Zorki-5

Zorki-5 is a Soviet 35mm film rangefinder camera that was produced at the KMZ plant from 1958 to 1959. This camera replaced the first Zorki cameras.

The Zorki-5 camera was a more inexpensive model compared to the Zorki-3 and Zorki-4 camera, which had many more features and innovations. Zorki-5 was unified with the Zenit-3 camera. Almost all components and parts of both cameras were compatible and interchangeable.

Zorki-5 Specifications

Type: 35mm rangefinder camera
Manufacturer: KMZ plant
Production period: from 1958 to 1959
Format: 24x36cm on 135 film
Lens mount: m39 thread mount
Lens: Industar-50 f3.5/50 or Jupiter-8 f2.0/50
Rangefinder base: 65mm
Shutter: focal-plane shutter with speeds from 1/25 to 1/500 sec.
Viewfinder: optical parallax viewfinder not combined with the rangefinder
Lighmeter: none
Flash synchronisation: X and M sync contacts
Selftimer: none
Weight: 668 grams

The Zorki-5 was an inexpensive camera, and was an alternative to the more advanced but more expensive Zorki-4 cameras.

The camera, unlike more advanced models, did not have slow shutter speeds and fast shutter speed of 1/1000 sec. In addition, in this camera, the film had to be loaded like in the very first Zorki and FED cameras, that is, from below, since the camera had a non-opening back cover.

But at the same time, unlike the Zorki-4, this camera has a film advance lever, which greatly speeds up and simplifies the process of taking pictures. In addition, the rangefinder base is much wider here, which increases focusing accuracy.

The camera is assembled quite well, it is pleasant to hold it in hands and shoot with it. The camera has a good and clean viewfinder, combined with a rangefinder, which of course is much more convenient than a viewfinder not combined with a rangefinder, as was the case in the first Zorki models.

The Zorki-5 camera is equipped with a very simple shutter, which was copied from Leica by Soviet engineers back in the late 30s. As in the Leica from the 30s, the shutter of this camera works out shutter speeds from 1/25 to 1/500 sec.

If it seems to you that this set of shutter speeds is too poor for the late 50s, we will remind you that a shutter with the same set of shutter speeds was produced in the USSR until the 90s.

The Zorki-5 camera was equipped with an Industar-50 f3.5/50 or Jupiter-8 f2.0/50 lens. Industar 50 is a clone of the Zeiss Tessar, which was called the “eagle eye” for its sharpness. And like a German original, Industar-50 produces a really sharp vintage images.

The Jupiter-8 lens is a clone of Zeiss Sonnar, which in those years was considered a very advanced lens. The Jupiter-8 lens, like the German original, in our time is also able to please the photographer with the fact that it can create a really beautiful sharp image and soft bokeh.

Conclusion

The Zorki-5 camera is a very controversial camera. On the one hand, the camera does not have much significant flaws, and in fact, it is much better than the very first Zorkis. On the other hand, for about the same money you can buy much more advanced cameras that do not have such archaic flaws as bottom film loading.

If you want to buy a Soviet rangefinder camera, and you don’t have a specific task to buy Zorki-5, we advise you to pay your attention to Zorki-4k or rangefinder Kiev camera from the Arsenal plant.