Whatever makes you happy...
Whatever makes you happy...
I'm with the crowd that says if you can't deal with some upsets/bad luck, playing around with old cameras is silly. You can pick up an 80s-era SLR for cheaper that will likely work far better. 70s era Japanese rangefinders are pretty cheap and solid too. More ancient cameras will have more problems, and need to be fixed/cared for.
It is true that more reliability problems exist with FSU cameras. I've got about six, only one dog - and it's not that it's not fixable, but not really worth the effort. It cost $30 with a decent lens and a case. That's the only one with issues.
Do the math - I could pick up a dozen or more for the cost of a Bessa, let alone a 'real' Leica. (Must factor in cost for test rolls, which is probably the most frustrating in terms of time).
My Kiev 88 has not been without it's problems (light leaks, which I knew would likely be an issue going in). Hack fixes (e.g. gaffer's tape) have worked so far, proper fix in the post (which I'll do myself). But the one good-sized blow up I've done from the Kiev 88 is stunning. For a very modest outlay, impressive. Lost a few shots, though.
Bottom line: many of the FSU cameras are absurdly cheap for what they (appear to) offer, but hidden costs (time, hassle, randomness of issues) exist. The 'too good to be true' paradigm holds - they're not one-tenth (twentieth?) the cost of alternatives once hidden costs are factored in - but everyone places a different value on those hidden costs. (In other words, I might say it's five times cheaper, someone else says in the end it costs you money).
I come in somewhere in between - like fiddling with old cameras, not technically adept enough to do anything complex, can live with a few lost rolls/shots from time to time, not a lot of time to track stuff down or run back and forth to the post - but live in a place where there is lots of FSU stuff available; a surprising amount of it works!
Original poster comes out at one extreme: places high cost on hassle factor, also wants to save some money. Contradictory desires we all face. Simple as that. Should probably not be using old cameras, or if price is a big issue, focus on different niche. (Old nikon SLRs would be much easier, old minoltas or konicas much cheaper).
This is not a criticism: if doing things differently makes him happier, that's what he should do. Reasons for those decisions may not apply to many others, but perhaps to some.
One thing I don't understand: there seems to be a specific group that really want to use very expensive/highly rated lenses but cut corners on bodies. Perhaps understandable, but I don't get it.
