A Suitable Case for Treatment ?

[dee]

i have recently exploded onto the ex-USSR camera scene and went a bit OTT...

Many cameras , but not all , came with cases . Recently I even bought and modifed some early Kiev 4 case for my Kiev 4 and kiev 4 am [ tight fit on the Helios , but the black one was ugly . ]

At first I was a bit dee'smissive - some seemed to have been painted dark brown or near orange , but the early Kiev 2/3 and even the Zenit 1 / S , cases were better made , so I started to Kiwi dark tan polish them . The difference was amazing - the more applications , the better they became , even the tan Kiev 4 case has mellowed into an acceptable patina .

Finding that this is excellent therapy for a crazy head , I started on the dull brown Fed 2 efforts - now , I am not saying that they have magically transformed into lovely cases like my once really rough early Leica II / III cases , but they have lost the painted look and are starting to have a kind of real , leather look to them - Luigi's the aren't , and the frustration of never ready cases remains - but the protected cameras en masse look so much more collectable !

So am I the suitable case for treatment - or has anyone else persevered with those give away covers ?

dee

 

[markinlondon]

My memory of my Zenit's case was that I could find my camera with my eyes closed, and my sense of smell isn't that good 🙂 . I'll assume Soviet leather mellows a bit after a few decades. I quite like ERCs and regret the day they became an "optional extra". The last one I bought was for a Pentax M series for £1 from a Jessop's (spit) bargain box. If that was made from leather I wouldn't have liked to have seen the cow 😱 .

 

[ruben]

I must confess, perhaps I am not a photographer. But I don't only use cameras, I also wear them as a sign of intellectual status. A beautifull looking camera makes me feel elegant and fancy at any environment, within my uncared for clothes. Seldom I wear my elegant clothes, which i do have, but a beauty camera around my neck will never be missing.

And for the Canonet I am using now, I had to work its look a lot.

A very nice burgundy or dark bordo tone can be obtained by first painting the Kiev 2a -3a case with a German shoe liquid called "Coxy", black only, hopelly found at shoe fixers. Then after a month or so you take away the black (unless you fell in love with it, since it is very suitable by itself for chromed cameras) with the help of either isopropyl alcohol or thinner. The decolouring will look ugly at first. Finally you apply a red shoe cream, with some care and slowly, with a piece of hygienic cotton. The end result is a burgundy, or wine color, resulting from the mix of the grey left basis and the red new layer. This tone for a case, according to my taste can fit either a chrome or black camera. This tone is for the rather conspicuous photographer, whose exclusive day to day proximity to his camera will enable him to fully enjoy the new deep tone, in privacy. It is a tricky tone, dragging you in and in, only after carefull observation.

Of course you do the same with your custom adapted Soviet leather strap, both sides, taking advantage of the opportunity to inspect it for cracks.

Kievs 4am are specially suitable for Kiev 2a cases. Now imagine a 4am black camera, within a burgundy shining Kiev 2 original case.

If there is a case I will not change its tone, it is the orange one of the Kievs 4. A black Kiev 4 with such half case, may be too much an attention attracting beauty. Sold by.....Yes ! Alex, at $6 the unit.

Cheers,
Rubeen

 

[rbeverag]

Eveready cases

Eveready cases

ERC's are OK if you replace the rivet with a snap. All my Zenit cases have removeable tops anyway. My Feds need some way to attach a strap and the bottom half of an ERC works well for me.

Roger B

 

[ruben]

And btw, who invented the crazy idea of just "half case" ?

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[RML]

I had a bout half a dozen of these FSU cases and in the end I threw them all out. They stank, were covered in mold, had cracked leather(ette?), or all of the above.

 

[ruben]

That eye of the beholder...