how long does it take?!?

[dll927]

As for Siberia, remember that's a cold place. Five and a half months might be needed to get the RR tracks cleared. Air mail? The airstrip is only clear 3-4 days a year.

Why else did Uncle Joe send all his former cohorts there??

 

[JoeFriday]

It's Here! *doing the Happy Dance*

Picked up the package from the post office today.. the camera is gorgeous, altho the lens has a few marks on it.. we'll have to run some film through it this week and see what comes out.. so far it's made a conversation piece in the office, tho

 

[reagan]

It's there!! *doing the spoiled brat stomp* Drat! Double-drat!! Curse those cheesehead postal workers!! Why does this sniveling good-for-nothing get his little camera while MY treasures are scattered all over the Seven Seas?

waa!

waa, waa!

waa, waa, waa!

..................... uh ............. huhmmmmm ................ I mean ................


Hey that's great Brett! Congratulations! Couldn't be happier for ya!

Okay, serious, let's have a look. Send along a pic of the little beauty. It's a 4A, right? I'm waiting on 2 Zorkis and a 4AM. The Zorkis I've been given notice that they're on the way - and the 4AM? Nada! And I haven't thought squat about the Zorkis. All I find myself looking for is the 4AM!! But you've given me hope, ol' boy. You've proven that there are Kievs coming in this direction!!

 

[JoeFriday]

since I suddenly can't seem to attach an image, here's a link to my gallery

5 Weeks And Worth It

 

[reagan]

That does it. I'm really jealous now. No really. That's not only a nice looking camera, it's a really great photo. "Worth the wait" I'm sure. Get out there and enjoy!!

 

[rbiemer]

Very pretty Kiev there, Brett! Umm, did that hood come with it?
A Kiev 4a was my first or second FSU purchase and man-o-man did I sweat the wait. Not so long as you had to. As you said , well worth the wait!
Looking forward to photos!
Rob

 

[kiev4a]

As for Siberia, remember that's a cold place. Five and a half months might be needed to get the RR tracks cleared. Air mail? The airstrip is only clear 3-4 days a year.

Why else did Uncle Joe send all his former cohorts there??

Wouldn't buy anything from Siberia. I've had nothing but bad experiences with sellers there--primarily their government rules and the postal system.That's why there are almost no sellers in that region. I've been waiting for one Zorki 1 for two years. I think it may be time to write it off.

 

[JoeFriday]

thanks for the compliments, guys.. I had to resort to using the Nikon D70 for that photo.. but I think it came out pretty nice.. still no idea if the Kiev takes good photos, but I know I like looking AT it 🙂

 

[popitz]

that's a very nice 4a, Joe. like rbiemer asked, did it come with the hood? i also have a 4a but not as nice as yours, some of the black paint on the Kiev logo are gone on mine. it did come with a snap-on yellow filter, though. it arrived in 2 weeks from ukraine. my first roll of Velvia 100 on it just produced wonderful pictures. pretty good for a $45 camera. enjoy yours!

 

[pangkievrange]

thanks for the compliments, guys.. I had to resort to using the Nikon D70 for that photo.. but I think it came out pretty nice.. still no idea if the Kiev takes good photos, but I know I like looking AT it 🙂

Tip for cleaning up old kiev:
Tool: toothbrush, q-tips, tooth pick with some cotton for place hard to reach and 95% isopropanol available in drugstore.

typical dirty area: serrated focus wheel, serrated counter disk, knurled focusing barrel of the lens and top parts (e.g., shutter release button, cocking knob) for cocking shutter. The toothbrush is very good for these places.

pangkievrange

 

[JoeFriday]

this Kiev needs absolutely no cleaning.. it's immaculate.. very solid, also.. unlike the other Kiev that arrived earlier.. that one is in user condition, while this one is near mint

as for the hood.. no, that wasn't included.. I bought it off eb*y from "heavystar".. it looks and works great.. a bit pricey compared to some other buyers, but still a nice setup

here's his latest auction for them...

40.5mm screw-in hoods

 

[pangkievrange]

this Kiev needs absolutely no cleaning.. it's immaculate.. very solid, also.. unlike the other Kiev that arrived earlier.. that one is in user condition, while this one is near mint

as for the hood.. no, that wasn't included.. I bought it off eb*y from "heavystar".. it looks and works great.. a bit pricey compared to some other buyers, but still a nice setup

here's his latest auction for them...

40.5mm screw-in hoods

Congratulation on getting a working kiev! Does it still have a light seal for the back? If so, that means that the camera is indeed in an original shape. I would recommend 2 small pieces of black electric tape be used to cover the two tiny gaps between the top of film plane (right and left) and the body.
I bought one and 43mm vented too from him. But I found another guy offered $8.00 for 40.5mm vented hood later on. It's too later for me. For those who still want to buy the vented version, $8.00 is hard to beat.

pangkievrange

 

[popitz]

thanks for the tip, pangkievrange.

 

[pangkievrange]

thanks for the tip, pangkievrange.

You are welcome. For the finder glasses, detergent/Qtip will be the best tool. To remove the residue of detergent, soak Q-tip in hot water and shake off excessive water before cleaning the glass surface. repeat it until the residue is removed. It's kinda of a rinsing process. If somebody has kiev 3 or 3a, the knurled dial knob for light meter is dirty in general. I had to clean up a very dirty dial of light meter in one of my kiev 4 (toothbrush and 95% isopropanol available in regular drugstores). I protect the clean glass (view finder, rangefinder, eye view) with tape before cleaning up.


pangkievrange

 

[popitz]

pangkievrange, got the $8 vented hood you mentioned in your previous post. just waiting for it to arrive. also cleaned the viewfinders of my two Kiev IIs last night. didn't realize how clear the viewfinder can be.

 

[pangkievrange]

pangkievrange, got the $8 vented hood you mentioned in your previous post. just waiting for it to arrive. also cleaned the viewfinders of my two Kiev IIs last night. didn't realize how clear the viewfinder can be.

You have better kieves overall! The cleaning process itself is very rewarding, isn't it?

You can also buy 40.5mm wide metal hood for jupiter 12, and 49mm tele metal hood for jupiter 9 on ebay.

pangkievrange

 

[nickchew]

I ordered my zorki4K and Jupiter 12 from Russcameras on ebay. The Zorki took 3 months, came not working. I sent it back. The J12 came after 6 months! It is now some 9 months since original purchase and I'm still waiting for a working Zorki replacement.

sigh

Nick