Zorki 4

I picked up this Zorki-4 at my usual second-hand market—the kind of place where vintage gems sometimes turn up—and this one immediately caught my eye. It was in impeccable condition: spotless optics, a fully functioning and bright rangefinder, and even the original leather case. Honestly, it looked like it had barely been used.

The Zorki-4 is a Soviet-era rangefinder made between 1956 and 1973, heavily based on the Leica design, and it shows. It has a solid, mechanical feel with a few unique quirks that take some getting used to—like the bottom loading system and shutter speed dial that must be adjusted after cocking the shutter. But once I got the hang of it, I was genuinely surprised by how smooth and accurate everything felt.

At one point, I noticed the rangefinder patch wasn’t aligning properly at infinity. After some research, I found the fix: there’s a small ring at the rear of the lens that adjusts its distance to the rangefinder coupling lever. A simple tweak brought it right back into calibration.

All in all, this camera exceeded expectations. It’s a brilliant example of Soviet engineering trying to match Leica’s legacy—and while it doesn’t reach the same refinement, it gets surprisingly close. Definitely a standout in my collection.