Zorki's refined screw-mount rangefinder — 35mm, Leica Thread Mount, hinged back, long-base finder, 1954.
The Zorki 3M is a Soviet 35mm rangefinder made by the KMZ plant at Krasnogorsk near Moscow, a refinement of the Zorki 3 within the more advanced branch of the Zorki line that departed from the Barnack-style Leica copies. It appeared around 1954. It keeps the Leica screw mount, the larger body and the combined long-base finder with revised shutter-speed controls.
This is a 35mm coupled-rangefinder camera using the Leica Thread Mount (39mm screw). It has a horizontal-travel cloth focal-plane shutter and a combined rangefinder and viewfinder window with a long rangefinder base. Focusing is by the coupled rangefinder and exposure is set manually; there is no built-in meter. It loads through a hinged back rather than the bottom.
The Zorki 3M suits users who want a screw-mount rangefinder with a long, precise rangefinder base and easy hinged-back loading, working with Leica Thread Mount and Soviet Industar and Jupiter lenses. It is fully mechanical and fires without a battery. The larger body and combined finder make it comfortable and quick to use in the field.
On the used market the Zorki 3M is affordable and offers strong value, though the sample-to-sample quality-control variance typical of former-Soviet-Union bodies means each one should be assessed. Check the rangefinder patch for contrast and horizontal alignment, examine the cloth focal-plane shutter curtains for pinholes and capping, and confirm the slow speeds run. Shutter ribbons and curtain tapes can perish with age, so a serviced body is preferable.