My new Kiev4a

P

paul in AZ

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This started because of a COVID cabin fever itch to go back to a rangefinder, having used MF [Rolleis, Yashicamats] after I sold my Leica M3 some years ago.

Initially the attraction was Nikon S2. Poking around some more led me to FSU Kievs. Rather than the crap shoot of the auction site I looked for a dealer and wound up @ okvintagecamera.com way out in far eastern Russia.
Oleg had several listed, responded to emails promptly and after ~3 weeks in the mails I now have a really nice copy w/Helios 103 that has been serviced.

Everything seems to work very smoothly.
As a bonus a friend sent me a near mint Jupiter 8/50. Free! He said they are so cheap they aren't worth the trouble of selling. I somehow doubt that.

Certainly cheap enough -really dirt cheap- even after the Russian post office added some 40% postage to the initial cost.
Now to pop some film and give it some exercise.

I've enjoyed browsing the threads here and look forward to reading more.
 
Sounds like you made a good choice. Both lenses you mention can yield fine results. Be sure to post some images of the camera and what you capture using it :D
 
The Helios is a soviet Summicron! The Jupiter a Sonnar. If your camera works ok your pictures will be wonderful with those lenses.
 
The "Contax grip" style doesn't suit everyone but I think it's worth the trouble. The Jupiter 8 gives a very pleasing look and the Helios 103 is superb and very sharp, in my experience. I bought my Helios quite cheaply, brand new and I was very surprised at the images from it.
 
Well, starting to get used to it.

So far the only glitch is that the shutter selection knob won't engage at 1/250th and 1/500th. Still part way through the roll so no idea of how well it does everything else.

Tried posting photos using drag and drop. [I use a Mac desktop and Safari] All that shows is an alphanumericsstring.jpg with no image.

I wasted a long time reading the multiple complicated solutions on the forum's home page. I'm not a coder and don't understand most of it. Seems like too much screwing around to export images somewhere and import them back while playing with code I've never heard of.

What happened to the nice simple drag and drop?
 
What year is your camera? Or maybe I should ask, what are the first two numbers of the serial number? I have found that the older Kievs, which still are very similar looking to the Contaxes (i.e. knob rewind, smaller shutter wind/speed selection knob) can be difficult to get the shutter speed right, at least on the first try. (I find this with my Contaxes also.) The later Kievs may by reputation not look or work as well, but I do think the Arsenal folks got it right with the bigger shutter speed knob -- easier to wind on, and speed selection is more positive. Fingers crossed there are no light leaks -- a frequent issue with the later Kievs.
 
Oleg serviced a 1950 KIEV II (the matching lens is a 1949 Zorki ZK 50/2) for me about two years ago. Excellent service. Before that I was using a 60s KIEV 4A, which was a good sample as well.
 
In addition to the 1/500th and 1/250th shutter setting not locking down I had trouble with film advance.
Advancing film had been smooth until today. The knob met resistance. Not sure what to do I forced it a bit more and the film suddenly advanced with a lurch. From then any film advance didn’t show the rewind spool moving. My guesses were that the film had torn or that it had jumped the sprockets.

So I rewound. I was on around frame 25. Rewound and rewound for what seemed an eternity and then opened the back to find that a good foot of film had still not rewound. Clearly didn’t rewind long enough.

I will get this processed to see if there is anything to salvage.

This is starting to look like a messy situation.
Not worth the time or money to send it back to Russia, the Kiev could be a shelf queen.
 
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Ah geez. Sorry to hear that. Suggest you try working it some now that you have the film out -- both without film and with a sacrificial roll, just to see what's going on and whether this was a fluke or not.

Oleg may agree to take it back and refund you -- or send you another.
 
I sent Oleg an email. With the time difference I don't expect to hear from him until Monday.

Shipping cost [+/- $33] and the two or three weeks for each trip there and back makes that answer untenable. That would make more money spent on postage than on the camera.

And I would be left with a camera that I could never trust.
 
I have a Kiev IV from 1959. Does anybody know if there are eyepiece correction lenses available for this camera? Inside the eyepiece there is a screwthread for a correction lens.


My Kiev works like a charm!


Erik.
 
Paul, I believe it is recommended on older Kiev cameras that you first advance the film and then set the shutter speed after advancing. Have you operated the camera this way?

Larry
 
Larry H-L said:
Paul, I believe it is recommended on older Kiev cameras that you first advance the film and then set the shutter speed after advancing. Have you operated the camera this way?

Larry
Click to expand...

Not only recommended, but this is the way they are intended to be operated. If you do the opposite you will likely mess up a couple of shots. This is the Contax ii/iii design. Maybe Kiev 4AM and 5 and above was changed, I am not sure, but all Kievs up to 4a models need to be operated this way.
 
markjwyatt said:
Not only recommended, but this is the way they are intended to be operated. If you do the opposite you will likely mess up a couple of shots. This is the Contax ii/iii design. Maybe Kiev 4AM and 5 and above was changed, I am not sure, but all Kievs up to 4a models need to be operated this way.
Click to expand...


Hi,


My Kiev 4/4A instruction manual (large; in English and on page one) says that the "speeds can be set before or after the shutter" is wound on.

FWIW, it says the same in the Contax manual of the 1930's but adds the word "fully" and the wording is different.

I'd scan it/them but the staples are rusty and both are fragile.

I suspect that the first manual for the Kiev 4/4a was amended slightly from the 2/2a version.

I have also looked in a more modern manual (smaller & 1970's) and they suggest turning the shutter speed dial slightly beyond the speed needed and then moving it back before lowering. This is for when going from a set slower speed to a higher one.


Regards, David


Note: the "large" manual is a little under 9 x 6 inches and the smaller a little over 4 by 5½ inches.
 
Contact with Oleg:

Hi Paul,
Let’s try to apply some more force for selecting 250 and 500.
Try to set it, and turn head left-right easy and push it down.
There is a simple slot in metal for every speeds. No ways to impossible select speed, it should set into place.
Please try agains, and let me know!
Oleg

It didn't take a lot of pressure. Now 1/250 and 1/500 work. Fully functional but I question how much I will use it.

Dealing with Oleg to get a serviced camera sure beats the crapshoot of buying 'as is' from the auction site.
 
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