# Troubleshooting Zenit ET



## Fishpaste (Apr 19, 2011)

Hi everyone, 

I've posted a thread a while ago in which I brought up some problems I was having with my Zenit. The vast majority of my photos are badly focused despite getting a clear image in the view-finder and with fast shutter speeds. I really thought it was me, but my friend is saying it's the camera, and I'm starting to believe him. 

What's really weird is that the focus through the view-finder can change after winding the shutter or after firing the shutter. When this happens, I find that I sometimes have to turn my focal distance to 2 meters or so to focus on objects at infinity! I tried to simply focus by the numbers, ignoring the view-finder, but this also doesn't help. 

When I load film with 36 exposures, I get a problem starting at about the 30th exposure that leads to film staying in place despite turning the film-advance. Thusly, I make double or triple exposures on a frame when I don't want it. I don't get this problem with 28 exposure film. The manual states the camera will have problems with a certain type of Fujifilm, but I'm using Kodak (maybe they changed something down the line). 

There is a rubber strip which seems to be there to protect the view-finder plate from the up-swinging mirror. This is coming off. Also, the shutter occasionally sticks, leaving a strip to the left side (according to TomTiger's page, this may be caused by incorrect tension).

Basically, the camera has problems (to be expected from a Soviet manufacturer in '89). I feel that they are related and correctable. I suspect that the mirror, view-finder, or shutter mechanism is the root of the problem. 

I decided to look up repair manuals (I don't think I will take the camera apart by myself though) and found  a picture of the inside of the body. The box-shaped component underneath the mirror in my camera is not straight. According to the Zenit 3-D render it's called a "mirror controller frame awning". I have a feeling that this might be a cause, but I don't know what it is, or what it does. Any help would be appreciated. 







If the problem is not fixable without going deep into the camera, how much can I expect to pay for a professional repair?


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## shufti (Apr 19, 2011)

Typical...I just gave a minty Zenit E away a few days ago, to a charity shop. You could have had for postage. These kinds of cameras are cheap on ebay. Maybe better to buy a replacement. Or get a Praktica instead.


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## Fishpaste (Apr 19, 2011)

On Ebay they seem to run for about $40 not including shipping...I've been browsing flea markets and the vendors are asking $50 for something that's filled with sand or missing parts and totally unusable...

I really like this camera, and I would rather not give it away or have it sit on the shelf.


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## shufti (Apr 19, 2011)

$40!?  I must be missing something. Is this different from a Zenit E?


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## shufti (Apr 19, 2011)

£9 buy now
BLACK ZENIT E M42 SLR BODY | eBay UK


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## Fishpaste (Apr 19, 2011)

I guess it and others are rare in the US. That listing is 9 pounds and 12+ shipping which will mean at least $30. It's one of the better prices I've seen. I suppose I'll just have to bite the bullet and get a pay-pall account...but I was hoping to not give up on this one so soon. 

Thanks for the link.



> $40!?  I must be missing something. Is this different from a Zenit E?



Some are going for $100


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## shufti (Apr 19, 2011)

Ah, you're in the US. I understand. Yes that makes it more costly. I think there was an importer here in England in the 1970s/80s (in Enfield, London) who shipped in tons of USSR and DDR camera gear. It's fairly common on the second-hand market, in the UK.


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## shufti (Apr 19, 2011)

Once in a blue moon, I might get a Zenit body virtually for nothing (amongst a box of random camera junk). I don't know if US customs would swallow the idea in this day and age of a genuine gifted camera coming in, but for the price of sending surface mail by boat, you could have it.


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## Fishpaste (Apr 19, 2011)

I would be very grateful


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## shufti (Apr 19, 2011)

I'll let you know when something turns up


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## Fishpaste (Apr 25, 2011)

Just a little update - I haven't gotten around to looking for cameras this past week. I've been rather busy, but I should have more time in the next week or so.

I've gotten close to solving this problem. I wound and clicked the shutter several times and tried to observe what was going on inside. The funny thing is that sometimes the mirror lifts up from its resting position by about 1-2mm when winding! It shouldn't be doing that, and should stay at the downward 45 degree angle until the shutter is clicked and it flips up. 

That leads to believe that the tension required to flip the mirror is sometimes too great for the mechanism that holds it in place. Now I need to find the part that does that. Any ideas?

EDIT - the problem lies with the mirror lift-arm. It rotates forward to lift the mirror, and backwards to let it sit down. When the shutter is wound, it tends to jump forward when it shouldn't.

EDIT2 - It's this thing:






On my Zenit, the Mirror lift is a piece of transparent plastic which has degraded significantly. I may have to replace it or make a new one.


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## Fishpaste (Apr 26, 2011)

Ok, I think I got everything sorted out!  The mirror now seems to work properly, and everything is focusing ok in the viewfinder (no sudden changes when winding). I loaded the camera with film...fingers crossed!


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## Fishpaste (Apr 30, 2011)

It LIVES!


