Kiev 4

[Mos6502]

I found one from a U.S. seller looked pretty good aside from the cheesy fake leather. Unfortunately it broke literally minutes after I took it out of the box.


The small problem which was immediately apparent was that the RF focus wheel didn't do anything. So I had to take the front off of the camera and tighten the screw in the center of the gear.


The second problem was the shutter. It worked fine at first, but then it started "crashing" the curtains would run into each other and bunch up really badly. Even after adjusting the spring clips and shutter stops it will do this if I change the shutter speed after winding. If I change the shutter speed before winding - no problems at all. Can't wait to put some film in it, but it has me suspicious of its dependability already.


If I like using it I might look for one of the older, better built versions.

[Attila]

they are very advanced cameras, require maintenance per a decade at least , even older one can be broken after a few roll or promptly , berst buy a refurbished camera that is takes long, may overlap if everything else works. I sent to Bill a film tested very good one, it did work properly in my hands and made overlap to Bill damn it:( I have 10+ from these cameras dead on arrival was 40% , before anybody start to prize Leica , Leica item had even more worst stat what I bought.

[Schnauzer]

I sure hope it works out for you. If you have a good one they take very nice pictures. Put up some pictures after you try it. I'd love to see some shots from it.

I must have been lucky. The two I have work great. I have a 1954 Kiev III and a 1957 Kiev IIa that is in for a CLA right now and a 1956 Kiev IIIa that should be here any day now. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!! While I was typing this out the mail lady came with a package from the Ukraine. The Kiev IIIa that came just now looks really nice and seems to work great, only film will tell. The Fed 5C that was in the same box looks like new. The lense for the Fed 5C should be here anytime now also. It was shipped the next day after these two. I'm all excited now to go play. Pity its a really dark day and half raining out. Well maybe tomorrow.

[Attila]

great look forward your success! I love them too.

[Mos6502]

I don't think mine was used much. The story I got from the seller was that a U.S. diplomat bought it while visiting Russia. It came to me in its ever ready case and with a lens cap. I think it may have been put on a shelf as a display piece when the focus stopped working, and may just need some exercise as the interior was as clean as one could possibly hope for in a camera this old.

[Attila]

Yes , exercise it carefully with a few drop light fuel, minimal amount really, sometimes helps.

[Mos6502]

I'll be taking it out today with a roll of Agfa Precisa.

[Schnauzer]

[Mos6502]

I had to make two more "repairs" - as soon as I loaded film. The rewind knob was so stiff if was going to tear the sprockets out of the film as I advanced so I had to take that apart, clean, oil and exercise it until it smoothed out some. Why any camera with a pressure plate is designed to put a huge amount of tension on the film itself is beyond me. But to do this revealed a second issue - I couldn't remove the film canister because the the spring clip that holds it in wouldn't let it go. I had to slide a piece of card in between the two to get them to part, and I've since just removed the spring so I won't have that issue again.

What is surprising about the Kiev is that even with the goal of simplifying production they kept a lot of the "excess ingenuity" of the Contax, this is in stark contrast compared to say the Zorkis, Feds, or even Exaktas.

[Mos6502]

More Kiev wisdom: don't get a 4 with a meter - the rewind knob is too small. It makes rewinding the film a major chore and nobody could keep their sanity if they had to shoot more than one roll a month with this thing. The rewind knob on the unmetered cameras looks a lot more practical. (there is also a lot of resistance when rewinding but I'm not sure this is normal.)