Contax III + Kiev 4 = why ?

[dee]

A scrap Contax III - donor for another - is being recreated as a Contax IV , with early 1958 Kiev 4 with non ridged meter cover , top plate , controls etc .
This is when the engraving on the K 4 was still delicate , and quality still acceptable .
But why ? A Kiev 4 works fine , though my donor K4 is broken , I have a tired 1957 which I could restore .

I think it's having a representation of the pre war Contax line similar to the Contax IIIa post war , a kind of missing link .
It also creates a ' set ' of Contax Profiles which helps my Autism - I can cope with variations on a theme , but not drastic changes such as the new body .

It may also ' correct ' the flaws built in to the revised Kiev 4 - new back and ex shutter so flatness of the film could theoretically , be a problem ... not that I have ever noticed !
But I guess it's being able to use an older square case and that foot is just so vintage !

Many will say that the meter is inaccurate , but having used a Leningrad 4 for a long time , I am able to compensate quite easily . It's good to have check without carrying a meter all the time . I also like the syle of the compact meter.

Of course , at first glance , it will look just like any K 4 with fake fascia , I never aspired to a Contax badged Kiev 4 or 4a , but I did want a Contax IV !

Neither was a KNeB IV ever made [ only dual script versions ] , so another pair of broken Kiev IIIa and early 4 are being combined as a set for my KNeB II and KNeB III .

[scsambrook]

Seems you're growing your own family of Contaxievs, or Kievaxes ... or KNebaxes

I have a Lenigrad 4 meter which is okay, but it reads over a w-i-d-e area, so I have to watch out for the "sky effect". My Kiev meter reads fairly accurately but the needle "skids" unless I'm very gentle turning the knob. Nor is it particularly sensitive, but I guess that's wholly in character with the originals.