All hell breaks loose

A K60 or a K88 type? I have an unmodified K60 myself, which I like, but I would be quite careful with the K88 types (even the modified ones); also, for the prices you have to pay for an upgraded K88, you can easily get a (used) Mamiya or Bronica nowadays (more reliable, and the lenses are not that much more expensive).

Roman
 
He would like to go for a K88, but isn't sure yet, maybe a K60 even. We have also been checking for a Bronica, I think he will wait for my christmas visit to take a decision :)
 
darkkavenger said:
Good to hear positive feedback about ARAX, my dad has been considering getting one of their cameras :)
Click to expand...
I spent just about a year deciding about the Kiev 60 vs Kiev 88 cameras and ultimately chose the 60. Along the way, I also decided to buy from Mr. Vartanyan(Arax). At the time his prices were better than KievUSA and the company in Germany(can't remember their name) and I didn't want to buy from ebay or anyone just selling cameras.
Before I bought the camera and lenses, I had a ton of questions that Mr. Vartanyan was happy to answer.
I have been happy with the gear that I got from him!
I got 4 other lenses at the same time I bought the camera and like three of them still. I got 30mm, 45mm, 250mm, and 500mm. I REALLY like the 30mm lens(180 degree field of view on 120 film[6x6])! The 500 is good but I don't use it as much as I thought I would. The 250 I enjoy as well. The one disappointment is the 45mm MIR lens. It just feels cheap and the photos I've taken with it all seem very soft.
Eventually I want to get a 50mm Flektogon to replace it. And a 150mm Kaleniar.
Not in a hurry for either since I've been sorting out a FSU 35mm set up.
Rob
 
Yes, I also hate my 45mm MIR with a vengeance - that has got to be the worst photographic lens ever produced - in any system...

Roman
 
My J-9 in LTM coupled properly with the RF cam, and the lens was adjusted to work with the Leica standard 51.6mm (infinity was adjusted). There are versions of the J9 for Contax, 39mm LTM, 42mm Pentax screw mount, and 39mm SLR mount. Maybe yours was intended for the 39mm SLR rather than RF cameras. Otherwise, it was missing the ring for the coupling.

My J9, on the Canon 7. At F4.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1096&cat=3204&page=4
 
Yes, I have a 65 mm Mir, the later Mir-38 version, and this one is quite OK.
Here's a list of all my P-6-mount lenses:

45mm Mir: totally sucks, very soft, uneven plane of focus (one corner is even less sharp than the other unsharp ones), very flare-prone - stay away from this one.

45mm Hartblei shift-lens: based on the 45mm Mir optically, bnut with better mount and quality control; still suffers a bit from unsharpness in the corners, you have to stop down at least to f/11 to f/16 to make it work; also, with 6x6 format, only about 6mm of shifting is possible befor the lens will start to vignette.

50mm Flektogon (black MC version): great results, very good; a huge & heavy beast though, filters are hard to find & expensive.

65mm Mir-38: quite OK, not as good as the Flek, but not bad either; from experiences with friends who own the same ones I know that there is quite a bit of sample variation with this one.

80mm Biometar (zebra version): quite good, not very sharp wide-open, but get's very good by around f/4 to f/5.6; nice bokeh. A bit flare prone (it is only single-coated).

80mm Volna: sharper wide-open than the BM, but with ugly, distracting bokeh. Otherwise quite good.

120mm Biometar (zebra SC version): quite good, nice bokeh, more manageable as a portrait lens on the road than the Sonnar.

180mm Sonnar (late-model black MC version): The best bokeh ever! Makes marvellous portraits. Rather low contrast; already sharp wide-open, but in a pleasant, not too harsh way; a bit flare prone. Also, you have to open up about 1/2 a stop if using it at closest distance; the special 10mm extension ring from CZJ is very useful for filling the frame in head-shots (though this ring won't mount on my K60).. A huge and heavy beast, esp. with the lens shade mounted it looks like you are using a bazooka.

250mm Telear: Good, sharp, not very fast, but that makes it quite small; handy tele lens for hiking; bokeh is not great, but not especially bad either.

2x Arsat converter: quite OK as far as converters go.

Roman
 
Darkavenger, repeat after me ---- " I will NOT walk along Vodickova or Betlemske namesti"
especially after visiting the cash dispenser!! :angel:
I think it was you who gave me a list of adresses on RFF before I came to Prague in mid April and my bank account suffered!!! ;)
 
Last edited:
John Robertson said:
Darkavenger, repeat after me ---- " I will NOT walk along Vodickova or Betlemske namesti"
especially after visiting the cash dispenser!! :angel:
I think it was you who gave me a list of adresses on RFF before I came to Prague in mid April and my bank account suffered!!! ;)
Click to expand...


