Controversial Contax IV/Kiev IV still awaited .

dee · Joined: 09 Nov 2009 Posts: 55 Location: london south

An unusual Contax / Kiev story .

An autistic glitch is rigid . Rarely , hands and eyes combine to make something ' real ' .
Neither can I delete old inappropriate files and create new , so in a very ' real ' sense it's like bewildering that it's not still 1957 when I was 10 .

Something is either RIGHT or WRONG , binary . I tend to see shapes and profiles to recognise an object , whereas most categorise things by the abstract concept of useage / function . Of course , I have learned both to do this and apply it , but it does not stop leica II being RIGHT and the seemingly similar , but ' not 'same ' Leica IIIc being disturbing ... ' what is it ? '' still shadowiing intelligence .
Somewhat amusingly , a Fed Leica copy camera is RIGHT LOL
I also love consistency and continuity .

I kinda see in snapshots , like a shutter going off , whereas people tend to join it all together to make a film .

Cameras have always been a fascination making magic pictures on the wall [ slides ] and the lenses reflecting and sparkling mysteriously .A camera has been and is something to hide behind and avoid joining in , also , it enables me to focus on one point , the finder cutting out the periphery which threatens to overwhelm me .

That 1971 SLR with it's 50mm lens taught me to see in 50mm , to ignore the periphery . I see details others overide , but looking at a ' car ' I my mind sees ' car ' from all directions , as if ' stored ' pictures are as ' now ' as current pictures . A bit like that idea of pasting hundreds of pics of that car on the wall and the resultant fragmentation . Only holding / seeing an accurate model of ' car ' in my hand creates any sense of the entirety of ' car '.

I coped with an SLR and 45/50/55 mm lens , but I begin to be discomforted by a vague distortion with wide angles from 35mm .
The age of the 35-80 zoom made things more odd , in retrospect , it's 'cos both focus and zooming isn't constant , what I am seeing isn't consistent .

But I never got into rangefinders until , in 2006 , I played with a Leica II / Zorki I , and it was so familiar . Other similar experiences have led me to the conclusion that child me played with one at some time , and it became real . Recycling 50s Dinky Toys on e-bay gathered silly , secret money to indulge in new comfort toys .

What I love about a rangfinder is that the image remains constant , no changes from auto-focus , aperture , etc , which helps enormously .

Nothing. however , could compare me for the impact of a pair of Kiev 4 and 4m from wizard Oleg with new meter cells .
This was THE CAMERA to me .
I love the selenium meter , handling is second nature .
I have no idea when and how , I encountered a Contax , I guess it would not have been a Kiev in UK in the 50s . But I certainly hang out at TOE the USSR importers in the 60s, and now have a mint boxed 1979 TOE Kiev 4 [ of course ! ]

But there is a problem - I have dyslexia with Cyrillic script [ and Wales ! ] and the Contax II / III body shape is ' real ' and the modified Kiev is disturbing .

A strange effect is that I can cope with minor differences around the same basic profile - variants of THE RT BUS / SCHOOL BUS etc - so Contax II and III are OK . I love ' sets ' of these derivative , safe , ' toys '.

KNeB block script on my 1951 and 1952 KNeB IIs and 1954 KneB III seems OK , as does Contax .
But the Kiev 4 profile , maybe reminiscent o an SLR with it's compact meter ' pentaprism ' is by ar the most RIGHT

However , a clasic Contax seemed out of my reach until I found around 2010 , that scrap Contax cameras were no more than a Kiev .

I had sourced an agent in Kiev who could ask ex-Arsenal techs who had bult Kievs to restore Kievs . Contax was new to them but they created a superb Kontax from a £40 box of Contax parts and a ' new/old stock ' Kiev IIa shutter . They saved the rear leather with it's Zeiss logo , with new almost matching front leather .I was amazed that they had saved all of the controls .

I love this camera 'cos I have identity issues and love the continuity from 1935 to 1955 to 2010 . Also , that this camera , made from parts from two Contax II/II and Kiev II is new for me , especially with a Jupiter 3 , 1959 glass in 1935 Contax mount gifted to me by Brian Sweeney lens guru .

They also restored a Contax III , in the event I had to buy a second wreck to fix the meter . I am told that the guys loved the challenge .

I then decided to have them create two ' sets ' of Contax II/III/IV and KNeB II/III/IV using the dead Contax III body , a rough Kiev IIIa with rare and early Kiev 4 top plates without ridges to the meter cover , just like the post war Contax , with new meter cells . A spare KNeB facsia plate completed the KNeB trio .

These 1957/8 Kiev 4s were better finished than the later versions 'cos the engineers wanted to impress their Soviet masters who had insisted on updating , simplifying the camera . Indeed , if history did repeat itself , the new models would have been gifted to Party faithful .
Unfortnately , the new back copied from the later Contax married to the old body created some potential film flaltness.
Luckily few know of the signiicance of these early Kievs so I was able to source 3x non-working , pretty rough examples two of which ,which I am told , have polished up beautifully to enhance their new identities .

The hybrid old body / new K 4 top plate is not unheard of in that it is known that Arsenal Techs moonlighted with ' borrowed ' parts and locals with a considerable investment in a camera would either update to Kiev 4 if the K III meter died , or even , heaven forbid to Western sensibilities , add a meter to a Kiev IIa ! Maybe some just wanted to upgrade to the modern style witout the considerabe expense , and waiting time , for a new Kiev which would be issued by rota .

Unfortunately , personal difficulties and emergency health needs in Ukraine mean't that these cameras , though fully paid for , were never returned .
However , I have now been assured that I will receive them shortly . I know that they are finished 'cos I have seen pics of them .

These were my last ever pay pal purchases - with retirement this year , no more ' toys ' , but even having around me is reassuring , so I hope to have my two ' sets ' gathehered in .

Thanks

dee

scsambrook · Expire: 2011-11-18

I hope you will eventually get the cameras . . .

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18