A brick??? More like a TANK!!!

N

NL2377

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I just recieved my kiev today from canada... and I absolutely love it, even though it's not nearly in as good of shape in regards to functioning, as I thought it would be.

I purchased it with a J8M and a J12 as part of a kit, but the J12 confuses me. I think I got it to mount on the camera correctly, bot the rangefinder focusing slips, and when I focus it either to infinity or close focus(I dont recall which) it creates tension, and feels like maybe the large rear element is... contacting the shutter perhaps???

Also when I am advancing to the next frame, sometimes the advance binds up and has to be rotated reverse just slightly before continuing back in the original direction to advance the film/cock the shutter...

aside from that, I absolutely love the long rangefinder base (it's making me think that the bessa R that I just ordered is going to be used even less than I thought it would be, but hopefully TTL will make up for it...!!!)

anyways, back to the point. while i can see the resemblance towards a brick due to its shape and weight... given the shutter mechanism, it reminds me of tank tracks, and feels like an awefully sturdy camera! its definately in my top ten cameras now!

so how do the Nikons and contaxes compare to these keivs? I would suspect that the build quality would be better, smother, etc... but im curious because i may become interested in getting one sometime in the future if they hold up reliably!

any tips, advice, or input on the above stated would be greatly appreciated!
 
NL2377 said:
the J12 confuses me.
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when mounting the J12 make sure the lens and the camera are both set at infinity. If both aren't at infinity the lens won't be properly mounted in the focusing helical.
Focus the J12 (or any lens other than a 50mm) with the ring on the lens, NOT the focusing wheel.

NL2377 said:
feels like maybe the large rear element is... contacting the shutter perhaps???
Click to expand...
This shouldn't happen unless the lens is very badly adjusted. Take the back off the camera, set the shutter on bulb and, with the shutter held open) try focusing and see if the rear element intrudes into the shutter area. It should come close, but close enough to touch the curtains.

Peter
 
Actually I also had one J-12 which has some play where it can be rotated but doesn't move the RF... I didn't consider it a problam because 35 has deeper DOF.

Focus the J12 (or any lens other than a 50mm) with the ring on the lens, NOT the focusing wheel.
Click to expand...
PS: If the J-12 has smooth focussing, it's ok to focus it by the wheel.
 
darkkavenger said:
You already make me regret my Kiev 😉
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Max,
Do you find yourself without a Kiev?😱

I thought that was an April Fools Day ruse,no doubt you are concentrating with the Contax.

Brian.
 
Hi Nicholas,
Re: TIPS:
Always change shutter speeds with the camera cocked.

When advancing the film wind/shutter speed knob, do this in two smooth turns.
A downside of Kievs is uneven spacing between neg frames.

When advancing the film wind/shutter speed knob, take care not to pull UPwards on the knob; you can inadvertently change shutter speeds.

By now, you must know about the special Kiev/Contax grip... with your middle finger on or near the RF fine tuning wheel. The idea here is NOT to block the right RF window.

The Kiev IS sort of a tank ;-)
And, the J8m 50/2 is legendary.
Which Kiev model do you have?

Cheers, mike
With thanks to Ruben, from whom I learned the Tips.
 
Nicholas

Remove the back and set the camera shutter to T, i.e. select B fire it, and rotate the button, (wont work on a 4M), the shutter should stay open.
Set the focus to infinity both on the camera and the j12, mount the j12, and rotate until the latch clicks, focus carefully to close and then back to infinity. The lens follower (the collar with three segments) that mates (into) with the inner mount segments, should click into place, during the focus back and forward and should travel freely in about 80% of cases!
The other 20% can be a pain.
The rear element should just clear the surround of the shutter curtain by about 0.5 mm!
If the lens does not free up during the focus back and forward, please post again, as it is, screwdriver and file time.

The J12 are nice lenses, if you use a filter you need a deep hood as well, if your lens has an unpainted bevel on the rear optic it will give strange flare effects until you paint it black acrylic black board paint... If you have the sun in picture then it can flare, but so does my Leitz lens, I have a j12 on my M2 as well.

Noel

The Kiev is a clone of the Contax II (III), any are pretty reliable and easy to maintain. The Contax IIa (IIIa) are nicer nut different, The Nikon S2 and after have a lever wind, makes a difference in weddings etc.
 
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SCOTFORTHLAD said:
Max,
Do you find yourself without a Kiev?😱

I thought that was an April Fools Day ruse,no doubt you are concentrating with the Contax.

Brian.
Click to expand...


