Is Kiev 4A an exact Contax copy?

[naren]

Curious if the 4A is an exact copy of the Contax II. Can anyone tell me about the differences? Thanks.🙂

 

[Peter_Jones]

As far as I am aware, there are slight differences, mainly for ease of production. I believe the shutter curtains are wider for example. There are a lot of people far more knowledgable than me on this forum and I am sure someone will be able to give more detail than I can.

 

[wolves3012]

My understanding is that it's a literal copy except that, especially over the years, changes were made to simplify and cheapen them. I'm not familiar enough to say what the changes were but the answer to your question is NO if u mean absolutely exact, in every detail.

 

[tripod]

Kiev 4a, an exact Contax II copy - no. A Kiev 2 would be closer.

 

[zhang xk]

IMO, A Kiev 4A is an improved Contax II design, and a Kiev 4AM is an even better deisgn. Kiev 5 is the top end camera of the entire Contax-Kiev rangefinder line. 🙂

Some early Kiev II was build with original ZI parts,so these are exact copies with a different logo.

 

[brachal]

Flash synch is added, and there are numerous detail changes. The bottom plate in particular was made much simpler and lost its little fold-foot on the front.

 

[tripod]

There are lots of people who prefer the earlier Kievs. There is the feeling that the quality of the parts and assembly became poorer in the later cameras.

 

[Mark Wood]

In fact, the later, simplified base plate on the pre 4m/4am models resembles the Contax IIa/IIIa design more closely (as does the meter dial/rewind knob on the 4). You could argue that the later (1960s/70s) models incorporated the best features from the Contax II and IIa but design changes for economical reasons are, of course, much more likely.

 

[kl122002]

As far as I know, it added flash syns. socket, the front base has some slightly modification, which seems it has became trapezium-like. THe later version has added plastic on the selftimer.

 

[varjag]

Also, the back was altered, rewind button made flush, film pressure plate changed, the fold-out support foot on bottom removed.

Kiev 2 is the closest to original Contax among mass produced series, differing mostly in a few cosmetic details and shutter strap material.