Kiev - Double Or Quits ?

dee

dee

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Hi
Thanks for your advice on the really-nice- Kiev 2- with - a -cracked - window .
I have dee-cided to have it sent to me ...
But have also bought a Kiev 4 from Oleg - so I hope to goodness theses are as addictive as my little Leica clones !
dee.
 
Well, they'll certainly be different :D I love my Kiev 4 though, it's a greater user, smooth and quiet.. and if someone tries to mug me I can beat their brains out with it ;)
 
Hmmm - this before the days of SLRs being bigger and heavier than Rangefinders ?
Everyone keeps telling me that the meter is useless - but I thought that I could just play around comparing it to my Weston , so that it will be a guide to my rough awareness .
dee
 
Despite what "everyone" says, the meter on my 4 works OK. Not great in low light and certainly not a spot meter but I wouldn't feel deprived if I had only it to use.
But, as always with these FSU beasties, it is already 40+ years old so I have no idea when it will stop working. That is why I don't rely on it.
I will add, that I have a fake, black "Contax" repaint. Works pretty well and the meter box on the top of the camera is much smaller in real life than in any pictures of it I saw before getting it. Just for looks, I like it better than my 4a.
Rob
 
I am starting to miss the "Contax grip". Nothing focuses the 85mm f/2 better than my Kiev 4, and the meter works (well... it works outdoors and doesn't move indoors, but it's accurate when it does move).

**Switched to Voigtlander for the love of brightlines. Kiev is helping to weight down the cupboard.**
 
OOPS !
I will just have to stop listening to you guys ....
Having paid for a Kiev 4 from Oleg ... it '' saved money '' to buy a Kiev 4m at the same time .... excuses , excuses !!! - I owe money now ... !!!
The black knobs don't seem as obvious with the meter head ...
So , no chance of a 4a now ...
I know that a dealer in UK will provide me with a small profit on both cameras , should they not work out for me .... but my experience of letting go , once my [ bigger ] ''babies '' have arrived isn't encouraging !
Inconsistent ? moi ?
I was looking at dvd's black Kievs - now I have several Fed / Zorki repaints , and I assumed that I would want one more than a chrome one ... but I am not so sure - I like the clean and shiny chrome ones !!!
Of course ,no matter how fine Oleg's cameras are - his photos are less than informative - so it's wait and see - but his Fed 2 was really good , without being mint or anything ...
dee
 
rbiemer said:
Despite what "everyone" says, the meter on my 4 works OK. Not great in low light and certainly not a spot meter but I wouldn't feel deprived if I had only it to use.
Click to expand...

Rob, I agree! I have a 4M, which had a lively but hopelessly inaccurate meter. I recently got a copy of Maizenburg's invaluable book and was surprised to find that the meter is quite easy to put right: essentially one removes the meter dials and moves a contact until a correct exposure reading is obtained, fine tuning using the screw on the meter housing. The process was done in a reasonable time and the meter is now pretty much spot-on - well within a half stop. The selenium might have died in some cameras, but I imagine that many younger models could easily be adjusted and prove entirely servicable.

All the best, Ian
 
Even after a CLA from Oleg, I was never happy with mine, I switched to a Nikon S2. Have never looked back. While the shutter is not as quiet, she handles much quicker.

B2 (;->
 
Slightly OT: I just saw a beautiful BLACK Kiev 4AM on a Russian web site.

Did Kiev really make a black-bodied camera or is this a paint job?

Sure looks authentic and has white lettering. From a distance one might mistake it for one of those new Nikon RF cameras.

Ted
 
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