Sorry dear John, I work just behind Vodickova street, and I get to pass near the two shops on Vodickova daily. I think I get to visit FotoSkoda almost three or four times a week. I just went there earlier to pickup negatives, appalling results with Kodak Gold 100 and Fed-3b + I-61 L/D (probably due to the low speed of the film) and wonderful results with color ISO 200 + Kiev-II & J-8 ... and got myself a Tamrac backpack ;)

They had this morning a new FED-3a and two Kiev-III in exposition :)
Btw I loved your photos of prague, good work :)
 
Roman said:
Yes, I have a 65 mm Mir, the later Mir-38 version, and this one is quite OK.
Here's a list of all my P-6-mount lenses:

45mm Mir: totally sucks, very soft, uneven plane of focus (one corner is even less sharp than the other unsharp ones), very flare-prone - stay away from this one.

45mm Hartblei shift-lens: based on the 45mm Mir optically, bnut with better mount and quality control; still suffers a bit from unsharpness in the corners, you have to stop down at least to f/11 to f/16 to make it work; also, with 6x6 format, only about 6mm of shifting is possible befor the lens will start to vignette.

50mm Flektogon (black MC version): great results, very good; a huge & heavy beast though, filters are hard to find & expensive.

65mm Mir-38: quite OK, not as good as the Flek, but not bad either; from experiences with friends who own the same ones I know that there is quite a bit of sample variation with this one.

80mm Biometar (zebra version): quite good, not very sharp wide-open, but get's very good by around f/4 to f/5.6; nice bokeh. A bit flare prone (it is only single-coated).

80mm Volna: sharper wide-open than the BM, but with ugly, distracting bokeh. Otherwise quite good.

120mm Biometar (zebra SC version): quite good, nice bokeh, more manageable as a portrait lens on the road than the Sonnar.

180mm Sonnar (late-model black MC version): The best bokeh ever! Makes marvellous portraits. Rather low contrast; already sharp wide-open, but in a pleasant, not too harsh way; a bit flare prone. Also, you have to open up about 1/2 a stop if using it at closest distance; the special 10mm extension ring from CZJ is very useful for filling the frame in head-shots (though this ring won't mount on my K60).. A huge and heavy beast, esp. with the lens shade mounted it looks like you are using a bazooka.

250mm Telear: Good, sharp, not very fast, but that makes it quite small; handy tele lens for hiking; bokeh is not great, but not especially bad either.

2x Arsat converter: quite OK as far as converters go.

Roman
Click to expand...


Thank you for sharing your experience with these lenses, it will prove very worthy when deciding! I was hoping to meet Trevor Allin from www.pentaconsix.com but unfortunately I arrived too late in Prague and he flied off too early. He had brought a 40mm Schneider Curtagon for Exakta 66 to show me, and I didn't had the chance to see it :(
 
Brian Sweeney said:
My J-9 in LTM coupled properly with the RF cam, and the lens was adjusted to work with the Leica standard 51.6mm (infinity was adjusted). There are versions of the J9 for Contax, 39mm LTM, 42mm Pentax screw mount, and 39mm SLR mount. Maybe yours was intended for the 39mm SLR rather than RF cameras. Otherwise, it was missing the ring for the coupling.

My J9, on the Canon 7. At F4.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1096&cat=3204&page=4
Click to expand...


it is very possible that it was designed for M39 SLR's... because there is no coupling with the RF sensor. I'll go check your photo :)
 
rbiemer said:
The one disappointment is the 45mm MIR lens. It just feels cheap and the photos I've taken with it all seem very soft.
Eventually I want to get a 50mm Flektogon to replace it. And a 150mm Kaleniar.
Not in a hurry for either since I've been sorting out a FSU 35mm set up.
Rob
Click to expand...

Good to know about Mir 45mm ... I'll avoid it at all costs ;)
 
darkkavenger said:
Good to know about Mir 45mm ... I'll avoid it at all costs ;)
Click to expand...

There's a sample variation in Mir 45mm. I have mir 45mm and Arsat 45mm MC. Both give a decent performance, stopped down at f/11 or f/16.


pangkievrange
 
darkkavenger...for your trip..take as much of your gear as you can..then like the ladies who don't like to be seen in the same dress too often..you can be seen with a different camera/lens combo each day!..
Have a nice time!
 
I've fixed my choice to Kiev-II with J-8 and J-12, Zorki-4 with I-61 & I-61 L/D, and a Flexaret IIIb TLR. I didn't have time to reassemble my Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar-III 2.8/80, so my Pentacon Six will stay home :( ... hmm I'm taking my FED-3b too *giggles*
 
Roman said:
45mm Mir: totally sucks, very soft, uneven plane of focus (one corner is even less sharp than the other unsharp ones), very flare-prone - stay away from this one.
Roman
Click to expand...

You CAN get a good one. I have one. It is quite nice, and I have some great photos taken with it, both on a Kiev 60 and a Kiev 88cm. I also have one of the Arsat Shift versions, and it is very nice also. I do have a couple of 45mm Mir's that are not so good also. They are cheap, buy several. It is folly to make a judgement on a limited sample, particularly FSU gear.
 
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