Growing Kiev Knowledge and other FSU's And Its Meaning

R

ruben

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It all started with the internet of course. Some personal sites with some of the authors associating and/or participating in the nowadays defunct or almost defunct Soviet Camera User forum of Best stuff.

From that forum The Kiev Survival Site appeared, making a fundamental change in our knowledge.

Due to the net too, we became aware of Maizenberg book and several years ago the migration from Best stuff to RFF started. From the defunct forum and from other places too, several highly knowledgeable people appeared at the FSU subforum of RFF.

Now at RFF we see several new youngers, kids, highly dexterous in the Kiev stuff. Mike Haley is now translating the Kiev factory repair manual alongside other FSU cameras.

Where is it all going? Upon starting reading Maizenberg, I become more and more convinced that much of our complaints about FSU stuff is based on plain ignorancy. Not everything, but much of it.

The unfolding evolution of our knowledge cannot but bring a huge leap forwards for us in using our cameras properly and being able first of all not to jam them and then to fix and CLA much of its problems due to their aging. Our cameras are going to be much more accurate and effective, our use of them more dexterous.

FSU RF Renaissance ? YES ! and RFF is at the heart of it. Let's be proud of ourselves and feel deep optimism. We deserve it and it is going to happen.

Cheers,
Ruben


"Some Soviet gears began to demand high prices" ? Not really compared to what is comming. :)
 
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They are going to become more and more trendy, AND I START TO ENVISION THAT AN HELIAR 40/1.4 WILL BE MANUFACTURED IN KIEV/CONTAX MOUNT, SINCE IT WILL BE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TO USE IT WITH THE KIEV/CONTAX BODY VIEWFINDER, "AUTOMATICALLY" COVERING FOR A 40MM LENS PARALLAX.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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Ruben

CV are getting out of the contax/nikon mount supply, they only bothered because the Ja camera people pestered, you cant get the Nikon F to Nikon R adapter and the 35mm is on the last few new ones left.

Some they only made in prototype, i.e. 3 off...

A 40mm would need to be an external mount lens (with a heliciod like a J12), so it is not like bodging a 53mm internal mount. The 3 off was one of the wide CV 35mm...

Noel
 
Hello Ruben,

I feel that a Kiev is in fact easier to repair than those Leica or Leica copies. It is a very complex camera, but there is little that could go wrong except a broken ribbon or a failed light seal. Otherwise , it can last many decades if not centuries.:D

Cheers,

Zhang
 
Hi Zhang,
What you say is true, but only under two conditions. One is if you change the phrasing "there is little that could go wrong", into "there is little that can break".

The other condition is that we are speaking about the Kievs you yourself own.

From Russia in the East to the USA in the West, the best and most expensive Kievs you can buy to use, through the internet, from the most reputable dealers, are still far from taking advantage of the full potential smoothness and sometimes accuracy the camera can achieve. I have surpassed their level of smoothness by far at home, and now I am working in the technical issues, basic problems as frame spacing and many essential technicalieties needed to know. None of them, but Oleg, has started to deal with shutter springs tension.

Not to speak about eBay - the jungle itself. You can get lucky, but never get a fully CLAed Kiev from eBay.

Now I have to mention two exceptions in which my knowledge of the situation goes short. One is Oleg, which I only bought from him a Fed 2, (upon which I get the feeling of Oleg's unique capabilities), the other was mentioned by our member Paul - some shops he knows in East Europe...

I think some of the guilt is ours. We are part of the world customer conception that a Kiev should be paid for cheap. And if we get tired and are ready to spend more, then we find very few guys not in much need to compete with each other. Its true many ebay dealers deserve we throw their kievs on their head. But I would like to see how the situation developes once the how-to to make ourselves outstanding Kievs starts to spread. Let's put some fire on their backs.

Finally, what is the outstanding Kiev I am speaking about? besides technical reasonable accuracy, you must be able to rotate the winding knob with two fingers, camera at eye level hundreds of times without your fingers feeling it. And you should turn a J-12 through the small wheel not too far from the ease you turn a standard lens.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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Hi Ruben,

You are amazing! Sounds like you have got the smoothest Kiev on this planet.:bang: Did you dis-assemble the camera down to each screw? Do you have any idea how many parts a Kiev IIIa has? The small locking pin for the sprocket shaft on the upper end is very difficult to replace.;) I have never torn a Kiev into each single parts.

