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Post by physiognomy on Dec 1, 2005 21:31:15 GMT -5
Definitely a Kiev! I carry mine pretty much everywhere... I have been using it with a Helios-103, but recently picked up a J-12... Looking forward to seeing some results when I get the film back. Ron, an english manual for the Kiev 4 & 4a can be found here: www.butkus.org/chinon/kiev-4/kieva-a.htmPeter
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Post by Rachel on Dec 11, 2005 4:39:15 GMT -5
Peter, the Kiev range looks very attractive. I prefer the non-metered version and have been tempted but I don't know. It would mean starting to collect a whole new range of lenses ................
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mickeyobe
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Posts: 7,280
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Post by mickeyobe on Dec 11, 2005 11:21:30 GMT -5
A Zenit 12 XP. Perhaps because it is the only Russian camera I own. I have never used it. I find it rather heavy and clunky. It has a limited range of shutter speeds. The back is a little flimsy. But my major objection is the viewfinder which is impossible with glasses and provides little room for head movement when not wearing glasses. But worst of all is the bright, inverted image below the normal viewfinder image. That is really annoying. I know nothing about Russian cameras and this is probably the low end of the scale. However, I do get the impression that is will, despite the back, withstand a lot of abuse.
Mickey
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Dec 11, 2005 11:37:15 GMT -5
Hi Rachel,
Getting a Kiev 35mm camera seems to be a bit like playing Russian Roulette - one good shot in six.
I've got three, plus one in pieces with several faults because of slap-dash assembly due, I suppose, to high quota targets. The second one works after a fashion and takes good pictures, but the wind-on feels rough. When I've got the one in pieces re-assembled I may, if I can find time, strip it and rebuild it. Both of these were originally bought from Russia on ebay, though I bought them later in this country.
Of the other two, both were imported by the old T&OE in London who checked every camera before it went out to the dealer. One has a meter which doesn't work but apart from that it seems fine. In any case I think the meter spoils the classic lines even though Zeiss Ikon put it on the Contax III.
The fourth one is really good. I bought it new from T&OE, and one of the Russian technicians there stripped and rebuilt it for me when I complained that the general action seemed a bit agricultural. That company used to give really good service. Now, even years later, it operates almost as smoothly as my Contax II that it's based on, and I've had some lovely pictures from the Jupiter lens. I use it in preference to my Contax because if it should get damaged it's not such a loss.
I think in general you stand a better chance of getting a good one if it was imported by T&OE.
Kievs are quite heavy, and the viewfinder is tiny, like nearly all pre-war cameras, but I like using mine. I've got only the standard lens, though. One of the drawbacks of getting other lenses, apart from the cost, is that you have to get a supplementary viewfinder to fit in the shoe on the top - just like a Contax in fact.
Peter
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Post by Rachel on Dec 11, 2005 15:29:41 GMT -5
Kievs are quite heavy, and the viewfinder is tiny, like nearly all pre-war cameras, but I like using mine. Hi Peter. I have a Zorki with a tiny eyepiece so, like with my early Leica and Canon, I almost always use an auxiliary finder. I have a small collection of finders so I can find one to match most lenses.
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Post by unclebill on Dec 13, 2005 22:42:47 GMT -5
My favorite and to date only Russian/Ukrainian Rangefinder would be my Kiev III with Jupiter 8. I am also a fan of the Jupiter 12 lens as well.
Bill
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Post by vintageslrs on Dec 13, 2005 23:22:08 GMT -5
My favorite and only to date is a Zenit 11.
Bob
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Post by sinedyar on Dec 30, 2005 15:10:24 GMT -5
None. Never had one, nor a desire for one. :-)
Denis
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Post by kamera on Dec 30, 2005 15:34:53 GMT -5
I only have two...a Kiev 4m RF and a Zenit b SLR. The Kiev I only used once and the Zenit I just recently received and have not used yet.
Probably they will be more display and conversation pieces than users.
Ron Head Kalamazoo, MI
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Post by byuphoto on Jan 1, 2006 17:27:17 GMT -5
I just picked up a Moskva-5 on that insidious online auction site...and if it's as good as it looks, and as good as everything I have read about them, it may give my Mamiya-6 a run for the money! I have one and absolutly love it even with the funny ergonomics. The photos are awesome. I sold my Bessa R when I bought the Leica M4-2 and have been thinking of getting a Zorki 4k so I could use the FSU lenses and other LRM's
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Post by John Parry on Jan 1, 2006 18:04:57 GMT -5
Rick,
The photo is certainly very impressive. I tended to regard the Russian cameras as somewhat poor relations - they are all copies of other manufacturer's models, but I've been informed that many of them are very good copies indeed. You can get some very good bargains at low outlay. And I recently read somewhere that the Jupiter lenses actually used Carl Zeiss Jena glass - and you can't get better than that!
Regards - John
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Post by byuphoto on Jan 2, 2006 7:05:01 GMT -5
The Moskva 5 is actually not a copy. They added the rather innovative rangefinder and the shutter release is on the left. It is a big departure from the Moskva 4
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Post by kiev4a on Jan 2, 2006 11:15:17 GMT -5
My favorite and only to date is a Zenit 11. Bob I have a Zenit 11. It has one of the best focusing screens of any M42 SLR--much superior to the Pentax and the old Mamiyas.
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Post by heath on Jan 5, 2006 6:05:43 GMT -5
I recently recieved another Russian.
It is a Kiev 3A with Jupiter-8. I have not finished the first roll through it, so I don't know ow accurate the meter is, but it seems accurate in my preliminary tests. Time will tell.
Heath
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Post by herron on Jan 5, 2006 11:24:00 GMT -5
I have a Zenit 11. It has one of the best focusing screens of any M42 SLR--much superior to the Pentax and the old Mamiyas. Oh, Wayne, now you've done it! Now I'm going to have to get one, just to compare it to my beloved Mamiyas!
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