Well I broke Down...

[chodgson45]

...and Bought a Kiev II from Fedka 😀

I'll post pictures when she gets here, along with the Moskva 2 I bought from Yuri. I think collectively my bill was around $500. When I have the money I'll go back and get the turret finder, and an 85mm lens.

I'll update when i have the cameras!

It's like waiting for Santa!!!

 

[KoNickon]

I'm sure you know that these cameras may be had for a lot less than that. But on the other hand, you are getting fully working versions of these cameras, which can be a challenge. Which lens are you getting with the Kiev -- Jupiter 8?

Don't overlook the Jupiter 12 35/2.8.

 

[chodgson45]

I am aware you can find these cameras for less, but my bill also included filters, cable releases, tripod adapters and other goodies I wanted.

I made the purchase from Fedka because From my few months of research he was very, very, liked among the community and had an excellent reputation for providing communication with buyers AND selling a product that was in working order.

I wasn't in the mood to play Russian Roulette with my money.

Yes, it came with the J-8 50/2.

I wouldn't consider overlooking the J-12. It's on the list 😉

 

[xayraa33]

A good specimen of a Kiev II is as good as any good Contax II.

 

[sparrow6224]

Not that the Contax viewfindewr/rangefinder do that much for me, but are the Kiev vf/rf's equal to Contax"s?

 

[xayraa33]

Not that the Contax viewfindewr/rangefinder do that much for me, but are the Kiev vf/rf's equal to Contax"s?

yes, equal to the Contax II

 

[Coldkennels]

Good decision. I'm a screwmount guy myself, but I got a fully working Kiev 4AM outfit for very cheap at the end of last year, and it's a lovely camera to use. The Jupiter 8 was a good move, too; while the Helios 103 seems to be a marginally sharper lens, the J8 is much more low profile and has a really nice feel to it.

Can I make a recommendation? See if you can track down a Jupiter 11 for cheap. It's a fantastic and often overlooked lens, especially on the Kiev, where it focuses down to 1.5m and can benefit from the Kiev's long baselength. I got mine for £17, and while I may not use it often, it's worth every single penny.

 

[chodgson45]

I got them today (ordered on Wednesday, thought it would take longer but they came today!!!)

Untitled by Corey.W.Hodgson, on Flickr

Can't wait to play!!

 

[chodgson45]

Only question is this: How do I load the Kiev II? The Take-Up spool is not one from a Kiev IV. It has a small metal flap that is pinned on both ends, allowing not enough room to slide a modern 35mm leader into it

EDIT: Scratch that, I modified my film leader to be skinny in the dead middle to work right

 

[David Hughes]

FWIW, I've a Contax or Kiev or two and I've always felt that the take-up spool was lost and replaced by the plastic one from the middle of a cassette. I've spoken to others, owners and repair technicians and it seems normal. (The Contax one even has "Contax" marked on it.) But the Kiev manual does show a normal looking spool in the section on loading.

As an edit: a pity the Leica style in metal wasn't copied. I've tried spools from other cameras, even EXakta but no great success. A bit of sticky tape is a quicker way of fixing the film...

Can anyone enlighten us?

Regards, David

 

[fanshaw]

The original Kiev spool is made of metal and has two slots side by side, into which you can tuck the leader. You can use a spool from a film cassette without modification. It is not ideal because the top flange is too narrow so it is a little tricky to load because it wobbles about and you have to attach the film leader with tape. Once loaded it works very well. Someone has published a method of modifying the cassette spool to make it a better fit.

 

[Dez]

I got them today (ordered on Wednesday, thought it would take longer but they came today!!!)

Untitled by Corey.W.Hodgson, on Flickr

Can't wait to play!!

That's a really nice looking Kiev 2. In my humble but often expressed opinion, the earlier Kievs are by far the best made of the FSU cameras, the equal of the prewar Contaxes, but with better chrome!

What year is it? I can't quite make out the serial number on the lens.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[chodgson45]

That's a really nice looking Kiev 2. In my humble but often expressed opinion, the earlier Kievs are by far the best made of the FSU cameras, the equal of the prewar Contaxes, but with better chrome!

What year is it? I can't quite make out the serial number on the lens.

Cheers,
Dez

Body is Serial 510311 and the Lens is 5008346

So '51 and '50 respectfully?

Thanks! Yes, that's why I got the early Kiev. Its a "real" copy of the COntax II and doesn't suffer from much of the Soviet Manufacturing errors.

 

[Penny Lane]

The original Kiev spool is made of metal and has two slots side by side, into which you can tuck the leader. You can use a spool from a film cassette without modification. It is not ideal because the top flange is too narrow so it is a little tricky to load because it wobbles about and you have to attach the film leader with tape. Once loaded it works very well. Someone has published a method of modifying the cassette spool to make it a better fit.

I've stuck a cartridge end to the bottom flange of the spool with superglue. Problem solved, no more (excessive) wobbling. Though I'd still want a Kiev or Contax take-up cartridge!

Derk

 

[robbiechad]

I modified my take up spool with the ends of a film cassette useing instructions from the Kiev Survival site I think it was, seems to work OK, stops the film spool falling out when you remove the back to load a film.

 

[chodgson45]

Luckily a gentleman stopped by and dropped off 42 rolls of film to be processed last night (We are stopping c41 processing at my store) and I took home about 20 empty canisters to which I will be using the spools.

I intend to play with designs 😀