Oleg is not responding at all

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longz

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Two weeks ago I got my Kiev 4 bought from Oleg. Unfortunately the light meter does not work properly. No matter how I adjust the film speed or the shutter speed, the light meter does not move at all.

I wrote to Oleg to ask for his help last week but did not get any response from him. This week I sent him another email hoping to find a solution. Nevertheless I still heard nothing from him since two weeks.

Does anybody know how to contact with him except the email address from his website ?

I think if Oleg has got so many good comments here, this kind of thing should not have happened. I wonder if this is just bad luck with me.
 
longz said:
Two weeks ago I got my Kiev 4 bought from Oleg. Unfortunately the light meter does not work properly. No matter how I adjust the film speed or the shutter speed, the light meter does not move at all.

I wrote to Oleg to ask for his help last week but did not get any response from him. This week I sent him another email hoping to find a solution. Nevertheless I still heard nothing from him since two weeks.

Does anybody know how to contact with him except the email address from his website ?

I think if Oleg has got so many good comments here, this kind of thing should not have happened. I wonder if this is just bad luck with me.
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Oleg is known more of a repair ace on the Barnack type of FSU cameras like the Fed and Zorki.

Some of the Kiev camera photo samples he has got for sale on his site do not look too appetizing, but he is better than buying off the Bay's russian roulette sellers.
 
I like to believe for most of the case you may be right.
However, if the camera from Oleg is not working properly and he is not responding, what makes the difference compared with buying from Russian sellers off the Bay ?
 
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longz said:
If the camera from Oleg is not working properly and he is not responding, what makes the difference compared with buying from Russian sellers off the Bay ?
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Oleg is usually pretty good, he might still be an RFF member, do not write him off so fast.

he has a young family and other job responsibilities to take care of.
We all had crisis time in our families that makes one unavailable for a time.
Just be patient.
 
Speaking only to the nonfunctioning meter, it sounds like there is either a connection problem with the meter or the selenium cell is dead.

Perhaps, shipping the camera jostled it enough to loosen contacts. Or maybe it's something else.
 
ZeissFan said:
Speaking only to the nonfunctioning meter, it sounds like there is either a connection problem with the meter or the selenium cell is dead.

Perhaps, shipping the camera jostled it enough to loosen contacts. Or maybe it's something else.
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Thanks all for your opinion.

I guess most likely the selenium cell is (or almost) dead. When I put the meter very very close to the light bulb, the meter starts to move slowly. However, as I said earlier, changing the ISO or shutte speed will not move the meter.

Hope I will have the luck to hear from Oleg soon.
 
longz said:
Thanks all for your opinion.

I guess most likely the selenium cell is (or almost) dead. When I put the meter very very close to the light bulb, the meter starts to move slowly. However, as I said earlier, changing the ISO or shutte speed will not move the meter.

Hope I will have the luck to hear from Oleg soon.
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I had a similar problem with a Gossen Pilot and semi-cured it by removing the bubble lens plate and cleaning it repeatedly until no more gunk come off on a soft white cloth. It still responds slowly and not quiet full scale, but I just double the ISO and everything is close enough for casual shots, like when I don't want to carry a lot of gear. I think that among other things the plastic and the selenium cell out gas over the years and it gets deposited on the inside of the lens plate. About Oleg, it is a mystery, but like others have said, he just might be really busy with other pressing matters. A couple of weeks is frustrating to you, I am certain, but its not like the end of the world as you know it.
 
In the last few weeks I've been in contact with him about a recent camera purchase. There was a week long lapse after I sent him two emails but it turns out he did not receive them. I have a suspicion that it was because I attached too many images that caused the email to not go through.

But he was kind enough to keep me in his thoughts and sent me an email after a week to check in on me.

Were there any attachments in your emails to him? He had no problem receiving my emails after I broke them up into smaller pieces.
 
Papa Smurf said:
I had a similar problem with a Gossen Pilot and semi-cured it by removing the bubble lens plate and cleaning it repeatedly until no more gunk come off on a soft white cloth. It still responds slowly and not quiet full scale, but I just double the ISO and everything is close enough for casual shots, like when I don't want to carry a lot of gear. I think that among other things the plastic and the selenium cell out gas over the years and it gets deposited on the inside of the lens plate. About Oleg, it is a mystery, but like others have said, he just might be really busy with other pressing matters. A couple of weeks is frustrating to you, I am certain, but its not like the end of the world as you know it.
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Thanks Papa.

However, my idea is not to disassemble the camera on my own risk before getting response from Oleg. Afterall, this is the newly-bought one and he should have the best clue how to proceed from here.
 
I have dealt with Oleg on three or four occasions in the last couple of years,sometimes he has taken a few days to make contact,but he has never failed to do so.I did once have a query on a purchase,but he rectified that perfectly,so I wouldn't be too concerned.
 
When I put the meter very very close to the light bulb, the meter starts to move slowly. However, as I said earlier, changing the ISO or shutte speed will not move the meter.
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Changing the ISO value on the calculator or changing the shutter speed won't move the needle since it's not coupled. It'll only move when you open the cover and point it at a light source. Of course, if it didn't budge when pointed at a bulb there's probably some fault anyway.
 
Whateverist said:
Changing the ISO value on the calculator or changing the shutter speed won't move the needle since it's not coupled. It'll only move when you open the cover and point it at a light source. Of course, if it didn't budge when pointed at a bulb there's probably some fault anyway.
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Thanks, Whateverist.
I did open the cover and point it at a light source, but the needle just won't move.
 
Oleg just did a CLA on my Leningrad and I was much impresssed. There were only slight delays between emails and the return post was f a s t! Hope all works out ok for you.
 
I had several cameras repaired by Oleg (including a Kiev-10 and a Iskra, two models he no longer repairs). My opinion about him is as good as possible, both as a repairman and as a seller. As pointed previously, he has occasional e-mail problems, and it has happened before that he went silent for a couple of weeks. Try those alternative e-mail addresses, and try them at a later time. I want to believe that you will not be disappointed.
Good luck
Joao
 
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