More Kievs ...

[dee]

Sorry , I have just aquired two more Kievs from a UK source ...
£ 66 total with postage .

Both were marked as Kiev 4 in '' tired / dirty '' condition .
One is a 1957 Kiev 4 , which has the plain meter cover , like a Contax IIIa ,
[ no ridges ]
The other is a 1956 Kiev 3a with just A56 .... number .

This will be the donor for my ENIGMA IV , [ with plain meter cover from my
jammed 58 Kiev 4

I also have another A56.... Kiev 3a as donor for it's twin ENIGMA III .

Somewhere , there IS method in my madness , it's just dee-ficult to find !

Don't worry - it should all be over in a few months - ENIGMAS home and funds totally dee'pleted !

 

[john341]

Gasp!

Gasp!

You have many Kievs and I am intrigued-will you repair them yourself or ? I await your news and final product(s). I have a Kiev IIIa with a functioning meter (hard to believe) and I love it; 1954 model. Good Luck !

 

[dee]

I wish I could fix them ! Most I buy working , but the ' 57 ' 58 Kiev 4s are both projects ,
but with the rare meter cover without ridges .
Mike Haley in Ukraine is making my last dream Kievs , so some will be donors .
With my Contax III coming from a restoration in the Kiev Arsensal factory , that will be final ! Some Kievs will then be sold off in UK .
dee

 

[oftheherd]

I've been thinking of getting a couple more Kievs. I don't need them, but I am starting to like them. Silly question: How do you like the Kievs versus the Contax III and the Fed and Zorkis?

 

[dee]

Hi
The Contax III is winging it's way from the Ukraine , having been repaired and CLA by the Arsenal techs , all of whom are in their 50s and know the cameras inside out .
i love my Zorki 1 and S , but the moment I picked up My First Kiev - a K 4m from Oleg CLA with new meter cell / Helios , I was hooked ! It's not even the nicely made and finished Kiev -like a 1951 Kiev II or '54 Kiev III .
I think that it is actually the size and weight , 'cos I am used to a Minolta SRT , the Contax III has a collapsible Sonnar , which would make it , and my Kiev IIs and IVa's more compact .
Well serviced , they seem smoother than the Zorkis somehow , and the early ones are certainly better finished .

 

[dee]

There is something else about the Contax III and Kiev III specifically - the Art Deco styling and the then , innovation of a build in [ well built on ] exposure meter .
I have a new cell in the Contax III - and my metalic paint Enigma III [ no name ]
will have a new cell too ! 1930s to 1959s BLISS .