Hey Brian, yes! I'm without a Kiev. I offered my Kiev-2A to my close friend Laurence (who takes photos with me) as a token of friendship. 🙂

So I'm concentrating on the Contax IIIa but I also have a Contax III at home waiting to be "Scherer-ified" 😉
 
darkkavenger said:
Hey Brian, yes! I'm without a Kiev. I offered my Kiev-2A to my close friend Laurence (who takes photos with me) as a token of friendship. 🙂

So I'm concentrating on the Contax IIIa but I also have a Contax III at home waiting to be "Scherer-ified" 😉
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Hi Max,
You are a true gentleman!Well done🙂

Brian.
 
I am now looking cross my office t my Kiev 2 with Helios-103, recent rrival from UK that I really haven't tried yet for lack of time. It has a J-9 and a J-12 now to keep it company. I advise any glasses-wearer to buy an eyepiece ring from aki-asahi to spare your glasses lenses. Takeup spools can be problematic, if your is missing. I got some from alex, but they seem to need a special cut to the leader. Not a big problem.

I myself wonder whether Kiev users think it's worthwhile to have one with a meter. I don't want a nonfunctional one, but a built in meter would be nice. Can these be repaired and serviced?
 
The meters have three parts that might need replacing, the variable resistor, the selenium cell, and the galvonometer. A parts body may be necessary or the Ru dealers have spares.

If the galvo has been displaced in the movement but not damaged, it is possible to rebuild it with care, if you are a watchmaker other repairs are possible.

If you replace any thing or disturb the variable resistor you need to recalibrate, i.e. adjust the variable resistor.

Noel
 
Difficult memory test I'd have to look, but I'd say yes the Kiev III has a larger meter then the Kiev IIII the Kiev III meter ia rather like the Contax IIIs.

Spares for the IIII will be easier because of the cannibal effect, but the III is nicer if you are in to fondling and a j8 in nice condition is more likely to be better than a similar J8M than not, but no click stops.

The best compromise buy is a 56-72, smaller meter nearly the same build standard.

Most of the time I shoot with a pair of '60s IIIIs and keep my one III in a glass case. It is not unknown I have to strip meters, not done more than reset the galvo suspension after drop 'tests', one is intermittent but repairs its self after being left to sulk in the gbag.

It is pretty normal that the III meter needle will stick, storing it near to full deflection is the work around, rather then banging it.

The only real problems is that the metered camera needes to be treated gently, the galvo is sensitive to g. I always carry a weston as well, for incident readings for the chrome film in difficult situations, occassionally a lunasix when it is raining and dark and I have a tripod.

Noel
 
nzeeman said:
max what are your opinions about differences between kiev and contax. is there any?
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My Contax-III is extremely similar (despite the obvious lack of meter on the Kiev2A) to my former Kiev-2A from 1956, I couldn't find any "flaw" of any kind on my Kiev-2A compared to the Contax-III. The only "plus" of my Contax-III is that the collapsible Sonnar 50/2 from 1936 mounts PERFECTLY on the camera (also from 1936), same for the 50/1.5 Jupiter-3 which seems to have been somehow adjusted to mate with Contax rather than Kiev. I always had to play a bit with the 50/1.5 to make it fit. Else, there are absolutely no differences. Maybe I was lucky, but the quality of my 2A was excellent. In fact both my Contax-III and the Kiev-2A have a very bright RF patch.

Now... if I had to compare the Contax-IIIa with the Contax-III/Kiev-2A .... it's quite another world. Lots of things were improved: the speed selector, the advance knob is smooth like butter, the uncoupled meter wheels are very solid & tight (the lightmeter is spot-on, by the way, we tested it with rxmd/Philipp when I met him in Prague). My main regret is that the RF patch is smaller and dimmer than on the Kiev2A/Contax-III. But maybe it is because this lovely Contax-IIIa needs a visit at Henry!

One thing that might sound stupid: if you focus your lenses with the focusing wheel, the direction is INVERTED between the pre-war contax/kievs and the Contax-IIa/IIIa. Which can be quite a PITA when you have used your Kiev/prewarContax almost daily for two years ...

You have noticed that I speak of the Kiev-2A using past tense, because I offered it to my close friend Laurence as a token of friendship. (it's possible to see her nice photos on the microraïon website)

I purchased recently a Tessar 28mm f/8 in Prague, a lovely lens though very slow and expensive. I might end up selling it, since today I received the CV 21/4 (photo here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkkavenger/446162650/ ) which I will certainly use more often. In this two months I've had the chance to purchase more gear, and I'm glad of it, but it was quite hard saving money to get these items. Selling some of my unused lenses/cameras was helpful!

Be well Srdjan, all the best 🙂
max
 
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i have just joined the Kiev club - my Kiev 4m arriving from Oleg - without it's lense !!!
i assume that this was sent separately from the Kiev 4 also ordered ostensibly to save shipping [ but you have heard that one before !]

I don't know , but somehow it's reminiscent of my Nikkormat ...

and , even before I can explore it , i love it , thogh it does not ''come together '' in my ASdee head as the Leicas and prtenders do !

as ever - dee-mented .
 
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