︎

Tomer Bromberg


Work


CRK Service Design
e4 Chess Set
Rice Cooker Redesign
Electric Wheelchair Trainer 
Design Inquiry and Repair

Bits and Bobs


Coffee Table
Glass Mobile
Film Photography

Design Inquiry and Repair


Year: Fall 2022
Location: Georgia Tech - Atlanta, GA
Purpose: Industrial Design Minor Capstone-ID 4833
Processes: Sketching, Design Thinking, Camera Repair



I spent a semester researching, studying, and practicing various design through repair philosophies and techniques through the lens of my grandfather’s broken Soviet film cameras. The cameras are the Zenit 14 and Zenit Automat.

This is a documentation of my inquiries, discoveries, and process. If you are interested or knowledgeable in Soviet film camera repair, please contact me. I’d love to chat!









Some Context

My maternal grandparents fled the former Soviet Union a few years before its collapse. In the summer of 2020, my grandfather gifted me two cameras, the Zenit Automat, and more importantly the Zenit 14, an extremely rare camera. Only 567 were made.

The Zenit 14 was a limited pre-production concept for the Zenit Automat. They are mechanically identical, but the Zenit 14 is a fully manual camera while the Zenit Automat is only aperture priority.


Silvia Shlosman, Yosef Shlosman, and myself The Zenit 14 (left) and Zenit Automat (right)



Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY Some photos I took on the Zenit 14 from a summer trip to MA and NY


Then the Zenit 14 broke

I switched to shooting with the Zenit Automat but the forced aperture priority was inconsistent and would often ruin photos. There wasn’t a single camera repair store that was willing to repair the niche Zenit camera. So now it was time for me to give it a go.


My design inquiry and repair process rounds consisted of:

Readings and Exercises

→

Repair

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Discoveries and Further Inquiries

            

Reading 1: Introduction to repair
Marissa Cohn’s “Lifetime Issues”: Temporal Relations and Design of Maintenance.


This anthropological essay expertly follows the people in charge of NASA’s Planetary Explorations Lab and the unique difficulties of designing and operating a spacecraft. My main takeaway from the reading was: “Operations is design’s afterlife”, and how pervasive this attitude was in every aspect from tasks, jobs, careers, and individual self-worth.


Repair 1: Exploratory teardown of the bottom plate


1. View of bottom mechanisms responsible for film and shutter advance. 2. Angled view of mechanism responsible for locking the shutter lever after advancing the film. 3. Documentation of parts removed. 4. View after most of the components are removed.


Discoveries and Inquiries 1: My role as the owner and operator


As the operator of this camera, it’s up to me to maintain and service the artifact. To see what I was working with, a camera technician recommended that I started by familiarizing myself with the mechanisms at the bottom of the camera. I took apart the mechanisms and documented my questions and discoveries.

My first discovery was that there are various states of disrepair. At first glance, the camera didn’t work due to a simple misalignment of components. Only one part was obviously broken, but this didn’t seem to impact the function of the overall mechanism. However, I needed a reference for how the mechanisms interacted in a functioning camera. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ask any of the original developers of the camera, nor reference the materials found online. I was flying solo.


Reading 2: Learning about processes of repair
Elizabeth Spelman’s “Repair”: The impulse to Restore a Fragile World Ch. 1, 2, and 7


What stuck with me from this reading was how there are many motivations and processes that are expressed in the act of repair. These differences are summarized through the following three examples.




Repair 2: Repair of the bottom plate 


2. Film advance lever cocked and held. The appendage (lower left) holding the peg lowered which allowed the peg to rotate. The arms on the right separated. 3. Film advance lever cocked and released. Both arms on the right are now visible. 4. Shutter button pressed and held in bulb mode (manual shutter speed setting). The pin on the left has rotated back into the appendage. This is likely to be the mechanism responsible for the curtain that allows light to reach the film. 5. Shutter button has been released. Both arms on the right are together. All of the mechanisms are back in their initial states. The blue circle indicates a broken section of a component in the other camera (Zenit 14). This section locks the mechanisms in place so that the film advance lever can't be cocked multiple times without taking a photo. 1. Bottom mechanisms in their initial state (operational Zenit Automat)


Discoveries and Inquiries 2: Scope of the repair


I had some motivations as to why I wanted to repair my Zenit 14, but no motivations as to how I would repair it. Thus, I looked to the successor of the Zenit 14. After opening the Automat, I confirmed that the two cameras are in fact mechanically identical, at least on the bottom. I discovered the areas where there was a misalignment in the Zenit 14 and managed to have the mechanisms match the proper alignment of the Zenit Automat. The broken locking component did not hinder the functionality of the camera but would need to be repaired later. Even though I successfully diagnosed and repaired the mechanisms on the bottom of the Zenit 14, it still wasn’t fully functional.

The progress I made helped me discover that there is no fundamentally wrong approach to design or repair. My repair could be visible or invisible, traditional, exploratory, restorative, or explorative. What is imperative is the intention.


Reading 3: How to holistically understand an object
Martino Gamper’s 100 Chairs in 100 Days and Its 100 Ways


To clarify my motivations, I needed to slow down. My professor, Sabir Khan, recommended I try and sketch Gamper’s chairs and optionally Paulo Goldstein’s items from his Repair is Beautiful Project. The sketches were to be quick, between a few seconds to five minutes, long enough to slow down and observe the item’s character and intricacies, but fast enough to not get bogged down with perfection.
 

