KMZ Zorki 2

Zorki 2

The KMZ Zorki 2 is a Soviet 35mm coupled-rangefinder camera produced from 1954 to 1956. It uses an M39 × 1 screw lens mount with a nominal 28.8 mm register and retains the bottom-loading construction, separate focusing and framing eyepieces, and horizontal-travel cloth focal-plane shutter associated with the earlier Zorki cameras.[1][3]

The Zorki 2 was developed as an improved version of the basic Zorki 1. Its most visible addition is a mechanical self-timer on the front of the body. Other changes include permanent strap lugs, a revised shutter-speed control, a stationary shutter-release button and a rewind-selector collar surrounding the shutter release.[1][4]

The camera should be treated as a separate model from both the Zorki 1 and the later Zorki 2S. The Zorki 2S added factory-installed flash synchronization and required a taller, substantially redesigned upper housing.[1]

---

History

Development and Launch

KMZ introduced the production Zorki 2 in 1954 as the self-timer-equipped version of its early Leica II-derived rangefinder design. The factory archive describes it as a modernization of the Zorki 1, retaining the basic camera construction while adding a self-timer and an improved shutter-speed control.[1]

The production camera should not be confused with an earlier experimental design that was also called Zorki 2. That prototype was a more ambitious camera with a combined viewing and focusing system and additional shutter speeds. Elements of that project were developed further in the Zorki 3 series rather than in the production Zorki 2.[1]

The production Zorki 2 followed a more conservative approach. It kept the separate finder and rangefinder system, removable bottom plate and basic body shape of the Zorki 1 while improving handling and adding a self-timer.

Production

The Zorki 2 was manufactured from 1954 through 1956. Official KMZ production records list 337 cameras in 1954, 9,691 in 1955 and 282 in 1956. This gives a total official production of 10,310 cameras.[2]

A commonly cited collector classification gives a slightly different total of 10,301 units.[4] The official KMZ yearly production table supports 10,310, so that figure is preferred.

More than ninety percent of all Zorki 2 cameras were produced in 1955. Examples from the first 1954 production period and the final 1956 production period are substantially less common.

Model Name

The original Cyrillic model name is Зоркий-2. It may be transliterated as Zorki 2 or Zorkiy-2, while some Western catalogues use Zorki II.

Unlike the Zorki S and Zorki 2S, the name does not contain the Cyrillic letter С. The alternative spelling issue in which Cyrillic С is misread as a Latin C therefore does not apply to the Zorki 2.

Relationship to the Zorki 1

The Zorki 2 is based closely on the later Zorki 1 body. Both cameras use 35mm film, a 24 × 36 mm frame, an M39 screw lens mount, bottom loading, separate rangefinder and viewfinder eyepieces and a horizontal cloth focal-plane shutter.[1][3]

The most visible difference is the self-timer fitted beside the lens mount. The mechanism uses a winding lever and a separate start button. The start button is partly concealed by the lever when the self-timer is not wound.[3][5]

The Zorki 2 also has permanent strap lugs on both sides of the body. A normal Zorki 1 lacks these body-mounted lugs and is commonly carried by means of the strap attached to its fitted case.

The shutter-speed control was redesigned. It uses a larger rotating speed disc around a stationary central shaft and index. This arrangement allows the selected speed to remain visibly aligned while the shutter is wound.[4][5]

The shutter-release button no longer rotates during winding. A collar surrounding the release acts as the rewind clutch selector, replacing the separate rewind-release lever found on the earlier camera.[4]

Relationship to the Zorki 2S

The Zorki 2S continued the self-timer-equipped branch of the range but added factory flash synchronization. The synchronization system includes a cable socket and an adjustable ignition-delay control for use with flashbulbs and electronic flash.[1]

Accommodating the synchronization components required a taller and more extended upper housing. The Zorki 2 retains the lower top plate derived from the Zorki 1 and has no factory synchronization socket.

For listing identification, a low-bodied camera with a self-timer and no flash socket is normally a Zorki 2. A camera with both a self-timer and a factory flash socket is normally a Zorki 2S.

Aftermarket flash modifications may occasionally be encountered. A modified Zorki 2 should remain identified as a Zorki 2, with the added synchronization recorded as modification metadata.

