I've had several Kiev's and they're an interesting camera series. It's a copy
of the earlier, pre-war Contax II and III. The one thing that irked me was the
"claw grip" necessary to use them, as the rangefinder window on the RH side of
the camera is very easy to cover with your shooting hand. Also, I found the
knurled thumbwheel focusing a hassle, especially since most of the cameras are
a bit stiff. The RF's are usually in need of cleaning, but the mechanism
doesn't get out of alignment as easily as Leicas, with it's prism construction.
The shutter tape/thread tends to have broken on many of them, rendering them
inoperative.
The later ones (4 and 4M) are usually in the best shape, but you might not get
top-quality construction. In the late 60's the machinary began to wear out and
the labor quality declined throughout the 70's and 80's. Personally, I like
the 1950's Kiev 3's, as those cameras were made with parts from well-maintained
German equipment. Many of the German technicians were still around at that
time. In fact in the late 40's, many of the Kiev 2's were made in the USSR
with parts that were taken from Germany. The early cameras feel much better,
IME; much more like a real Contax.
One nice thing is that the Zeiss lenses will fit most of the cameras. The
soviet/russian lenses are OK too, but QC is spotty. Also, the newer
Cosina/Voigtlander lenses will fit too.
I got my best cameras from a guy in Finland who made them up from parts. If
you're interested, I can dig his name up. I also had good luck from many of
the Ebay/Internet sellers from Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and Slovenia.
There is a lot of info at:
http://www.cameraquest.com/zconrfKiev.htm
http://www.commiecameras.com/sov/35mmrangefindercameras/index.htm
Skip
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Please reply to [skipwilliams at pobox.com]
Direct responses to the email address on the header may get lost
----------------------------------------------------------------->
>Subject: [OM] KIEV anyone?
> From: "Boris Grigorov" <alienspecimen@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 14:04:06 -0400 (EDT)
> To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>Hola,=0D
>When I was eight, I saw a Kiev rangefinder for first time. I did not know
>much about photography, but it looked like a good photography tool to me and
>also very, very pretty. I begged and begged and begged, but my mother did not
>buy it for me. Then I forgot about it for many years, but recently I
>remembered and also found the reason why I did not get it?.I do not think I
>would trust an eight year old with the camera that costs about $1000+?.(at the
>time).=0D
>Now I can afford one (or be a greedy American and buy several?=0D
><):-0). I would like to know if it is even worth having a camera like this,
>what questions to ask when I buy one (you know, the weak spots of the camera).
> Also, there are several models, which one is the best and which lens I should
>get?=0D
>Anyone wants to get rid of his/hers?=0D
>Danke very shone=0D
>Ciao=0D
>Boris=0D
>P.S. Stay tuned for a special Sigma report tonight after I come back from
>swimming in the ocean...:)=0D
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
>The most personalized portal on the Web!
>
>< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
>< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
>< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|