A Few from the Kiev-60 TTL

I have a love/hate relationship with this camera. It has a spasmodic shutter fault, either capping or curtain bounce, which leaves a fine overexposed area down one side of the frame. The very accurate TTL meter sometimes just decides to stop working, and fires up perfectly next time I go to use the camera. The frame spacing is unpredictable, no matter how carefully I load the film and operate the winder. The camera is heavy and bulky and demands concentration and strong wrists to achieve satisfactory results. All in all, it's a pretty typical FSU product. However, when it behaves it can produce very fine images, and the lenses are excellent, and the camera has the scent of Russian grease which becomes a little addictive. So, I keep coming back to the Kiev-60 when I get bored with other more polite cameras in my possession.

 

I'll post some frames taken last week on Arista EDU Ultra 100, developed in PMK Pyro, a combination I rather like, though the 80 ISO at which I rate the film is a little slow for hand-holding the Kiev. I scanned the film on an Epson V700 Photo using Silverfast SE software. The low Autumn light adds a nice depth to many of the images, and I hope you find some to like. The lenses used were either the 80 mm Volna-3 f/2.8, or the 50mm CZJ Flektogon f/4, as noted. But first, a pic of the camera for those of you unfamiliar with a Kiev-60.

 

Kiev-60 TTL

 

 

Cordyline (Flektogon)

 

 

Bobbins (Volna)

 

 

Recycling (Flektogon)

 

 

Autumn Pond (Volna)

 

 

Morris 1000 (Flektogon)

 

 

Texture (Flektogon)

 

 

Take Your Seats (Flektogon)

 

 

 

Insulators (Volna)

 

Great results, Rick. Thanks for posting.

Wow! I can see why you return to this camera. I've never had a Russian camera, so I can't say whether I'd notice and/or like the smell of its grease. Would the lenses be usable on another, less aggravating, body? I don't know what mount they'd be.

davecaz said:

Would the lenses be usable on another, less aggravating, body? I don't know what mount they'd be.

 

The mount is known as Pentacon Six, or P6 for short. It originated in East Germany in the 1950's on cameras manufactured by Kamera Werkstätten (KW), notably the Praktisix and the Pentacon Six. The West German Exakta 66 uses the mount, and the FSU Kiev-88 "Hasselbladski" and the Kiev-60 and (earlier Kiev-6C) also use it. There may be others. I have The Pentacon Six, the Kiev-88CM and this Kiev-60, and they all share similar weaknesses in the wind systems and general durability. In short, they can all be a little aggravating...

 

There used to be quips about the Russians using bear fat to lubricate their cameras, and I'll have to admit that a liking for the odor is very much an acquired taste.

Edited May 27, 2018 by rick_drawbridge

Excellent ..loved all the renditions. Especially like "Autumn Pond" and the "Morris". The "Textures" reminded me of the past work often submitted by our late contributor Tony Lockerbie. He too often used this developer. Must be the light down under ;)

davecaz said:

There used to be quips about the Russians using bear fat to lubricate their cameras, and I'll have to admit that a liking for the odor is very much an acquired taste.

In earlier times, Mountain Men wintering in the Rocky Mountains would use bear fat on their own skins, as an added layer of protection from the cold and damp. Come Springtime, when they'd amble into town for supplies, they were known to clear out entire rooms with the aroma of old bear grease. :)

Chuck Foreman said:

The "Textures" reminded me of the past work often submitted by our late contributor Tony Lockerbie.

 

Yes, I often think of Tony when the sun is low and the shadows deep. I miss his lovely images of beaches and dunes, and the amusing correspondence we shared.

BTW, welcome to the world of the Praktisix > Pentacon 6TL (the parent line) :)

 

The Soviet copy is said to 'better', but your list of frustrations suggests that the Soviet version is an all-too-faithful copy.

 

Love/hate is a strong word, but with the permission of the author, here is a warning label that can be adapted to your camera:

Edited May 28, 2018 by JDMvW

Here is part of my Pentacon 6TL kit

The Zeiss-Jena lenses can be superb, and some of the Soviet ones are very decent.

JDMvW said :

...here is a warning label that can be adapted to your camera

 

LOL...a small print of that adhering to the back of the Kiev 60TTL could bring comfort and reassurance...Nice collection there, JDM. I occasionally get a hankering for the 80mm Biometar...

Rick, I am entranced by "Take your Seats"! I don't think there is a sweeter spot to have captured that image from. And the tonal qualities are just amazing. Hat's off to you!