Shutter-Speed Variants

The production period of the Zorki 2 overlaps KMZ’s 1955 change to a new standardized shutter-speed sequence. The KMZ archive lists the earlier sequence as Z, 1/20, 1/30, 1/40, 1/60, 1/100, 1/200 and 1/500 second.[1]

This earlier sequence is relevant principally to the limited 1954 production. Some secondary references give 1/50 instead of 1/60 for the early sequence, but KMZ’s own archive specifies 1/60.[1][6]

The 1955 Zorki 2 manual specifies the revised sequence of B, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/250 and 1/500 second.[3] On a Cyrillic shutter-speed dial, the bulb setting may appear as the Cyrillic letter В, which resembles a Latin B.

The manual also describes a long-exposure setting obtained by holding or mechanically retaining the shutter release at the bulb position. This may be described as a Д setting in period documentation, but it is not necessarily marked as a separate position on every shutter-speed dial.[3]

The exact speed sequence visible on a listing should be stored as variant metadata. Replacement shutter-speed dials and repaired shutters are possible, so the dial alone should not be used to establish production year.

Shutter and Film Advance

The shutter uses two horizontally travelling cloth curtains. At the slower instantaneous settings, the first curtain fully opens the film gate before the second curtain begins to close it. At faster settings, the curtains form a moving slit across the frame.[3]

The shutter is mechanically coupled to the film-advance mechanism and frame counter. Advancing the camera tensions the shutter, transports the film and advances the counter.[3]

The camera does not have factory double-exposure prevention in the modern sense of an interlocked lever advance, but the normal transport and shutter mechanism are coupled. Deliberate multiple exposures require manipulation of the film transport or rewind mechanism.

The shutter-speed disc can be set with the mechanism either tensioned or released, according to the 1955 manual. The disc should only be rotated through the marked sequence and should not be forced directly across the gap between B and 1/500.[3]

Self-Timer

The Zorki 2 has a front-mounted mechanical self-timer. The 1955 manual specifies a delay of approximately 9 to 15 seconds after activation.[3]

The self-timer is intended for use with the instantaneous shutter speeds. It is wound separately from the main shutter by moving the front lever, after which the concealed start button becomes accessible.

The shape and position of the self-timer are useful identification features. Missing levers, replacement buttons and incomplete internal mechanisms are common condition issues and should be recorded for price tracking.

Flash Provision

The Zorki 2 was not equipped with factory flash synchronization. The accessory shoe is a cold shoe without an electrical center contact, and the camera has no original PC-type synchronization socket.

External or aftermarket synchronizers were available for cameras of this period. A cable terminal added during a repair or modification does not make the camera a Zorki 2S.

The Flash Sync Speed field should therefore remain None for the standard production Zorki 2.

Viewfinder and Rangefinder

The camera uses separate optical systems for focusing and framing. The photographer focuses through one rear eyepiece and composes through the other.[3]

The coupled optical rangefinder has a physical base of 38 mm. Focusing movement of a compatible rangefinder-coupled lens operates the internal rangefinder mechanism through the lens cam.[3][5]

The fixed optical viewfinder is intended for a lens with a focal length of approximately 50 mm. It has no projected framelines, selectable frames or automatic parallax correction.[3]

The inherited Zorki finder design is commonly described as providing approximately 0.44× magnification. The rangefinder image is approximately life-size, but its field does not represent the boundaries of the photograph.

Lenses substantially wider or longer than 50 mm require an external accessory finder fitted to the cold shoe.

Mount Compatibility

The Zorki 2 uses an M39 × 1 screw mount with a nominal 28.8 mm register.[3] This is mechanically based on the same nominal thread and register concept as the Leica screw mount.

Soviet M39 bodies and lenses should not be described as universally incompatible with Leica-thread equipment. However, differences in rangefinder calibration, lens-cam geometry, assembly tolerances and repair history can produce focusing errors, particularly at close distances and wide apertures.

Unfamiliar body and lens combinations should therefore be tested for accurate rangefinder coupling.

Dimensions and Weight

The 1955 instruction manual gives a width of 143 mm including the permanent strap lugs and a height of 70 mm. It gives a depth of 70 mm with the standard lens in its working position.[3]

The 70 mm depth is not a body-only measurement. The underlying Zorki body shell is approximately 33 mm deep without a mounted lens. A body-only database depth of approximately 33 mm is therefore more representative than the manual’s working-position dimension.

