I got my Kiev!

Many thanks, Noel.

Sounds fiddly and tricky, but perhaps not. However, I will try it. I'll also try the shutter winding drill described by Ruben (thanks to Mike G. for that).

Assuming I can't fix it, can you recommend a good Kiev repair person - preferably in the US, but, failing that, elsewhere?

Ted
 
Ted

If it is not ripping sprocket holes I'd live with it, the mini lab may cut up a photo, but they can do that if they are careless anyway.

Noel
 
Brian Sweeney said:
This is an early 5cm/1.5 Zeiss-Opton Sonnar, chrome nose.

Shots are wide-open. The construction is different from the Pre-war version. Not as easy to work on as a J-3.
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Brian when you setup a 50mm Sonnar for use at minimum focusing distances wide open do you use that lens for general photography or is it dedicated to close up work? It would make a lot of sense to keep a specially setup Sonnar for those great close in portraits that you have frequently posted on this forum. Otherwise, IMO close work is not the ideal mission of the RF camera for a number of reasons and the Sonnar complicates it even further by focus shifts and other effects of spherical aberration which paradoxically makes it difficult to focus accurately both close and far but produces that creamy skin and wonderful out of focus effects.

Michael
 
When I get my Kiev 4AM back from Gene W. I will try some close ups with its two lenses, the Helios 103 and the J9. I have no idea how close you can get with these, but if I use a tripod, perhaps they will enlarge and look "close."
 
tedwhite said:
When I get my Kiev 4AM back from Gene W. I will try some close ups with its two lenses, the Helios 103 and the J9. I have no idea how close you can get with these, but if I use a tripod, perhaps they will enlarge and look "close."
Click to expand...
The Helios focuses to 0.9M and the J9 to just under 1.15M
 
Brian Sweeney said:
I always set the focus with the lens wide-open. On this lens, I shimmed it wide-open and at a 6ft distance. I check it at infinity and close-up with film. When shimming the J-3's for the Leica standard, I set the LTM J-3's wide-open at 5m and check at 2m. The J-3's have been in sharp focus at 1m, and usually require F2.8 for infinity.
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Today Henry Scherer is overhauling an after market coated pre-war 50mm f1'5 Sonnar for me. I was going to try your collimation but Henry just emailed that the factory collimation of the pre-war lenses was locked in place with set screws screwed into holes drilled through the barrel and a pain to alter.

I am still intrigued by your system; how good is the focus at far distances when stopped down to f2.8? I have a J3 that never would focus: as it came the lens block was screwed so far into the mount that the aperature ring wouldn't budge and the spacers were rattling around - I suspect a mismatch. A long time ago I removed the spacers and screwed the block in until the aperture ring would just move. Now when focused at 5 feet (1.5M) the camera distance scale says 1.15M. Unfortunately I can't seem to unscrew the lens block, but if I succeed do I need spacers to move the block away from the film plane or do I need to get it closer?

Michael
 
Brian Sweeney said:
The early J-3's are a different construction than those that followed. The focus mount is deeper, and the lens module is longer. A later lens module will not properly mount in an early focus mount. I had the same problem when putting a late module into a 1950 mount.
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Ah! The lens module is 1956, the block has the same dimensions of as my 1963 J3. Is there any other Kiev lens focus mount that can be used (one tends to accumulate lots of J8, J8m and Helios lenses over the years)?

Michael
 
Sometimes bad can be good. The lens block is jammed into the focus mount but I was able to move it just a smidgen so that focus at 5 feet coincided with the camera distance scale and the adjustment is "locked-in" without the need for shims (it also focuses at infinity). Now let's see if it passes the film test.

Thanks Brian

Michael
 
Steph:

When things get exciting at the birthday party, don't forget the Kiev/Contax "grip." I don't know how many times I've said, "Oh, crap, the rangefinder just packed it in," only to realize my finger was blocking it.
 
Hah, I won't. I actually like the Contax grip quite a bit.

Also, it still didn't come today and the birthday party starts at noon so I'm not going to get to take it to the party itself. I'll use it to get shots afterwards, however.
 
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