valdas
Veteran
Well, I have never planned to have one. Growing in FSU I have never really liked Soviet stuff so as soon as iron curtain has fallen I ditched Zenits and Smenas and went for Contaxes and Leicas... But FSU gear is still quite abundant and not expensive where I live (Lithuania) so after reading some good words about Helios 103 I decided to give a try. So, I needed Kiev too and found one for 20 EUR and the best part of it was that it was from 1969 (same year I was born). Well, what can I say - my Kiev works with no issues. Exposures are accurate, focusing as well, no issues with light leaks, film spacing is OK. Helios 103 is really nice (although I have to test it more, especially wide open). But I am not sure I will get comfortable with slow focusing. It's really slow, especially in cold weather with gloves. But we'll see...
Below a couple of test shots on ORWO N75. It's quite grainy film, so...
Below a couple of test shots on ORWO N75. It's quite grainy film, so...
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
The pre 1973 Kievs are very nice, I got my first Kiev RF camera in April 1994.. a 1972 Kiev 4 and I really bonded with it. I got the Helios 103 lens much later and found it an excellent lens and liked it better with colour film use than the J-8m 50mm lens that came on the camera.
nukecoke
⚛Yashica
The KIEV is my default winter camera, I find it fitting winter outfit nicely and the more weather-resistant shutter is a plus. I disabled the focus lock/fine-tuner and focus by turning the lens just like on a normal camera. Currently shooting a 1950 KIEV II.
Huss
Veteran
Yeah the Helios 103 lens is excellent. Best part of my custom black paint but light leaky (every 4th pic!) 4.