 

And the Kiev is impressive as well. I pulled the trigger on a Pentacon Six the other night and am waiting for it to arrive. At first I was just looking to scratch an itch for a quirky medium format camera but you and JDM have me thinking there is more to look forward to. Thanks.

adyfalsetta said:

Rick, I am entranced by "Take your Seats"!....

 

Thanks Andy; I'm always surprised when simple subjects produce quite dramatic images. Good luck with the Pentacon Six, and please report back to the forum when you've had a chance to assess it. Problems with frame spacing are quite common but there's heaps of stuff on the web regarding film loading procedures, and remedies.

Now I want a Kiev! Great shots.

 

But upon thinking about it, I don't want to have to carry it.

Not to hijack this thread about Rick's Kiev and all of his great images but here is an update on the Pentacon Six TL I had mentioned. Well it arrive and I knew what I might be in for because I only paid $125 for it. The lens is in great shape. Some traces of fungus on the extreme edges of the inside of the rear element. I pulled the optics out and cleaned the glass up as much as possible. The elements are all clear, dust and haze free except for the aforementioned fungus. And boy did Zeiss build them stoutly back then! Not one ring was difficult to loosen. The front and rear elements are scratch free and the coating is in great shape. Overall , being honest, the lens is a solid 7 if ten is mint mint and 9 is mint but used, and 8 is showing some indication of use. The body? Well that's another story. The shutter fires as the seller said, but he said nothing about the second curtain not closing 100%. Nor did he mention the self timer lever was nowhere to be found. (shame on me for not noticing that in the photos). But all is good, right, so she is now in pieces on my bench and hopefully I will have the curtains set up correctly over the next couple of days. The fabric is in fantastic shape and I wonder if they had been replaced at some point. Usually, the German curtains are porous and light leakers but these are in great shape. I know nothing about these beasts so like everything else I touch, its a work in progress as I feel my way through. There was a piece of leather missing on one side of the viewfinder but low and behold, what did I find stuffed under the pressure plate? Yep, that piece of leather. Its nice working on a larger camera for a change. I can use my glasses and not my magnifiers :) Overall though, I like it and hope to get it back to at least 80% of its former glory.

I assume it's the Biometar 80/2.8 you got with the camera? Nice that it's in good shape. I'm looking forward to your critique of the Pentacon Six!

I assume it's the Biometar 80/2.8 you got with the camera? Nice that it's in good shape. I'm looking forward to your critique of the Pentacon Six!

Yes Rick, it is. Its got the zebra stripe rings. Interesting thing about this camera is the black lens surround with white "Pentacon TL" I haven't seen any of these in ads on ebay or on vintage camera sites. I would say its an early version TL based on what I have read about the take up roller having spikes on it .

I was lucky enough to get my Pentacon 6 TL fron Jenny-cz and I couldn't be happier with it's operation . Everything worked

fine out of the box and the 80 mm Biometer and 120 mm Jena lens are cause to own one of these . After slugging around my

Kowa sixes this camera is a treat ! No longer lusting after a Pentax 67 , ( I understand "Cupog" is a good seller of these cameras)

A happy camper , Peter

I assume it's the Biometar 80/2.8 you got with the camera? Nice that it's in good shape. I'm looking forward to your critique of the Pentacon Six!

Rick, well finally I have a working P6. I described a little of my journey in this thread and included a couple of shots from the test roll.

 

Shutter curtain tension - measured as "CMP"

 

The viewfinder is bright and its easy to get used to the different location of some controls (focus ring and shutter release more specifically). Being all metal (the only plastic I found was a mount for the flash contacts up on the shutter mechanism) its hefty but I am used to an S2a Bronica so the difference is minor. I find shooting with a heavier camera helps stabilize things more readilyand the "35mmSLR on steroids" format is very easy to hold. I find it isn't a whole heck of a lot larger than the largest 35mms such as the Contarex. . The P6 I have has the spiked film feed roller so frame overlap isn't an issue. In fact I have the opposite issue which is increasing frame spacing as the roll is used up. I couldn't get 11 exposures on the roll because of this plus I have to get back inside the camera to get the frame indicator to work correctly. It stops at 10 right now so the end of the roll becomes a guessing game until I fix this. But overall, I see myself using this camera quite often and look forward to one day achieving results half as good as the ones you get with your Kiev.

 

Andy

Edited July 27, 2018 by andyfalsetta

andyfalsetta said :

Rick, well finally I have a working P6

 

Great to hear, Andy, and you deserve congratulations, as I mentioned in the "CMP" thread. I'm pleased to hear you like heavy cameras, as I thought I was rather a loner in that respect. Much easier to brace them and hold them steady. I'm looking forward to seeing more work from your P6 in due course.