T.O.E imported kiev 4 verus Japanese SLR ?

[dee]

I am intruiged by how well a 1979 Uk imported , Kiev 4 has stood the test of time .

I assume that TOE checked and probably greased properly , all cameras coming into Uk , and that any warranty problems were sorted [ something Russian buyers could only dream about ]

However , it is possible to compare this Kiev to a contemporoary budget SLR - a Chinon or maybe a Practika ... especially as USSR cameras have such a poor reputation .

The case is as worn as a most carefully used SLR , It's clean inside with just grime from storing outside , the meter works [ which can't be said of all SLRs or the period ]
Obviously this was both : a specialist camera AND a budget camera , so outside the mainstream so may have been treated more considerately , but even so , this Kiev , designed in 1936 , kompromised by the Soviets , stands up remarkable well.

I am not saying that an imported / CLA Kiev wont be '' as good '' - it will probably be better , but it is interesting to look at the camera in repect of contemporary SLRs .

dee

 

[blacknoise]

my zorki 4k is import, as is the zenit 11. the zorki needed a CLA and the zenit didnt. But the zenit was from a proper camera shop, where as the Zorki came off the second hand market. So the Zenit might have had a CLA.

Other than that, the lens seems good, as does the RF accuracy, was just sticky shutter.