A measured Zorki 2 body without a lens weighs 424 g.[5] This is preferable to published weights that include an Industar-22, Industar-50, film cassette, case or other accessories.

Individual cameras can differ slightly because of replacement coverings, repaired controls, non-original baseplates and whether a take-up spool or cassette remains installed.

Lens Kits

The Zorki 2 is frequently encountered with an Industar-22 50 mm f/3.5 or Industar-50 50 mm f/3.5 lens. The 1955 manual lists five available lens configurations: Industar-26M, Jupiter-8, Jupiter-17, Industar-50 and Industar-22.[3]

The supplied lens does not change the camera’s model identity. A Zorki 2 fitted with a Jupiter-8 remains a Zorki 2.

For price tracking, the included lens should be recorded separately, together with whether the listing is body-only, a camera-and-lens kit or a complete set with case and accessories.

Serial Number Information

KMZ used continuous factory serial numbering through 1954. From 1955, it introduced yearly serial sequences in which the first two digits normally represent the final two digits of the production year.[1]

A collector-documented early Zorki 2 has serial number 001004. It has an early top-plate moulding and a serial number without a date prefix.[4]

Another documented early version carries serial number 540656. This should not automatically be interpreted as a modern-style 1954 year prefix because KMZ still used continuous numbering during 1954.[1][4]

Documented 1955 cameras include serial numbers 552288, 552525 and 554834.[4] Final 1956 production should normally carry a 56 year prefix, but only 282 cameras were officially produced that year.[2]

No reliable continuous minimum-to-maximum range exists specifically for the Zorki 2. Identification should combine the serial number with the top-plate moulding, engraving method, shutter-speed sequence and control design.

Combined Production Variants

The earliest documented production version has a different moulding around the front viewfinder area. Its serial number is engraved on the upper housing and does not use the later year-coded format.[4]

A subsequent early version has the Cyrillic model name stamped into the top plate. A later and more commonly encountered version has the model name engraved instead.[4]

Rare export versions replace the normal KMZ emblem with bilingual markings reading “IZGOTOVLENO V SSSR” and “MADE IN USSR”. At least two sizes of export inscription are documented.[4]

These differences should remain combined under a single Zorki 2 page. Recommended metadata includes exact_variant, production_period, engraving, export_version, shutter_speed_sequence and serial_style.

Identification

A normal Zorki 2 has a low chrome upper housing, three front optical windows, two separate rear eyepieces, a front self-timer and permanent strap lugs.

It has no factory flash socket. The presence of a taller top housing and front synchronization terminal normally indicates a Zorki 2S.

The model name Зоркий-2 is stamped or engraved on the top plate. Rare export examples may carry bilingual country-of-origin markings instead of the normal KMZ emblem.

The shutter-speed control has a stationary central index, and the rewind selector is formed by a rotating collar around the shutter-release button.

Collector Notes

With an official production total of 10,310 units, the Zorki 2 is one of the less common serial-production cameras in the early Zorki family.[2]

Condition and originality vary considerably. Replacement shutter curtains, transplanted top plates, missing self-timer components and exchanged baseplates are common concerns.

Some cameras have been re-engraved or cosmetically modified to resemble Leica models. The self-timer shape, strap lugs, rewind collar, window arrangement and Soviet shutter-speed mechanism normally reveal the underlying Zorki construction.

For price tracking, useful metadata includes exact_variant, production_period, shutter_speed_sequence, engraving, export_version, finish, included_lens, self_timer_condition, rangefinder_condition, shutter_condition, accessories, case_included and body_only_or_kit.

---

Sources

• [1] ZENITcamera Archive. The Zorki Camera Line. https://www.zenitcamera.com/archive/zorki/index.html
• [2] ZENITcamera. KMZ Camera Production Data. https://www.zenitcamera.com/catalog/cameraproduction.html
• [3] KMZ. Zorki-2 Description and Operating Instructions, 1955. https://fliphtml5.com/nbhs/zmxy/
• [4] SovietCams Archive. Zorki-2 Classification. https://ussrphoto.com/sovietcams/index0a34.html?_m_e_id=25&_menu_i_id=206&tmpl_id=179&tmpl_into=middle
• [5] Fototekhnika SSSR. Zorki-2 Camera Review and Instructions. https://fotoussr.ru/cameras/zorki-2/
• [6] Camera-wiki. Zorki 2. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Zorki_2