zorki5_4
The Zorki-5 is one of the less known Soviet Leicas. I consider it (and its successor Zorki-6) one of the best Zorkis ever made. It has a set of attractive features, and differs from the early Zorkis in the same way FED-2 differs from the early FEDs. The Zorki-5 has a new, wide base rangefinder coupled with a viewfinder, a dioptric adjustment of the viewfinder and strap lugs. There are no slow speeds in this design, and I believe this is good, since most of the problems in the Soviet Leicas are caused by the slow speed mechanisms.
Among many new features, the Zorki-5 introduced an advance lever which replaced a traditional winding knob of the early Leica copies. The camera is still loading from the bottom. Some people call it a Leica M3 copy, but this is a long stretch. (Nothing I know comes close to a Leica M3). However, this is the most solid and advanced bottom loading Leica mount rangefinder produced in the [former] Soviet Union. And it surely has a great look and feel of a classic camera.
As any Soviet Leica copy, Zorki-5 is compatible with the 39 mm Leica TM lenses.
These are some features of the Zorki-5:
- Shutter speeds - B, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500.
- Lens - rigid Industar-50, f = 5 cm, 1:3.5
, coated.
- Advance lever (introduced first in Zorki-5).
- Wide rangefinder base (same as in FED-2).
- Dioptric adjustment of the VF/RF (from FED-2).
- The body is cast and rigid.
- Combined RF/VF (as in Zorki-4).
- Shutter speed setting before of after the film is wound and the shutter is cocked (as in Zorki-S)
- 2 PC terminals - for electronic flash and for a flashbulb.
The camera was made in 1958 by the Krasnogorsk plant (KMZ).
The camera is in EXC condition, it has some paint scuffs on the edges of the
body, clean chrome on the top plate and some marks and specks on the bottom
plate. The leatherette is clean and complete. The shutter is working smoothly
on all speeds. The rangefinder and viewfinder are sharp and clear, the lens
is clean well. There are some minor cleaning marks on the front element, they
should not affect image quality.
This Zorki-5 comes with a take-up spool, plastic lenscap, and a clean leather
case.
This is a great sample of this classic rangefinder, a capable user and an uncommon
collectible camera. You can try any Leica lens on the Zorki-5, and use its sharp
Industar-50 with any screwmount Leica.