kiev users, tell me why!

IMO:

I love Ruben! There, I've said it.

He is over the top many times. (Sometimes way over.) For technical advice I may go elsewhere.

Nikon RF's are way better than Kievs and Contaxes at least from a reliability standpoint.

But I still love Ruben.
 
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wow!! Beautiful shots, Zorkikat!! I like very much your reportage, it ... "taste good": nice and smiling people, beautiful beaches, a genuine life ! I'd like to start now, to go there! 😀

Thank you for sharing!
Franco

ps: your colour shots are a bit "strange"... What film did you use? When I use my J-8 and Fuji Provia (slide film) the colours are much more brilliant and saturated, is it a negative colour film?
 
spiderfrank said:
Come on, my friends... What a crazy thread is this? Stop discussing about the sex of the angels, go out and take some photos !! Next week I want to see some shots from your Kiev, Zorki, Contax, Fed, Nikon ... 😀😀

Franco

ps: here in Italy we say "ogni scarrafone è bello a mamma sua" ... 😀
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Good idea!! Don't look at the camera, look through it.
So yesterday I went to a local car slalom race😉, took my non-user-friendly Kiev 😉, and loaded with (very clever choice for car race) 50 asa ilford :bang:...lucky there were vintage cars 😀
 

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moretto said:
So yesterday I went to a local car slalom race😉, took my non-user-friendly Kiev 😉, and loaded with (very clever choice for car race) 50 asa ilford :bang:...lucky there were vintage cars 😀
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Everybody can do good photos to a car race with a DSRL at 1600 iso, a big zoom and 10 shots per second! But the real artist can do a good job even with a 50 iso and a beautiful "not-so-user-friendly" Kiev...
Nice shots Moretto: some years ago also here in Italy you could still see Fiat 600s running in the slalom races... And Autobianchi A112, Alpine Renault 110, and the fabulouse Lancia Stratos! Now they are too old and no more allowed to race... It's very sad!
 
I hope that you can get well real soon Fred...such a great Nikon RF mind to waste.

BTW,..mmm thats a tasty lookin Ruben.
 
Hi, Strange it looks like f2eyelevel, has scarpered, I cant find his post on the Contax repair he did. looks like hes taken his ball and isnt going to play anymore.
 
I'm with Ondrej too! My first Kiev is on its way because of this forum, I was sad that so much fighting happened.

Its coming with a J-12 but also a Helios, which I've heard very good things about

tim
 
Second Post

I was going to ask about the overall reliability of the Kiev 4A (I have a new one, received as a gift in 1981), given that it has been examined/adjusted by a capable repairman, compared to the Kiev 2 & 3 and Contax II/III.

But I see that f2eyelevel’s posts are missing (and at another thread on this forum, too) and the website http://photocam12.free.fr/contax2overhaul.htm is no longer available.

After reading this thread a couple of times, I realize that there really was a severe conflict of some sort, and posters were serious. The end result seems surprising, given the posts, but I also read, among others, Kos, LGF, Strategypage.

Is my question an inopportune one?
 
I had Fedka clean and adjust my Kiev about 4 months ago and fix a minor problem, and it seems quite reliable.

From one of the previous links, the Kiev 2 and 3 are exact copies of the Contax (II or III), and appear to be as reliable, or can be adjusted to be as reliable. Comparing the price of a Contax and a Kiev 3, I'm inclined towards the Kiev 3.

How much of a disadvantage are the Kiev 4’s design changes? The feeling seems to be that once set up and operated correctly, the Kiev 4 is only at a small disadvantage.

As far the Nikon being noticeably more reliable, well, Nikons seem to be known for reliability, so I’m not surprised.
 
How much of a disadvantage are the Kiev 4’s design changes? The feeling seems to be that once set up and operated correctly, the Kiev 4 is only at a small disadvantage.
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Kiev 4's were in production for a very long time. From mid '60s to mid '80s. During this period there have been some changes to simplify and cheapen the production. If yours is a Kiev 4 type 1 (metal selt-timer lever, leather covering) then it is probably still high quality finish. If it's the later type 2 it might be slightly more rough. Kiev 4[a]m's are said to be the the roughest, although I don't own one.

IMO an early Kiev 4 (i.e. type1) is the ultimate Kiev version. It's still precisely manufactured, but has the sleeker lines of the post-war Contax IIa/IIIa.
 
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