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Zorki 4 Review - a 50€ Leica
Tags: Film Camera, Zorki 4, Camera Review
This summer, I inherited a collection of Soviet cameras from my grandparents, and among them, the Zorki 4 quickly became my favorite. This camera, with a price tag around 50€, offers incredible value and serves as a fantastic option for anyone interested in experimenting with a Leica-like classical rangefinder. Plus, it boasts an equally Leica-like stunning design.
Table of Contents:
The Good
What is there to like about this camera?
1. The Price.
It is darn cheap. The Zorki 4 is remarkably affordable, priced at approximately 50€.
Its value becomes even more apparent when considering its other positive attributes.
2. The Speed.
Unlike what your partner says in bed, faster is better.
This camera shoots at 1/1000th of a second, just like most Leicas. This feature distinguishes it from many Russian rangefinders limited to 1/500th, offering an advantage, especially in during the summer. In Zorki 4, you can load a fairly fast film like Portra 800 and have all the flexibility you want to shoot indoors and out.
Once again, getting a fully mechanical camera for under 60€ that shoots at 1/1000th is a bargain.
3. The Viewfinder.
True to its name, the Zorki 4’s viewfinder is bright, and clear. It is incredibly easy to focus.
This makes the camera much easier to focus even in low-light scenarios.
4. Great 50mm lens.
Paired with the Zorki 4 is the 50mm f2 Jupiter 8 lens. This lens is the Soviet re-design of the famous Carl-Zeiss Sonar. It is fast, light, compact and full of character. I love it.
My particular copy has a very work focus ring, where my grandpa touched it over decades of use. I find it very precious.
The Jupiter-8 is nice and fast. f/2 is plenty for most situations. And wide open it also has very pleasant character. If you take a look at the picture of Hugo and Ella, the image is plenty shapt at the center, however when going towards the edges of the frame, that will drop-off fast and the bokeh will acquire the a pleasantly swirly character.
5. Repairability.
Benefiting from Soviet engineering’s robust simplicity, the Zorki 4 is fully mechanical and widely manufactured, ensuring the availability of spare parts.
I’ve actually repaired my (grandpa’s) camera a few times now. It has been a breaze every time. And with the camera being this cheap, you can always pick-up spare parts.
The Bad
1. No framelines.
While there are plenty of Zorki 4 compatible lenses, it is really meant to be used with the 50mm focal length. Primarily because it has no frame lines. The viewfinder itself roughly corresponds to the 50mm.
Although, one can always mount an external viewfinder on the cold-shoe mount.
2. Incompatible with non-Soviet M39 lenses.
Though equipped with an M39 lens mount, the Zorki 4 may pose compatibility issues with non-Soviet M39 lenses. When fitted on non-Soviet rangefinder, the Jupiter lenses tend to back-focus. The opposite it true if you fit a non-soviet lens on the Zorki camera.
This can be addressed with minor modifications, but it’s worth noting. However, mine is nearly permanently affixed on my grandpa’s camera. It belongs there.
The Quirky
This camera has a lot of peculiarities, for instance, it has a ‘brick the fucking camera’ function. Let’s talk about that.
DON’T CHANGE SHUTTER SPEED BEFORE ADVANCING THE FILM!!!
If you try, the camera will be destroyed. No, really, this is true. There is a litle piece of metal that breaks and completely bricks the camera. Who thought this was a good design for a shutter mechanism? No idea.
I got into the habbit of trying to gently wind the film before ever touching the film-speed knob. Additionally, I almost never shoot at low shutter speeds, so if the dial sit suspiciously low I know that the shutter isn’t cocked.
ALWAYS KEEP THE LENS-CAP ON!!!
Otherwise the shutter-curtain can catch fire. Yes, another way you can brick your camera, this time by making it combust.
The shutter is made out of rubberised cloth and a lens is an excellent magnifying glass, add light and you have a fire hazzard.
Speaking of the shutter curtain, you should check it for light-leaks when getting the camera. The rubber can degrade over time, and small pinprick holes might appear. But that is easy to fix.
The Artsy
The Zorki 4 serves as an ideal entry point for classic rangefinder film photography. It does the absolutely necessary things well for absolute minimum entry cost. And though its inadequacies imposes limitations which require the user to become creative.
I tend to experiment with this camera. I love colour, but in the spirit of limitation I mostly use this camera for black and white photography. The black and white film is more forgiving to old lenses, and it what my grandad had avilable in the Soviet Union… and obviously it puts me out of my comfort zone.
Conclusion
I cherish this camera, not only because of the sentimental value, but because it is fun. I feel happy wearing it. It think it has immaculate aesthetic appeal, bringing it with me makes me a better photographer, as well as reminds me of my grandpa.
Hopefully reading this has been useful and made you consider picking-up a Zorki 4. I sincerely hope you enjoy this camera as much as I do. <3 Take care, friend.