As I now have a “proper job”, I have decided to get a few cameras properly serviced. I will feature them over the next few weeks and let you know where I got them repaired. The first one I decided to invest in was my painted Zorki 1. Although I had fixed this to some degree, it was quite stiff to rewind, to the point it almost stripped my skin. Plus the shutter was in need of replacement. I wanted to send it to the guy mentioned in this Kosmo Foto post. Unfortunately, he was based in Russia which was a problem. I kept an eye on his website until I noticed he had set up shop in Slovakia and was now retaking repairs. So I contacted him. He responded very quickly and in less than a week my camera was winging its way east.
The repair was completed very quickly and in less than a month it was all over, my camera was repaired and returned. It didn’t look any different, but it felt amazing. It was smooth to use and the rewind no longer removed my fingerprints. I could see the shutter curtain had been changed, and I was assured the lens had also been cleaned.
I tried a few films through it. Here are some of the results.
Film: Catlab 320
Location: Liverpool
Film: Ilford HP5
Location Widdop Reservoir
Film: Kentmere 400
Location: Widdop Reservoir
This one was definitely worth getting CLAd and the camera now has decades more life left. It will probably outlive me. I would highly recommend using Oleg to fix your camera.
Great results!!! I have been a fan of Soviet cameras for decades and your results prove that a properly working one is a joy to use and gives amazing results!!!
Thank you and it really is a joy to use now.
Ooh! Congrats! Have been an Oleg evangelist for years. Resurrected my Zorki 4K and Kiev 4AM. Quickly. Perfectly. Cost-effectively. Cameras bought through his site have all been Olegized to flawlesness.
Well, hardly cost effective for me, I bought 2 bodies and paid for a cla 😀 but still worth it.
True, his prices have gone up over the years. Had mine done in ’09-ish (?), back when he was still in Russia and before the house fire that crippled his business for some time, but the CLA for each and the postage were not onerous, considering that I’m in the US.
I’m never gonna be flush enough to afford an actual Barnack Leica or Contax II, but that old-school rangefinder experience – and the results – are nonetheless still available to me. Both little machines are tight, smooth, reliable, consistent and a sheer joy to use.
I have tried a Barnack and I have to say, my zorki 1 is now comparable. In fact, I prefer it.
ANy of you good folks ever try a Canon bottom-load RF? Not that expensive to acquire and sooo much smoother in use than the Soviet products.
I think my canon IV SB2 is a bottom loads and that one is smoother. That was also CLAd by Newton Ellis. So it is like butter.