Zorki 3M full CLA, part 1

[@heyboyer]

I recently purchased a Zorki 3M on eBay and it's supposed to arrive next Saturday. This is a helpful video as I will need to inspect the camera when it arrives,

[@AlinCiortea]

Very nice! Be prepared to get a camera that shows it's age though. After all, it's 70 years old.

[@atf2940]

I also think that the 3M is the best and nicest of the Zorki RF line. Recently I did complete CLAs on two of them. In one I replaced the curtains by thinner 2-layered curtains from Japan -- a reall improvement in operation. The camera is super easy to work on: basically a late Zorki-1 with an escapement for slow times. Sorry to disagree on one point: the RF mechanism is very different from the model 4. It operates by a single spiral spring, which is prone to wear out. (If I recall correctly, the beamsplitting is also different.) This is what had happended in one of my cameras. The solution for the 4 is much better. Actually, you can swap the RFs between 3 and 4 (and so I did), you only lose one mounting point [correction: two]. It's not ideal but as long as you don't bang the camera around, that should be OK. Great series -- I look fwd to the next episodes. Many thanks!

[@AlinCiortea]

I haven't studied the RF assembly closely yet but thanks for pointing it out. Regarding the curtain material, you used the silk/rubber type, right? Because Aki Asahi also has the silk/rubber/silk type.

[@atf2940]

@@AlinCiortea Yes, silk-rubber, with the silk facing the lens. And I don't stitch anymore. Just glue (the kind shoemakers use) on the rubber sides is good enough.