Fishpaste
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2010
- Messages
- 198
- Reaction score
- 10
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
Hi everyone,
I've posted a thread a while ago in which I brought up some problems I was having with my Zenit. The vast majority of my photos are badly focused despite getting a clear image in the view-finder and with fast shutter speeds. I really thought it was me, but my friend is saying it's the camera, and I'm starting to believe him.
What's really weird is that the focus through the view-finder can change after winding the shutter or after firing the shutter. When this happens, I find that I sometimes have to turn my focal distance to 2 meters or so to focus on objects at infinity! I tried to simply focus by the numbers, ignoring the view-finder, but this also doesn't help.
When I load film with 36 exposures, I get a problem starting at about the 30th exposure that leads to film staying in place despite turning the film-advance. Thusly, I make double or triple exposures on a frame when I don't want it. I don't get this problem with 28 exposure film. The manual states the camera will have problems with a certain type of Fujifilm, but I'm using Kodak (maybe they changed something down the line).
There is a rubber strip which seems to be there to protect the view-finder plate from the up-swinging mirror. This is coming off. Also, the shutter occasionally sticks, leaving a strip to the left side (according to TomTiger's page, this may be caused by incorrect tension).
Basically, the camera has problems (to be expected from a Soviet manufacturer in '89). I feel that they are related and correctable. I suspect that the mirror, view-finder, or shutter mechanism is the root of the problem.
I decided to look up repair manuals (I don't think I will take the camera apart by myself though) and found a picture of the inside of the body. The box-shaped component underneath the mirror in my camera is not straight. According to the Zenit 3-D render it's called a "mirror controller frame awning". I have a feeling that this might be a cause, but I don't know what it is, or what it does. Any help would be appreciated.
If the problem is not fixable without going deep into the camera, how much can I expect to pay for a professional repair?
I've posted a thread a while ago in which I brought up some problems I was having with my Zenit. The vast majority of my photos are badly focused despite getting a clear image in the view-finder and with fast shutter speeds. I really thought it was me, but my friend is saying it's the camera, and I'm starting to believe him.
What's really weird is that the focus through the view-finder can change after winding the shutter or after firing the shutter. When this happens, I find that I sometimes have to turn my focal distance to 2 meters or so to focus on objects at infinity! I tried to simply focus by the numbers, ignoring the view-finder, but this also doesn't help.
When I load film with 36 exposures, I get a problem starting at about the 30th exposure that leads to film staying in place despite turning the film-advance. Thusly, I make double or triple exposures on a frame when I don't want it. I don't get this problem with 28 exposure film. The manual states the camera will have problems with a certain type of Fujifilm, but I'm using Kodak (maybe they changed something down the line).
There is a rubber strip which seems to be there to protect the view-finder plate from the up-swinging mirror. This is coming off. Also, the shutter occasionally sticks, leaving a strip to the left side (according to TomTiger's page, this may be caused by incorrect tension).
Basically, the camera has problems (to be expected from a Soviet manufacturer in '89). I feel that they are related and correctable. I suspect that the mirror, view-finder, or shutter mechanism is the root of the problem.
I decided to look up repair manuals (I don't think I will take the camera apart by myself though) and found a picture of the inside of the body. The box-shaped component underneath the mirror in my camera is not straight. According to the Zenit 3-D render it's called a "mirror controller frame awning". I have a feeling that this might be a cause, but I don't know what it is, or what it does. Any help would be appreciated.
If the problem is not fixable without going deep into the camera, how much can I expect to pay for a professional repair?
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