a stand development.
I could not be happier with the results, but I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Instagram: @gavinbain
www.gavinwbain.darkroom.tech
Zorki 4 is an outstanding camera and one of my favourites too.
You have done well with this film also.
Hey, nice shots and decent Zorki! The red П means Просветленный, Russian for coated. Nearly all Jupiter-8 lenses are coated, it’s difficult to find a rare old uncoated one. Later, after 60s they stopped marking lenses with П because all lenses were coated, obviously. The older coatings give a warm cast in color, while the newer black J8 are more neutral for color prints
What matters most are two intangible factors: you are comfortable with the camera, and you have confidence it will perform as you expect. If the equipment meets those factors, the you’ll be out creating work you imagine in your head and putting it on film. Continued good shooting.
Bit lacking in colour innit? Did you get that effect with Photoshop?
I have the Zorki 4k with the Jupiter 8 50mm f2 and I love it.
Good results you got there.
I have the 50mm Industar on a Zenith c.
It was my first camere/lens in 1958 when I was 13 and I still have
I am looking for one to put my Jupiter 8 on although I had bad memories from using one 30 years ago,maybe time is a great healer
The Zorki 4 is an amazing camera if you get a good one. I did, when I was 40 in 2008. The problem I found is that as you get older viewfinders get darker, so I struggle with them now. The only way round it is Leica.
I’ve pushed Delta 400 to 1600 a lot and I think it’s lovely, beautiful blacks and grain is grain – you might get less with DDX or with Tmax developer, but Rodinal is such fun to do on a semi-stand basis. I have a Zorki 4 complete with Jupiter 8 and it takes great pictures. But there are so many of them that if one dies, so be it. Keep shooting I like your results!
Good work! If you want to have some fun, mount a Summitar (or better yet, a Summicron) 50/2 on this camera net time you join your fellow analog shooters for an outing. The Leica purists will have a conniption fit!
You have to be careful mounting Leica lenses to Zorki and Fed bodies: The RF cam pickup of the Russian cameras is a different design that the Leica, and requires the use of a fairly thick Cam on the lens. The Summitar, Summicron, Summarit all have RF cams that are thinner than the Russian lenses. The Arm of the Cam will go under the Cam and give a bad reading. A lens with a thicker cam, like the Nikkor-H 5cm F2 will be fine.
Look for a nice Zorki 3M: a bit earlier design, simpler as it does not have the Flash Sync, a bit easier to pop the top, clean, and lube.
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