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Zorki 4 - Not a Leica, Sucka!
written by nicksholga on August 24th, 2009 , 11 comments (6 votes)

I buy a lot of cameras. It’s a habit. It’s an addiction. I have to say, I’ve never been as enamored with a 35mm camera as I have been with the Zorki 4.

Zorki isn’t easy. It’s fully manual, fully mechanical, and no light meters or batteries for anything. In other words it’s perfect!
If you don’t know anything about manual controls, just check out the sunny 16 rule and experiment from there. Easy as pie. As far as rangefinders go, the Zorki 4 is not only close aesthetically to the Leica camera it was copying, but it is also comparable in image quality too! (Don’t listen to the Leica enthusiasts who deny this, just see for yourself).

I brought this camera around while traveling because i wanted sweet but not too crazy travel photos. I couldn’t have been more happy. The camera feels great in your hands, and you always get people asking you how much you paid and where to get it and all that. Plus, if you’re lucky enough to get one with strap lugs it’s makes carrying it around a breeze. Although if you have the older one without strap lugs but a sweet brown leather case, it might hurt your neck a little more, but everyone will think you’re wearing a camera from Indiana Jones or something.

Zorki is an amazing camera and a great conversational piece to boot, give it a shot!

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11 comments

  • mattcharnock
    by mattcharnock
    3 months ago

    sweet camera, sweet gallery, sweet text!

  • dogma
    by dogma
    3 months ago

    sharp pictures! great review! need to try this baby!

  • by severin
    3 months ago

    nice shots nice review

  • plyshbel
    by plyshbel
    3 months ago

    Agree, nice review and photos! Vote for it.
    But IMHO there’s some discrepancy of word “Sucka!” (means ‘bitch” in Russian) in such a funny title with complimentary content of review:) Inflexion of title and use of comma and exclamation mark says rather of regret than joy. But say it again IMHO, IMHO, IMHO:)

  • cinzinc
    by cinzinc
    3 months ago

    i just saw this camera at a bargain store recently, hopefully it was a zorki 4 that i saw. I wanna get one! stunning images!

  • masha_njam
    by masha_njam
    3 months ago

    SUCKA :))))

  • sibu_sen
    by sibu_sen
    3 months ago

    Really good, makes me want to buy one!

  • lazara
    by lazara
    3 months ago

    oh that's a great gallery! and a great text :)

  • stouf
    by stouf
    3 months ago

    Excellent gallery !

  • herbert-4
    by herbert-4
    3 months ago

    I have one of these. It's a good camera. Wonderful photos. I posted an elaboration of the "Sunny 16 Rule" in tipster. Have a look. Lots of suggestions.

  • ishoothorizon
    by ishoothorizon
    2 months ago

    Perhaps it's because you do not have a Leica that you claim that the quality is better then a Summicron, pfff...

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