The Zorki 3S (3C) is the successor to the 3M, inheriting all of the features including the full set of shutter speeds. The top plate has to be wider, almost running the entire width of the body, to accommodate the new flash sync mechanism. Many find the taller shape makes the 3S (and its successors the 4 and 4K) to be less attractive than the earlier bodies but the 3S rangefinder is more robust than its predecessors. The shutter speed selector is different in that the speeds are engraved on a separate plate and that the speed 1/25s is placed out of order. Another feature is that the 3S no longer has a separate lever for releasing the film sprocket gear; instead, the shutter release button is pressed down and rotated.
The Zorki 3S is succeeded by the Zorki 4, which has a self-timer mechanism. Production of the two bodies overlap to some extent. Early bodies of the 3S as well as of the 4 have vertical ridges on the advance and rewind knobs, similar to those on the 3M. Bodies made after some time in 1956 have advance and rewind knobs that sport six rows of raised points instead of the vertical ridges.