Yes, I meant a Kiev is very hard to break except a very few weak points. I am sorry for Zeiss Ikon that they had to offer this precision camera at about the same price as a Leica IIIF, and most people still preferred a 3F.:D

Congratulations!

Zhang
 
ruben said:
They are going to become more and more trendy, AND I START TO ENVISION THAT AN HELIAR 40/1.4 WILL BE MANUFACTURED IN KIEV/CONTAX MOUNT, SINCE IT WILL BE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TO USE IT WITH THE KIEV/CONTAX BODY VIEWFINDER, "AUTOMATICALLY" COVERING FOR A 40MM LENS PARALLAX.

Cheers,
Ruben
Click to expand...

i dont understand that with 40mm paralax. what do you mean by that?
 
nzeeman said:
i dont understand that with 40mm paralax. what do you mean by that?
Click to expand...

The field of vision of the viewfinder of the Kiev, is as you know for a standard lens. If you use a sligthly wider lens, then with the kiev viewfinder you will be viewing less than what will appear at the negative, if using a 40mm lens.

This difference, which on one hand will weight on the negative side of the balance, will also prevent us from not having in the negative whatever we see in the viewfinder.

Today, at close distances ranging from around 2 meters and less, what you see in the viewfinder is not what you get when using the standard lens. But using a 40mm, you will.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
zhang xk said:
Hi Ruben,

You are amazing! Sounds like you have got the smoothest Kiev on this planet.:bang: Did you dis-assemble the camera down to each screw?
Congratulations!

Zhang
Click to expand...

Hi Zhang,
First let me say that our RFF member Mike Goldberg can testify for the smoothness I achieved, although it is somewhat problematic because my camera was compared by him agains a known seller, which I have no intention at all to hurt.

Now, as for what I have done, my "secret" was not in the full disassemble of each single small part, but dedicating a lot of time to cleaning the shutter assembly, with solvents, after dissecting it. And then grease and oil. But the main leap was in the distensioning of the curtains. Upon getting a Fed 2 from Oleg and comparing it to another average Fed 2 I had, my suspiction felt upon the curtains tension. Then I started to soften my average Fed tension, and my suspiction became comfirmed. Later I applied the principle to the Kievs and the big secret was finally unveiled, prompting me to the Kiev Project. Up to some point, the more your Kiev is clean and lubricated, the more you can distension the curtains.

Since my knowledge about grease and oil nears zero, I can assume that the day I get the right stuff here, I may further soften the Kievs. And I will share it with all of us.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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My Kievs are still in parts. I need to purchase a couple of 'parts' cameras from Alex before I can put them back together. I am getting itchy to start using them again. The Zorkis are nice, but they are no Kievs
 
Well Ken, my situation is not better, I have currently several Kievs disassembled, others than I am not ready to use until I apply to them all I have learned till now, and a couple more destinated to dissection when I continue the Kiev technical part. From the disassembled ones, my daily shooters were of the type 4am. And here I have fallen into a kind of trap, as they are very problematic.

In this situation, I am find myself shooting now with a Canonet !

Cheers,
Ruben
 
ruben said:
FSU RF Renaissance ? YES !
Click to expand...
Yesterday, I visited the nearest antique/"junk" shop, and had my Leica with me. One reason, to burn off some film, the other reason was to show one of the stallholders who refers to me as "Cameraman".

The Leica Standard was parked in his hands. His jaw dropped. His eyes widened. Gasps were heard. "It's a Leica!!? That's a rare camera, isn't it?"

I smiled, mentioned that it was uncommon... not rare, and also mentioned something called a Kiev. A puzzled look was seen on the stallholders face, "A k.... a key.... what's that?"
Upon hearing the word "Russian", his tone became one of "I don't want one of THOSE!"

It's his loss... going off what I've seen emerging in the darkroom. :)

(looks to the wall facing, to the framed photo of "Prestolee Road")
 
I did do a bit of work on the 4A this morning. I used some JB weld to close up the self-timer hole. Tonight it will be filed and sanded smooth and one would be hard pressed to tell that it ever was there. Nice thing about JB weld is it is tappable. Meaning, if I cover a screw hole or thread, it will drill and thread just like metal. I am also using it in the frankenstiening of a Z6. This is a long term project that will eventually be revealed here.
 
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