Kiev 4AM

[zuikomaniac]

Anyone have any experience with this camera Kiev 4AM , I'm looking at one on the bay in black body (nice) and from one of the seller in Russia ... this would be my first step to the contax mount rf ... is it the right choice??? All your help and inputs are greatly appreciate ... and Thanks in advance.

Henry

 

[zuikomaniac]

Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Soviet-Contax-c...ViewItemQQptZFilm_Cameras?hash=item5ad760f0a0

 

[ray*j*gun]

In my opinion, the toughest FSU to get sorted out is the Kiev and especially the newer ones. The one your looking at was clearly painted and hopefully put together well after the work was done. I have 2 FSU's that work fine but have tried 4 Kievs over the years and never got a good one. I know there are others here that love them but I wound up with a Contax IIa which I truely love. In any event good luck!

 

[le vrai rdu]

My first RF was a Kiev 4 and I liked it pretty much but the shutteur broke
The finder is quite small but very precise and contrasted 🙂

 

[zuikomaniac]

with your opinion, I think I'm going to pass Kiev option ... after browse around for the real contax IIa, think I might get the genuine one, but saw a the Voilander Bessa under same category, I know it's an af body but does this one use the same mount?

 

[denmark.yuzon]

no black Kiev was ever made.

 

[oftheherd]

no black Kiev was ever made.

AFAIK that is true. There have also been people who have had problems with FSU, including Kiev. I have a Kiev 4am I bought off ebay. There was a minor light leak which is common with Kiev. It is usually easily fixed. In my case, black yarn, which I understand the originals had anyway, was all it took to fix it. Just like many cameras eventually need new foam strips.

I think FSU are always going to be an adventure. Of course, so are most old cameras. The purchase of a Contax is prbably going to require a CLA, which you seller says has been done to that camera. Based on the addition of color, and the afaik reputation of the seller, it is probably OK. But as I said, it's almost always going to be an adventure, no matter the old camera.

I personally like mine and the five lenses I have for it. I like the look I get from them.

 

[40oz]

I've bought three Kievs and they all work fine. And I believe lots of people on here have purchased from the seller in the ebay ad.

No, there never was a black Kiev made AFAIK. Which makes the linked item probably a better buy than a body that was dug out of a closet and dusted off with no maintenance at all prior to the sale.

I'm not sure it's useful to blame a camera model rather than the seller when a person buys a camera that is broken. I'm not sure who to blame when a person does it repeatedly - you'd think one would learn to be a little more careful with their money, but whatever.

If one wanted to get a Contax body, one needs to accept that most of the bodies for sale will need some maintenance or are outright broken - that's why it's being sold. If it was the best camera someone owned, they wouldn't be selling it.

It doesn't matter if it says Contax or Kiev, you need to expect private sellers aren't going to mention the little issues that need addressing. Especially if the price is under $100.

On the other hand, if you buy from a reputable dealer that stands behind their work, you stand a good chance of being satisfied.

 

[newspaperguy]

My KIEV score is three good out-of-five purchased...

But, TWO* of those three are great cameras!

*One from Oleg, the other from a long-ago RFF
member (back in the pre-Stephen days.)

 

[zuikomaniac]

although from eastern EU , but the seller has a pretty good rating, still don't know if I want to spend $100 plus on these might be paper weight... I have to admit that I've felt in love with the look of it , especially in black ...

 

[batterytypehah!]

Where are you located? If in the U.S., take a look at fedka.com. Yuri is fantastic to do business with and has a number of Kiev-4 models listed right now at the same price level. You could even save a little by going for the Jupiter-8 lens.

IMO there is no reason to wait for a package from Ukraine, even from a reputable seller, if you can get practically the same deal close to home. I've only ordered from Fedka twice, a Helios-103 and some accessories. Both times the delivery was lightning quick (Yuri processes orders after his day job, I think) and the goods exactly as advertised.

Let me also put a plug in for the real deal Contax. I bought my IIa body on the bay for $139 plus shipping. Took a bit of a chance there, as the seller claimed not to know much and had lousy photos. Turned out to work perfectly, except for the T setting, and the focus being too stiff to use the finger wheel.

If you do go for Contax, keep in mind that the very popular and affordable Jupiter-12 wide lens will not mount on postwar bodies (IIa/IIIa), only on the pre-war II/III and their Kiev clones.

 

[newspaperguy]

Beat me to it.

Yuri has a nice KIEV IIa listed.

That's as close as you can get to a Contax at half the price.

http://fedka.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=570&osCsid=6ab6f24dce911a2262272d438be3345f

One of my own faves is a KIEV IIa.