C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Zorki C (also rendered Zorki-S; the "C" is the Cyrillic letter for "S") is a simplified variant of the Zorki 1, produced by KMZ from approximately 1955 to 1958. It retains the M39 LTM mount and coupled rangefinder of the Zorki family but omits the slow shutter speeds, running from 1/25s to 1/500s only (plus bulb). This simplification reduced production cost and complexity. The Zorki C was aimed at the lower end of the Soviet domestic market and at export markets where price mattered more than range. The standard kit lens is the Industar-50 50mm f/3.5 collapsible.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
A stripped Zorki-1 without slow speeds - the bare-bones Soviet LTM rangefinder from 1955.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | M39 / LTM |
| Years | ~1955 - ~1958 |
| Shutter | 1/25s - 1/500s + B, mechanical horizontal cloth |
| Flash sync | ~ |
| Meter | None |
| Modes | Manual |
| Battery | None |
The Zorki C appeared mid-decade as KMZ's answer to internal demand for a cheaper alternative to the Zorki 3 (which added slow speeds) and ran alongside the Zorki 1. The omission of slow speeds was a deliberate cost-cutting measure - the slow-speed governor added mechanical complexity. Production lasted roughly three years before the Zorki 5 (1958) superseded the simplified end of the line. The Zorki C occupies a short window in the Zorki chronology and is less commonly encountered than the Zorki 1, 3, or 4.
For collectors, the Zorki C is a curiosity: it is cheaper to acquire than a Zorki 3 or 4, mechanically simpler (fewer moving parts to fail), and still accepts the full range of M39 LTM lenses. The trade-off is clear - no slow shutter speeds means no exposures longer than 1/25s without going to bulb mode. For outdoor daylight shooting with fast-ish film, this is no constraint at all; for low light or available-light work indoors, it is limiting. Buyers who want the LTM mount at minimum cost and plan to shoot outdoors should consider the Zorki C seriously.
M39 / LTM mount: Industar-50 50/3.5 (standard), Jupiter-8 50/2, Jupiter-3 50/1.5, Industar-61 52/2.8, plus any Western LTM lens (Leitz, Canon, Voigtlander). An M39-to-M adapter allows use on Leica M bodies.
C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
View profile →Zorki / KMZ C
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