All my Kiev are Dead!

[outfitter]

I use -- and can highly recommend -- Eddy Smolov in Brooklyn, N.Y. Who are the other techs here in the U.S. who also service Kievs?

I've tossed Outlook and in the process lost my contacts list, but the last guy I used was a Russian dealer I met at the Second Sunday camera show in NJ; he lives in Riverdale NY and did excellent (and Fast) work replacing ribbons - many dealers use him for Contax work. If I find his card I will follow up.

I've met and bought from Fedka who is an excellent dealer and now has a repair person but I never used him. I've used Kiev USA because they are local (more or less) but the owner died and his widow is selling from home - I hear his last repairman (Kiev factory trained and does really good work) has set up on his own (try the Kiev USA website but it would probably be less expensive if you find him directly). Some years ago I used Leonid Treskunov in Old Bridge NJ now at: : http://trescam.com

Eddie Smolov has a really excellent reputation but I've never used him. Camera shows are a good place to look, listen for a Russian accent and if that fails speak to a dealer who has classic RF cameras.

 

[outfitter]

And you can see the cost of getting an overhaul on a Contax. Mr. Scherer doesn't even repair Kievs anymore; something about the fear of contaminating the Contaxes.

Harry's prices are for a re-build - his work is nothing short of glorious. Why should he waste his time (customers are backed up for years) trying to get a Kiev back together and up to spec when tolerances are looser, defective parts are common and specs differ from from Zeiss and even among Kievs from different eras? I imagine if Harry drops a screw or encounters a warn part hes has drawers full of the Zeiss kind and doesn't care to accumulate the Russian made stuff.

An ordinary CLA including a ribbon replacement should be about $100 give or take $25

 

[ZorkiKat]

The camera was designed to have the shutter ribbons replaced every 20 years with factory spec ribbon. If your camera lets go after 40-50 years or was repaired with unsuitable ribbons you can't lay that at the door of reliability.

Doesn't THAT suggest a fatal flaw? Five or ten years' constant use, or less, would wear out the material fast. And if 'factory' materials are gone, that would mean the end.

OTOH other cameras would have a greater tolerance for non-factory repair materials.

 

[ZeissFan]

Why don't you get a Contax and put that shutter into the Kiev? Or is it the other way around? I should check Henry's site.

 

[ruben]

...........Will the repairs Mr. Smolov made for me last 20 years or so? I'll let you know! All I can say is, my Kievs now work better than at any time I've owned them. Does that mean they were not made well to begin with? I don't know; maybe the previous owners abused them. I haven't owned them since new but I have owned them many (10-plus) years.

At the time this thread started I missed a highly important technical point, about which Zorkikat has a verdict and I mistakenly opposed it, instead of not passing a conclusive opposite verdict.

a) I am an amateur photographer less dependent on reliability than a pro is. Much less dependent.

b) Additionally to point a), and on the same direction, since long ago I manipulate my cameras with high soften hands.

Along my years in photography I have been besides many pros on the field, and I can assure every one that when the photo op appears the last thing a pro photojournalist thinks about is his camera health, not to speak about his own personal health.

Accordingly I would say than in my opinion Zorkikat views the Kievs from a rather very different angle and experience than mine. I would say, a more qualifyied one.

Of course I never had the opportunity to see Zorkikat's handling of his cameras in general, nor put my Kiev delikatessen under real heavy, strong and daily pressure.

From here several conclusions flow, among them my apologies to Zorkikat that I repeat now.

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[ZorkiKat]

Sorry, I'm not following your point. I don't know whether original factory ribbons are available, but I know there are after-market supplies of the stuff. And if the after-market ribbons work as well or better than the original, who cares?

A suitable substitute is indeed available. Maybe more. I found one in the form of the Habutae silk ribbons from Aki-Asahi. It's perhaps the best thing to go in Kiev Shutters or even the Contax. I've been able to install it in 7 or 8 Kiev. Durable too. The test shutter I tortured with 600+ continuous firings is still going strong. And now, more than a year and several rolls later, it still shows no sign of fraying. The part under the upper sewn area (where the break happens) is still intact- the fibres look ok under 5X magnification.



I will use the silk AA ribbons again when I start repairing the three other Kiev which my friends have recently purchased and whose shutters' ribbons snapped soon after they started using the cameras. There must be something in the local tropical climate which kills the acetate Arsenal material.

Why don't you get a Contax and put that shutter into the Kiev? Or is it the other way around?

I do have a Contax with a Kiev-2 shutter in it. 😎 And guess what? I actually like it. It works fine. I've compared it with a real Contax II, and I can see no difference. Feels the same. Sounds the same. And looks the same.

 

[raid]

Calm down, Comrades.

This is a camera that is being discussed; it is not the end of the world.

I also recommend Comrade Eddy Smolov for a Kiev repair. Eddy has worked many years for Kiev, and in his seventy years of life experiences he has learned pretty much all that anyone could ever learn on how to repair a Kiev.

Comrade Smolov, not be confused with Comrade Mao, is a very nice man with a sense of humor. Make sure you get his recent address. He works alone and he does not work for any repairshop. He has contacts with a network of repairman who can fix almost any camera.

I peeked into this thread hoping to find some useful information on Kiev cameras.I received today my very first Kiev! It is a Kiev 3 with a J-8; both from 1956. The lens has a front ring that is golden colored, and the glass of the lens looks like new. The RF works perfectly. I am a happy guy.

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

I have a Kiev4a over at Comrade Smolov's for some repair. He fixed everything to spec but it still has some light leak problems. Before I sent it back I noticed the tripod area could be a source of leaks. The tripod base extends out and the back has a hole which accommodates it. If there's a little play some foam or felt would do good for blocking out light.