Zorki

Zorki ( Зоркий, meaning "sharp-sighted") is one of the most widely known Soviet photo brands. It was one of two USSR efforts to produce rangefinder cameras derived from the Leica design. During WW2, The Soviet camera factory FED was evacuated to escape advancing German troops. After the war, FED had troubles resuming production of their FED-branded rangefinder camera, (a copy of the pre-war German Leica 35mm camera). Because the KMZ plant had escaped destruction, that company started making the FED camera under a joint FED-Zorki logo in 1948. When FED got back in operation, KMZ continued to produce rangefinder cameras under the Zorki trademark (inlcuding export models), and made design changes diverging from any Leica influence.

Other cameras produced by KMZ include the Moskva series of 6x9/6x4.5 folders, the Drug rangefinder and the Iskra 6x6 folder.

Comparison of Zorki models and their features

Camera Models	FED-Zorki	Zorki 1	Zorki S	Zorki 2	Zorki 2-C (S)	Zorki 3	Zorki 3M	Zorki 3-C (S)	Zorki 4	Zorki 4K	Mir	Zorki 5	Zorki 6	Zorki 10	Zorki 11	Zorki 12
Produced	1948-49	1948-56	1955-58	1954-56	1955-60	1951-56	1954-56	1955-56	1956-73	1972-78	1959-61	1958-59	1959-66	1964-78	1964-67	1967-68
Rangefinder	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
M39 Lenses	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Flash sync port	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Slowest speed	1/20	1/20 or 1/25	1/25	1/25	1/25	1s	1s	1s	1s	1s	1/30	1/30	1/30	1/30	1/30	1/30
Fastest speed	1/1000 or 1/500	1/500	1/500	1/500	1/500	1/1000	1/1000	1/1000	1/1000	1/1000	1/500	1/500	1/500	1/500	1/500	1/500
Removable back	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes (Hinged)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lever/Knob wind	Knob	Knob	Knob	Knob	Knob	Knob	Knob	Knob	Knob	Lever	Knob	Lever	Lever	Lever	Lever	Lever
Tripod mount	3/8"	3/8"	3/8"	3/8"	3/8"	3/8"	3/8"	3/8"	3/8"	1/4"	3/8"	3/8"	3/8"	3/8" or 1/4"	3/8" or 1/4"	1/4"

Zorki Timeline (click show to expand)

Zorki Camera Timeline (1948-1978)
1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 FED-Zorki Zorki 1 Zorki S Zorki 2 Zorki 2-C (S) Zorki 3 Zorki 3M Zorki 3S Zorki 4 Zorki 4K Mir Zorki 5 Zorki 6 Zorki 10 Zorki 11 Zorki 12

Examples of Zorki cameras

Zorki-1 (1953), (type 7a) image by Süleyman Demir (Image rights)

Zorki 2-C (S) (1956) image by Süleyman Demir (Image rights)

Zorki 3M image by Morinaka. (Image rights)

Zorki-4 (1968), (type 11a) image by Süleyman Demir (Image rights)

Zorki-5 (1959), (type 5b) image by Süleyman Demir (Image rights)

Zorki-6 image by Siim Vahur (Image rights)

Bibliography

• Princelle, Jean Loup (2004), The Authentic Guide to Russian and Soviet Cameras ('Made in USSR'), Le Reve Edition. ISBN 2952252106; or the earlier edition: Hove Foto Books, 2nd edition, 1995. 200 pages. ISBN 1874031630. Paperback.

Links

Related

• FED
• KMZ
• Industar
• Jupiter

General

• Fotoua (archived) by Alexandr Komarov
• Zorki at Sovietcams.com
• Alfred's Camera Page by Alfred Klomp
• FED Zorki Survival Site - Repair and Adjustment of FED and Zorki
• Zorki and FED repair notes by Rick Oleson
• Zorki page at Ulrich Witte's site (in German)
• KMZ cameras at Collection Appareils by Sylvain Halgand (in French)
• Zorki camera instruction manuals, PDF format, color when possible from OrphanCameras.com
• Fed and Zorki Survival Site by Jay Javier