The quick sketches were then followed by diagrammatic drawings to dissect the materials and components and use case drawings that depict human-object interaction.


Now that I was warmed up, I sketched a few drawings of my cameras.



I followed up with two visual maps to help identify my problem and solution spaces and further bring my intentions and emotions toward this repair.


This visual map was done on a white board and then annotated with leverage points and comments.


Discoveries and Inquiries 3:  Picking an approach, process, and goals


At the end of this process, I had a greater appreciation for the camera and its journey. I realized I had a strong emotional connection to them, the Zenit 14 in particular. This exploration led to the realization that I would learn my process and motivation primarily as Fred does in Spelman’s book. I was surprised that this realization upset me, as I found Fred’s persona to be uptight, and I really enjoyed the playful and exploratory methods of Gamper, Goldstein, and Willie. Thus, I would allow myself some inspiration with the condition that the original external design philosophy of the camera developers be preserved.


Reading 4: Iteration
Luis M. Mansilla + Emilio Tunon’s From Rules to Constraints (Intro and Conversation)


This conversation gave me a greater appreciation for how a designer, or in this case architect, utilizes rules and constraints to create unique models. My model surprisingly was the Zenit Automat. It was my reference, where my ideas and concepts were tested and discoveries had the space to be brought to light.


Repair 4: Further exploration - the mirror box


1. Red circle shows the mechanism that connects to the shutter mechanisms on the bottom. This one initiates the mechanism shown in the blue circle which is responsible for raising an lowering the mirror. 2. Mirror lowered in the mirror box. Red circle shows another part of the mechanism in the blue circle. 3. Misaligned mechanism that connects shutter button and mirror mechanisms.


Discoveries and Inquiries 4: There be dragons (the mirror box)


Further investigation revealed that there were more mechanisms involved in taking a photo. This makes sense as the mechanism for the button to take a photo was not discovered on the bottom of the camera. The discovery of the misalignment was good, but the location of these mechanisms was attached to the side of the mirror box, the core of the camera. A complete dissassembly would be required to get a better view. 

After this discovery, I was very stressed to continue. A complete teardown would be extremely risky. I would need to deface the camera to even get to the mechanism. After consulting with my Professor Khan, he suggested. I leave the cameras as they were. We came to a consensus that the emotional connection to the cameras was important and not worth the damage.


Reading 5: Valuing our world
Stephen Muecke’s The generous philosopher


This reading came at a good time for me. I was beginning to doubt the value of the work I had done. Muecke’s eulogical piece for Bruno Latour, particularly his novel actor-network theory, helped me see a new perspective on this journey I had with my cameras. They were their own actors in my world, and they had impacted me even more than I impacted them. Thus, I tried to summarize all that I had done and what I was to do.


Organizing all of my ideas and progress around Latour's actor-network theory using post-its.


I felt as though I had to try and go further. I decided I would risk the Zenit Automat for the sake of exploration. If things went poorly, my Automat would join the Zenit 14, and if things went well then I would revive an heirloom.


Repair 5: Final restoration attempt


1. Zenit Automat pre teardown. 2. Lens removed. 3. Front cover removed. 4. Shutter advance lever removed. This involved ripping a plastic piece off the camera. 5. Back door released 6. Film rewind removed. 7. ISO and exposure compensation dial removed. 8. Pried the front piece off the shooting setting dial. 9. Shooting setting dial removed. 10. Rear plate screws removed . 11. Prism shield lever removed. 12. Top plate removed. 13. Closer view of mechanisms that need to be removed to reach the mirror box. 14. Rear view of mechanisms to remove. 15. Top layer of shutter button mechanism removed. 16. Next layer of button mechanism to remove. 17. Notice the tiny spring circled in blue. This spring was discovered after removing the bottom layer of the button mechanism. It would prove to be virtually impossible to put back into place. 18. Bottom view of the impossible spring circled in blue. 19. Unsoldered the red wire to have easier access to the mirror box. 20. Look into the button mechanism, its connection to the curtain mechanism, and how it connects to the mechanism on the side of the mirror box. 21. Alternate angle with the flexible PCB lifted up showing the top of the prism and mirror box. 22. Top view of the mechanism attached to the side of the mirror box. It is still impossible to manipulate any of its components. 23. Eye piece and light meter sensor removed in an attempt to remove the mirror box out of the main body. 24. A picture displaying the density of components on the side of the mirror box. At this point I knew that I could not remove the mirror box without causing additional damage to the camera. 25. A close up of the flexible PCB on top of the prism. 26. Final state of Zenit Automat before putting everything back together.


Discoveries and Inquiries 5: Reflections


Four hours later with the guts of the camera spilling out, I was done. I had reached a point I didn’t expect. I knew that with my current abilities there was no more I could do without causing any more irreparable damage. Once I reassembled the camera, I wound the shutter and was relieved that the Zenit Automat was still functional.

Although I was not able to repair the Zenit 14, I am content. The cameras and my attempts to repair the Zenit 14 gave me much to learn and think about. The different roles of development and operations, different motivations for design, slowing down to gain insight, the roles of rules and constraints, and finally how everything can be an actor in a world are all lessons I intend to take with me to future projects. In the meantime, the Zenit 14 serves as a beautiful artifact and and decoration. Who knows, maybe I will come back to it in the future, armed with more tools and experience, and give it a new life.