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## kevintosh (Jun 23, 2011)

Hey! Just wandering on the internet I found your post with the focus issue on your Zenit ET.

It comes to happen that I have the same machine, I've opened it up and reassembled it and I just sort of "calibrated" the mirror with the lens, and when the lens says "infinity" my mirror is in focus with infinity, and when the lens says "0,5" mirror is in focus with 0,5m (measured with a ruler, I just looked through the viewfinder and the 50's number is in focus)

Well, I've shot a bunch of photos and all are a bit out of focus... A bit means that I focused at a distance and the pictures were like I've focused a bit closer... but, strange thing!! Lens can only focus at 0,5m closest, but in 2 or 3 pictures image looks focused even closer (about 0,35m). Of course, infinity photos are greatly blurred... 

How did you set up your machine and how did you corrected your focus issue?

Sorry about bothering you, but this is a pretty machine and I want to give it a try just for fun...

Greetings!


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## Fishpaste (Jun 23, 2011)

I already sent a PM to reply to the one you sent me, but I'll post here too so others can see and give corrections and advice...

I'm not an expert, but if the image is truly focused at .35 meters then something is wrong with the position of the lens or the film. Specifically, the focal length inside the camera is too long if that's the case. So, either the lens assembly is sticking too far forward, or the film is too far back (even if by 1 mm or so). 

The best advice I could give is to check the lens assembly that it's in place properly. Check the rear compartment door. It has a large leaf-spring to keep the film at the right place. You should feel a little bit of tension when closing the door because of this leaf spring. (I wish I had a digital camera to take pictures of my Zenit to help explain  )


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## kevintosh (Jun 23, 2011)

Ahoy there! I found my problem... And is not difficult to solve, at least if I can find a build/assembly diagram of this lens.

It comes to happen that the inner helicoidal screw (the one in the lens body) is not a one way screw... It has 12 threads, so that gives you 12 different ways of screwing the lens (each one differs by 30 degrees from the previous one).

When I assembled up the lens (why the heck did I disassembled it in first place? ) of course, I had more possibilities of screwing it the wrong way, and so I did...

Another huge mistake of mine, I just thought that the mirror was out of focus, and I just "calibrated" it with the lens... the lens in a wrong position, so now I have a wrong lens and a wrong mirror position 

Well, so I'm now trying to correct the lens to correct the mirror after that, and I don't have another M42 lens to recalibrate the mirror or a dSLR to test the lens out, so it will have to be with old school film... (here where I live costs around 3 bucks a 12 exp. film can) I'll see if the lens is correct, then I'll set up the mirror...

How did I re-screw the lens?

I found nothing useful about the Helios on the net, so I just looked up for a picture of the lens to use as a guide, like this one

http://kvolkov.com/img/lenses/helios-44m-4_2.jpg
(too big for inserting, just click if you want to see)

and it comes that the lens bessel has to be lined up with the filter tab when the lens is at the "infinity" mark...

Yeah, STRANGE resource, but that's all I have... And of course, Zenit is not well known specifically for its quality control and serializable work, so my lens could be screwed in any other position... But well, for now is the only shot I got...

If any of you own a Helios 44M-4 by Valdai manufactured near 89 (S/N begins with 89...) and can post a photo it will be appreciated.

It has to be THE SAME than mine, other 44M or 44K, or not Valdai may not be the same lens construction 

However, i just hope to give this a chance, at least I know now how to correct the focus issues, if it's farther I'll just unscrew it and screw the lens farther, and if the focus is closer I'll just screw the lens closer 

Strange thing though, this lens was focusing about 0,35m 

Other funny thing I found is that you can remove the back 3 elements (2 groups, just unscrew the ring and let them fall) and now with an extension tube you have a tele lens (about 116 mm) and a lot of strange stuff like that are related here: Helios 44 Outer Limits

And well, now that I'm learning a lot about this stuff (you learn from your mistakes ) I'm becoming some sort of Zenit tech guy weirdo... I now how to put the lens apart in 39 seconds with my eyes closed 

And last but not least, owners of any Helios lens: If you disassemble it remember exactly how the heck did you put it apart!!! 

Greetings, and sorry for the extension, it's just difficult for me to express myself in another language


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## Fishpaste (Jun 24, 2011)

I have that exact lens, but I don't have another camera to take photos of it  In about a week I can do it. 

Interesting link - I have tried to use the lens for macro, and it seems like it would work well. I'll try to take a photo with it someday to see how it comes out.


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## arkkasal (Jan 13, 2014)

Hi, I just came across this message. I have just bought a Zenit ET and the first film roll resulted all out of focus. The problem Fishplate had is exactly the same, mirror going slightly up after moving the film advance lever...

I can't really figure out the solution as one of the images in the post is now missing... Could somebody please give me some ideas or explanation on how to fix this? camera is almost pristine condition but this is making me crazy...

Photo example at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arkkasal/11934372373/

Any help? thanks and good evening!


Ariel


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