Complications – more problems with the Zorki 3M

I finally took out the Zorki 3M I got back from Oleg for a spin mounted with what’s becoming my favorite lens, the Industar 61 L/D. I really like the feel of this camera, and the bright viewfinder is difficult to beat, although it looks more like a 90mm frame than a 50mm. With all that real estate, too bad somebody at Zorki didn’t think to reduce the magnification and put in a couple of different frame lines, say a 35mm and a 90mm. That would have turned the 3M into the ultimate LTM machine.

Unfortunately, about 15 frames into a roll of Tri-X, the shutter utterly failed. It seems to wind and cock, but when you press the shutter button – nothing. It’s back to Oleg. He’s generously offered to pick up shipping as well.

I salvaged the roll and finished it off in my Fed 2 with the Industar 61.

Voigtlander Bessa

This weekend has been a frustrating one as far as cameras go. On top of the Zorki problem, I’ve found that the red film windows on a recently acquired Zeiss Ikonta 520 is too fogged to see the film counter numbers, which makes advancing to the next frame impossible. Also, an Old Voigtlander Bessa folder turned out to have some problems with the film compartment that requires bending back some metal pieces to hold the roll in place.

Ikonta 520

Too much time fiddling with cameras instead of taking advantage of this wonderful autumn light to take pictures.