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you can add your own tips by e-mail: Here are some things you need to know about soviet cameras. Firstly its worth remembering that these cameras are anything up to 75 years old and in most cases need some adjustment or maintenance to keep working properly. If you do find one that doesn't perform well, don't despair, a few tweaks with a screwdriver and a shim here and there can make all the difference. Shutter care. If your camera has a cloth curtain shutter and you are out shooting on a sunny day, always replace the lens cap when not using the camera. If you don't remember this rule you are likely to find a hole burnt in the shutter curtain. With most curtain shutter cameras you must first wind the camera to cock the shutter before you attempt to change the shutter speed. Failure to do so will in most cases damage the shutter. This applies to almost all the rangefinders, and some early Zenit SLRs. Most of the rangefinders sync for flash at 1/25 or 1/30 shutter speed. Some early Kievs will continue to trip the flash until you re-cock the shutter. Cameras with central shutters, such as the Junost, Zenit 4,5,6 and Lubitel will sync at all shutter speeds. For cameras that load through the bottom plate, such as Zorki 5, it is necessary to extend the film leader (the narrow strip at the start of 35mm film) by about 5cm. Kiev external bayonet (rangefinders) : always set lens to infinity and inner ring (rangefinder coupling) must be rotated anti clockwise to its stop before fitting lens. This will ensure that the rangefinder couples properly. 39mm rangefinder lenses will be easier to fit if lens is set to shortest focal length. If you aren't using your camera for any length of time make sure the shutter is uncocked, and in the case of the Leningrad that the motor spring is not wound. The more you use your camera the smoother it will work. I've noticed with my Kievs and Zorkis that the those I use most often are really becoming smoother with every film I put through them. Most old soviet cameras have lain around for many years and the grease or oil inside has stiffened considerably. I strip all my lenses and clean away the old oil with lighter fluid and replace it with a thin smear of sewing machine oil. I also clean the inside of the barrels with a fine soft brush to remove flakes of paint etc and clean all the lenses. This makes a huge difference to picture quality and ease of use. I store all lenses not in use in sealed plastic bags. When buying cameras; check the rangefinder. The best way to do this is focus on a distant object and check horizontal and vertical alignment. On SLRs you can check the mirror alignment in the same way. With bakelite cameras like the early Smena and Sputnik, Lubitel etc..... check they have not been dropped and glued back together. These cameras tend to explode on impact if dropped and I often see tell-tale signs of glue on $200 Sputniks. A glued camera will often have light leaks you can't easily see. Leningrads in particular have a weakness in the alloy used for the rangefinder mount within the camera, if you find the vertical alignment is out by more than a fraction it is likely this mount is broken and has been glued in place. Repair is almost impossible so forget about buying it unless you want to use the camera without the rangefinder. check the shutter. Open the camera after removing the lens and if its a cloth curtain shutter hold it up to a strong light and advance the shutter then fire it. Look for light leaks in curtain and between the curtains in transit. Check the 'B' setting and slow speeds, does the second curtain drag? Looks for signs of 'drop' damage on camera body and lens, if you find any then check everything again thoroughly. Check the lens diaphragm, do all the blades open and shut together? the centre hole should be an circle,octagon or hexagon shape. If you're buying a Moskow or Iskra check the bellows for light leaks. I carry a flash and sync cable with me when I look for cameras and test the sync socket and or hot shoe. |