Kiev 4 -- just got it, but...

john_van_v

john_van_v

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Unfortunately one of the lock things that holds the base plate on is broken. Its not a problem, I think 'lil duct tape will solve the problem for now.

Lens is very clear and sparkling, can it be the lack of coating that makes to so impressive ??

Lens meter seems a like a wasted effort, I am beginning to wonder what those things are good for anyway. All the best photogs used luna-pros anyway.

It seems that this may be a common problem, as the component parts inside the camera are very weak. If anybody has any ideas about fixing the base plate, please let me know.

I will try to take some pictures with it soon.
 
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the lens, a J-8 or a Helios 103 were all coated.
a replacment back from a like parts camera will do the trick barring any light leaks.
I find the lightmeter on the K-4 very good for a selenium cell meter, a lot better than the selenium meters on some other vintage cameras.
 
I do not have a spare Kiev back unfortunatly,
If you can work something out with the auction seller, this will be the cheapest option.
buying FSU gear from Fedka or Oleg is cheaper in the long run than playing russian roulette with the majority of the FSU sellers on Eprey.
 
As xray says all the Ru lenses were coated and it should show as a faint colour. You might have a pre war Zeiss lens, in nice condition a collectors piece.

Does the lens front plate say Jupiter in cyryllic or Sonnar, latter would be German? A Jupiter 8M is high contrast and some people use them in preference to the leitz lenses, they are cheap.

The lock is replacable on the baseplate, it needs great care to remove from a donor baseplate, needle nose pliers and rubber gloves, where are you located (PM), _ if I managed to remove a lock assembly intact and what side is the lock from, I dont think they are handed?

The meter in resonable condition is ok for chroms film if you recognise it has a wide angle of view and no compensation. The camera is actually pretty rugged, My meters have survived in gadget bag after a 3 foot drop unto concrete, the Zeiss precursor was more delicate.

However there is an on line maintenance manual

http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/index.html


Noel

P.S. Wont be back on line until Monday week...
 
Truthfully, this Kiev may be up for trade. Since I am changing my last name to Voigtlander (from Vanflander), I may be best to stick w/ thread mounts.

But I will want to try it out first, of course. Great wintery blustery day here in NYC.

There is an abandoned Jewish Cemetary in the part of Queens that should be in Brooklyn. I thought I missed my chances to photo it in winter-- the only way to photo the departed.

Here is Christian cemetary in upstate NY

0001.jpg
 
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Silver lining:

The lock fell apart completly (bad). But it fell apart in my hand, and the rivet that I thought was loose was in fact a screw w/ a crimped head. Even better news is that I didn't drop it, and also retreived all the other parts.

This is a looker, and I am a player. So I am going to set it on the shelf and probably trade it after I run a roll thru it.
 
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