LGibs_
Member
Hello all. I recently purchased a Zorki 4 on ebay after several weeks of research and deliberation. This is my first film camera ever. I shot 3 rolls of film on this camera with little to no issues, besides the general learning curve of learning how to use it properly. However, the scans of my fourth roll of film showed a black void on the left side of many of the images. Further investigation revealed one photo from the third roll exhibited this to a very slight degree. Attached is one of the worst examples of this.
I contacted the eBay seller about this, and he suggested two possible causes:
1. The 1/1000 shutter speed is causing shutter lag, which is a common problem.
2. I did not entirely wind the film in between shots, causing shutter lag.
I do not believe the first reason is responsible because I have only used the 1/1000 speed several times. While I did not record the camera settings for each photo, I know that this cannot be the cause for the vast majority of my photos.
I have already gone to r/AnalogCommunity about my issue and they suggested that reason 2 would create a sharper void versus the hazy one in my photos. However, I received 36 photos not counting the 3 initial “wasted” shots during loading on a roll of 36 exposures. I am confused because I did not experience any double exposures, although I evidently made some errors in camera winding.
There is a 90 day warranty (active for one more month) for my camera according to the original eBay listing, but I do not want to invoke this if I can avoid it. I am currently working on a fifth roll and plan on taking a test shot on each shutter speed to help diagnose the issue.
Does anyone have any advice on this issue? Was it caused by improper winding? Should I just return the camera and get my money back?
I contacted the eBay seller about this, and he suggested two possible causes:
1. The 1/1000 shutter speed is causing shutter lag, which is a common problem.
2. I did not entirely wind the film in between shots, causing shutter lag.
I do not believe the first reason is responsible because I have only used the 1/1000 speed several times. While I did not record the camera settings for each photo, I know that this cannot be the cause for the vast majority of my photos.
I have already gone to r/AnalogCommunity about my issue and they suggested that reason 2 would create a sharper void versus the hazy one in my photos. However, I received 36 photos not counting the 3 initial “wasted” shots during loading on a roll of 36 exposures. I am confused because I did not experience any double exposures, although I evidently made some errors in camera winding.
There is a 90 day warranty (active for one more month) for my camera according to the original eBay listing, but I do not want to invoke this if I can avoid it. I am currently working on a fifth roll and plan on taking a test shot on each shutter speed to help diagnose the issue.
Does anyone have any advice on this issue? Was it caused by improper winding? Should I just return the camera and get my money back?
