New member with questions.

[Luxlover]

Hi all, glad to be here. I live in south Jersey near Philadelphia, PA.
My dad had an excellent Nikon S2 with 50 1.4, 50 f2, 105 f2.5. I used it for many years when he switched over to the then new Nikon F.
These are now long gone and for many years I have been using a Canon EF with an assortment of Prime FD lens'.

I want to get back into rangefinders but have a very limited budget.

I am considering a Kiev-4AM with a new Helios 103 or a Zorki 6 with a Jupiter 8 to get me started again. I was thinking of getting them from Zedka.

I could use any and all advice.

Thanks,

Luxlover

 

[Livesteamer]

They can be good but there are also a lot of less than good ones out there. I would reccomend buying from Fedka, you will get a good product. The Zorki 6 is nice but the finder is a little small. Kievs are also nice if you don't mind the focusing wheel. I like my Zorki 4 and Fed 2 but would like to get a Zorki 3. Good Luck and let us know what you decide. Joe

 

[Peter_Jones]

Unless you're into messing with cameras, you'd be better buying either from a reputable source (Fedka among others), or one from the classifieds here that has been used and is known to be good.
If you just happen to spot one when out and about, make sure it winds reasonably smoothly, shutter speeds seem appropriate, and check that the RF patch is visible and seems to match distance indicated on the lens. Whip off the lens and watch the shutter curtains at slow shutter speeds, they should open/close reasonably "snappy". Don't worry about the smell - they all smell like that 🙂 It'll probably need a CLA sooner rather than later, so don't pay over the odds.
Finally, get into the habit of not setting the shutter speed until the shutter is cocked - it can upset the shutter timing at best or possibly jam/strain something at worst.
I'm particularly fond of Kievs, but more lenses are available for L39 (Fed, Zorki etc)

 

[payasam]

It's my guess that Yuri will be glad to advise you: mail AT fedka DOT com.