Soviet Camera Store 9/10 Kiev 4AM

[ruben]

By this post I will be starting to qualify sellers each time I get a new item. The title starts with the seller's bussiness name and the qualification (max 10 points) in order to allow easy and quick tracking of sellers through the SEARCH engine. Provided other RFF members follow suit, we'll have a powerful instrument of reference before we buy, without formally obliging Jorge or making RFF vulnerable to retaliation. :bang:
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Newly arrived Kiev 4AM 1984
Got it 3 days ago, advertized as EXC++ including CLA, usd 70 + shipment 15.
The first thing I went to check as I unpackagged was the shutter smoothness/hardness: EXTREME SURPRISE ! the softest Kiev I ever bought !!!

This aroused my curiosity wether it was due to CLA or not, so I had to wait until I had time to dis-assemble the body. Which I did today. My other best soft shutter is a Kiev 2a, purchased from Fedka, in which case CLA was clearly performed.

Opening the body, following my understanding of the Kiev Survival Site, involves the opportunity to glue the screws of the rangefinder window (next to the shutter knob) in case distance metering is accurate. (For more info go there)

So before I dis-assembled the body I carefully metered to infinite and to an object located at 0.9m. Rangefinder perfect !. Therefore I glued (Unlike the KSS recommendation I glued rather massively with cheapo rubber gum glue).

Finnally when I uncovered the shutter gears (for more info go to the KSS) I clearly saw no Lubrication performed by the seller. So I proceeded to lubricate each gear with GREASE NOT OIL. After this camera shutter improved furthermore, not in the total amount of force required to wind, but in a more pleasing smoothness and sound. Shutter curtains and ribbons were OILED (the hell with public opinion - it works for me, and me is my first client).

PROBLEM WITH THE REWIND KNOB: as I got the camera I noticed the re-wind knob was quite stiff. A stiff re-wind knob means further hardness when winding film, since winding knob has to overcome counter pressure sent by the stiff re-winding knob.

When dis-assembling the camera I noticed seller put fresh oil in the axis of the stiff knob, but it didn't help to obtain a totally smooth one. My solution was to unscrew a considerable amount the fork screw. According to my evaluation, in the short term the somewhat unscrewed fork will not fall. In the long term it may, thus I can understand seller's attitude.

In fact this 1984 Kiev, is absolutely MINT, never-ever used and cosmetically perfect. Seller's advertizing as Exc++, taking into account the stiff re-wind knob, was an heroic act of honesty, rarely found. I do agree too with seller's attitude of not dis-assembling camera for lubing, since with such outstanding camera better not to fiddle with.

Therefore out of 10 possible points I qualify this transaction as 9.

Cheers,
Ruben

PS: The Soviet Camera Store is shining furthermore these months, in contrast to ALL FSU eBay sellers, for keeping a very low shipping fare. Great products at low price.

 

[Socke]

Nice to hear this.

Now, can we have a camera and coffee, or reasonable substitute, picture?

 

[ruben]

Oiled the shutter and ribbons!

Alex-photo sells new ribbon material, put it on your watch list.

My good friend greyhoundman,

I think you may agree that oiling the curtains and ribbons may have (at least theroretically for you) some advantages: smoother friction, lower noise. If I am to understand your remark in the best possible way, you warn against the dangers of such a proceeding.

If I compare the advantage against the danger I stand still upon what I have done, for the following deep reason:

With the creation of the Kiev Survival Site, a potentially wide horizon is open for the million or so Kievs around the world, to become much more fine machines than they actually are. The basis, as they already are, is quite promising:

A very cheaply sold camera offering the most accurate rangefinder ever, besides their pre war Contax fathers, with an extraordinarily good yellow patch, plus quite a low shutter noise. And outstanding optics, extremely cheap at the same time, exception due to the Jupiter-9, whose price seem to climb over towards its Zeiss uncle.

Last week I asked a local buddy to bring his Leica M2 to my home, and I have to tell that although that Leica was more silent, still it was not as silent as some Olympus Rfs around. The Kievs, definitely more louder than that Leica, are still in the same low noise league.

Because the Kievs having been assembled at lesser high qualified assembly lines than those of Zeiss in Germany (and who worldwide has matched such a giant?), and with lesser quality similar parts, they have a rather stiff shutter operation.

If we manage to overcome this, then the sky is the limit. To overcome this I have found no better way than breaking with traditional proceedings un-answering the problem, and following the path of trial and error. We will never learn anything new by doing the same we have done so far.

Two months ago I oiled one of my Kievs, waited a month, developed a film and results were quite satisfactory. No oil migration, no change at shutter speeds. Great smoothening improvement of the camera. Now I perform the same in a different way. Grease for the shutter gears, oil for the curtains and ribbons.

As you seem to be very found of Kievs, I kindly invite you to join the quest, instead of ridiculizing yourself at the side lines. Just a bit of curiosity, imagination and self non-comformism will moove you into the Kiev required need.

Greetings,
Ruben