© mike connealy
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Zorki 2-C (2-S)
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 There do not seem to be any manuals on line for the 2-C, but its operation is essentially the same as any of the other Leica-copy bottom loaders. The only non-obvious feature is a small windowed tab under the speed dial; that is for setting the flash synch, and it should probably remain on the "0" position for non-flash use. |
The Zorki 2-C is a bottom loader like its predecessors, but it also has some added features including strap lugs, flash synch and a self-timer. To accommodate the flash circuitry the top deck height was increased slightly, but the camera is still quite compact and easy to handle. The C and 2-C models, in production by KMZ in Krasnogorsk from 1955 to 1960, were equipped with Industar 3.5/50 lenses of both the collapsable and fixed types.
My Zorki came to me as a gift. The bottom plate is from an earlier model Zorki or Fed and does not latch properly. The focus movement of the aluminum-barrelled lens was stiff and bumpy due to dried out lubrication. Aside from those two things, the rest of the camera seemed to be in pretty good shape with a very smooth film advance and a shutter that sounded good at all speeds. I had a newer black-barrel Industar lens from a FED 3 that I could use with the camera. I thought I might find someone with a junker that would sell me a bottom plate, but haven't yet made that connection. In the meantime I decided I might as well find out if the camera was capable of getting the job done, so I screwed in the black-barrel lens, loaded up some Kodak BW400CN film and ran a strip of black tape around the bottom of the camera. I was pleased to find that the 2-C was still a very capable shooter. Judging by the negatives, the shutter is accurate, and there is no problem with frame spacing or shutter capping. The Industar 3.5/50, which I believe is a four-element Tessar design, produced sharp and contrasty images. I'm inspired to continue searching for a proper bottom plate which would make using the camera a little more convenient, and I'm looking forward to trying out some of my other fine Soviet-era lenses on this nice little camera. | ||||||||||||||
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