For ruben - Kiev Krazee

[dee]

The '' ASdee '' lostness , separation frequently means something being all consuming , then fading away ...

This phase started with a sense that the Leica II and it's USSR tributes kind of clicked with hands AND eyes - a rare enough occurence in itself !
This has not gone away ... but the Kievs have krept up on me , I have my Kiev 2 loaded , and have my 3 / 4 / 4m in sight / reach grounding me ... frankly they are deeficult to handle and focus , and tae a lot of getting used to ... but , would now be the favourite camera to use - more so than the convenient Fed 2 , or the dimunitice Fed 1 , black '' Leica '' ...
Yet I knew nothing about Contax and Kiev until certain people urging me to indulge ... I have NOT bought any cameras for a while except for a replacement Zenit S ... But ...
i think that I have another Kiev 2a coming @ £32 total , which I failed to resist - I say I think , 'cos it was a poor photo , and no year or model was mentioned - I just noted the foot under the lense . I love the finish of the 2 and 3 - it's kinda satin , and the soft shutter is magic ... but my 4 and 4m are eminently useable too ....

The Kiev thing is deecidedly odd in a dee cidedly odd out of phase world ... but what is odder , is that playing with a Leica M8 provokes a similar comfortable / must take pictures reaction to the Kievs !!!

If only ...

dee

 

[ruben]

Great honour Dee, for you dedicating me such a piece.

Now you have two options, both unpleasant, till the Kiev Project continues (and its going to take more time).

Option A, Economy Class is to remain with what you have, as you have it.

Option B, VIP Class, is to send one of your Kievs to Oleg for CLA, and getting a bit of the taste of how should they perform. Passangers in this class will have to pay CLA, shipment both sides, and most of the chances in your case you will buy another half a dozen cameras, which in the last account will be a great investment as prices are to rise significantly in the next couple of years.

Option C, Bussiness Class, cool down, get Maizenberg's book, review the KSS and start to disassemble a bit, or wait for the Kiev Project. You may break one or two cameras, but later you will turn them alive again. Meanwhile you will be needing more cameras for replacing those under surgery. After all, what could be more pleasant ?

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40454&highlight=Kiev+Project

Always a Pleeasure, and don't forget to continue prizing mee,
Ruben

PS
A perfectly working Kiev, silk-smooth as it was designed to be, is a camera I would pay for some 250 ~ 350 dollars. True, for such amount you can buy a Contax, but a Contax to mail to Henry Scherer. With more knowledge, popularized to the layman level, plus a measurable effort and some other clever steps - This is what we are going to have, us$ 50 cameras turned into five times their original value.

Now where is the "catch" ? To put a Kiev into excellent accuracy and smoothness requires a really big effort, a lot of working hours, which only each of us can be enthusiastic enough to input. There are a lot of things to deal with.

Then, what we need is to have the how-to, explained meticulously (detailed and step by step) enough so that no one will be afraid from trying. This popularized explanation is my target.

 

[Xmas]

Dee

I thought your plan was for an RDee1?

Noel

 

[dee]

Planning for anything is awkward - wth ANOTHER [ not ] giving permission for such an irrespsonsible outlay, but I have found a new Rdee 1 ...[ not RD1s ]

The Leica was just a bit too OTT - but the it is a joy to use - but HEAVY - makes my old Minolta ,and My Kievs seem lightweights . If I were to be honest , the Leica M8 is THE dream - but the RD 1 would be wonderfull !

But I have TWO Oleged Kievs ! - the Kiev 4 and 4m came from him [ excuse - combined shipping ! ] - as recommended - or insisted in this forum both with new meter cells and a deelight to use-
Indee'd , if I had started out with a dodgy one , I might have quietly given up trying to get around the interesting handling ! These led to the Kiev 2 and 3 from alexphoto - having made a joint offer and with combined shipping , it made them affordable ... he even fixed a crack in the viewfinder glass of the Kiev2 , which may have put off some bidding , and advised me on which cameras were best to use ...

In all honesty , I did not anticipate that cameras which did not stipulate cla , would be a match for the Olegs - but guess what ? - I got really lucky ! Even the meter of the Kiev 3 is accurate !

I am amazed at the quality of the Kievs - yes , even the later ones - such a complicated piece of machinery made under difficult conditions , still giving such dee-light after all those years - they must have done something right , at least occasionally !

This mad gathering in of ex-USSR cameras was fuelled by an amazing sense of connection , which generally does not happen - together with boxes of old toys which fetched what I would term a fortune on e-bay .

It's certainly not sustainable , as the pay pal cupboard is bare .

Maybe it is all for the wrong reasons - especially as I am fairly content to take lots of photos ... and save up to have them deeveloped ... it's often not the result that makes a confusing world accessible - but the ritual of simplifying and containing through my special companions .

I just had not expected that the comparitively big and heavy Kievs would have also worked their magic on me !

Thanks guys - I don't usually have much to say to real peole - this is magic for me - even if my idee-as are dee cidedly alternative !

dee

 

[dee]

I have two lovely Kievs from Oleg - the 4 and 4m - with new meter cells . I think I paid around $120 inclusive for the pair ...

The Kiev 2 and 3 came from alexphoto . i made offers on both , with combined shipping .

Again I was lucky - they are in lovely condition and really quiet and smooth - alex was helpfull in telling me which cameras would be OK to use -

The RD1 or Leica M8 is something of an Autisic dream , I guess - i don't have control over finances other than e-bay sale of old toys which fuelled this Red Mist !

I don't get to actually talk to real people much , so i guess i go a bit krazee on this forum !

Thanks

dee

 

[dee]

OOPs !!

The long reply did not pop up , so with some relief , I thought it had got lost - the one above is the precis!!

dee