In my on-going quest for collecting cameras, I’m striving to buy my ideal functional camera.
In my continuing suffering of “G.A.S.” (Gear Acquisition Symdrome), “this isn’t going to be possible” says something in my head.
Ideally, I’d land a Leica “null-serie”. The pipe-dream of this is a “You can have whatever’s in that box for £30. I don’t know what’s in it, and you’ve not to open it until you pay” bargain on a carboot sale… in the box would be a Leica “null-serie”. But, being a nitpicker, I know such a camera wouldn’t be used, for fear of it failing. I want a user, not a trophy, so such a dream will remain as that. Which can be annoying, thinking about it.
In reality, I’m looking more at landing a Zorki-3, or a Leica II, or a Voigtlander R3A, or a Leica M3, or a Leica M6. I want the camera to be reliable and accept the range of LTM lenses I’m amassing.
On my desk, I have a Zorki-4K. It stares at me. I stare at it. I give it a run-through with the shutter speeds, it fires seemingly perfect on every one. It’s not a bottom-loader. It doesn’t seem to require any film-cutting to load it. There’s no take-up spool to be lost. Its rangefinder spot is bright. Its rangefinder arm/focussing isn’t sluggish. Its viewfinder is big, there’s no real need for no squinting. Its viewfinder is clear. Its focussing setup seems accurate. Its shutter curtain seems light-tight. Its… well, it’s seemingly got everything I want.
But… it’s a Zorki-4K! It’s serial number begins with 74, so it was probably made in 1974. So, why am I reluctant to use it?
Is it too new? Is it that I’ve seen plenty of such cameras in antique fairs, so it’s not uncommon? Is it because its shutterspeeds are too close together, on the selector? Is it that I’ve got a predjudice against this model of camera? It’s not as if it’s because it’s a mechanical camera. Hell, I love such things, being fully independant of a powersource in this day and age… bring it on, I say. But, there’s just something I shouldn’t feel… but I do. And I can’t quite figure out what it is.
Perhaps it is because it’s a Zorki… a 4K, no less. There’s certainly nothing else the matter with it.
I know the rewind setup on it is something I’m not particularly happy about; push down the collar around the shutter button, etc. This in turn seems to fire the shutter again… hmm. Not an ideal setup, considering the last exposure might not have fully cleared the shutter opening. But, I also know that there’ll never be the perfect camera. Certainly not for someone who can nitpick the best of things. And certainly not for a G.A.S. sufferer.
Perhaps tomorrow I’ll load it with a film.
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