Kiev 4am winding feeling?

[newfilm]

Hello guys, does anyone has a Kiev 4am? I'm considering one, but when I handle my friend's Kiev 4am (one with black dial) the winding feels a bit "sandy" or almost feels like grinding pepper, Is this normal for Kiev 4am?

any note of experience welcome.

 

[mdarnton]

Mine feels like I'm grinding walnut kernals. Not the shell--the meat inside.

 

[Fotohuis]

I also have a Kiev-4AM and yes, this seems to be "normal". Further it is a nice camera. BTW do not forget to put in rewind mode by turning one of the de-lock levels of the film 1/8 turn to the Red dot alignment.

Another hidden item: 1S time setting. Use the "B" and self timer.

 

[bobby_novatron]

The Kiev 4a / 4am seem to all have that same attribute. The winding feels coarse, more like a grinding. I know it seems strange but the camera is working fine -- the film advance on my Kiev 4a works as it is supposed to.

I did try to lubricate the film advance on my Kiev a while ago -- I used some very light synthetic sewing machine oil, and placed a few drops around the winding knob, as well as internally on the spools. It actually helped. But you have to be careful to not over-do it, you only need to use the oil sparingly.

FWIW, I also own a Kiev 2a that was manufactured in 1957. It does NOT have the grinding feeling -- the quality control evidently was better on earlier models.

 

[wolves3012]

When you wind on on a Kiev, you're shifting a fair bit of mechanics and it's done through a train of gears. You're moving the film, winding the shutter blinds (vertically) and (if you've set a speed of 1/50th or slower) winding up some clockwork too. The gears aren't cut to the highest standards so I'd say it's pretty normal not to be totally smooth. Should be *too* rough or hard work though.