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Siren Song of the Russians


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After reading and researching for months about the various Russian cameras and their great glass, I finally

succumbed to the Siren Song of these Russian cameras. They seem to be very addicting. I now have a Kiev 4, Zorki

5, Zorki 4, Fed 2, and a Zorki 1 (on the way). I think I will quit there. LOL. They are all neat little cameras with their

own distinct personalities. I just finished my first roll of Fuji Superia Extra 400 in the Zorki 4, and was quite

impressed with the Jupiter 8 lens. I have included 3 shots, and one of the camera. Please note the fine, rich

looking "Corinthian" leather. Lol.<div>00RJen-83417584.jpg.f7266f6ecea1c1ad998f071198113c65.jpg</div>

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I stopped after 3 Kiev 4 models! So far....we're never really cured.

As you cans see Russian glass is superb. Many Soviet era optics are horribly under rated. If people knew better they'd be hacking this glass onto their Leicas. But they don't, so we get to have cheap thrills.

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>As you cans see Russian glass is superb.

 

Thanks to the Zeiss designs from which they were cloned.

 

>If people knew better they'd be hacking this glass onto their Leicas.

 

People do put them straight on screw-mount Leicas, or add a simple adapter with an M body. Those who do know

better, avoid using the Jupiter 3 and longer lenses on their Leicas because of the Contax RF standard on which

the lenses are based. http://dantestella.com/technical/compat.html

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Thanks everyone! So far, apart from a few minor adjustments, all cameras seem in good working order.

 

Andy, sorry, but it had to be done. Sooner or later you would have seen the light.

 

Gene, I think some illnesses are best left to just run their course, even if it takes years to go away (or never) :-)

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I too have recently bought a couple (Kiev 4), not yet arrived, form that big auction site. I bought a couple of cheaper ones from one of the smaller know sellers just to see what they're like. I expect they'll need more work that from someone like alex-photo, but my thinking was that I want to hold one in my hand before springing for a bigger purchase.

 

My own motivation was the fact that every time I see a real Contax the prices go through the roof. What good is a camera if you spend so much money you can't afford film. I mean, after all, it is about taking pictures isn't it?

 

So, I'll see what I've got in about another week, and I hope I'm posting success stories.

 

Michael

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Michael, I bought my Kiev 4 from a seller here in the states. I quickly looked on the alex-photo site, and some of his stuff seems a little pricy. I bought my other cameras from "vladimir" and "kubanoid", and all cameras were in very good to excellent condition. Prices weren't bad either.
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I enjoyed all your pics; no 3 takes the cake with the grilled arches and shadows! Wonderful! I learned [if any] photography on a Fed 2. In my days at UW Seattle [1966 ++] my friends were all sporting Pentax, Canon etc. They used to give me funny looks and smile, "what kind is that?...a camera? does it take pictures?" I now have Feds 5, 4 and 3 in that order! plus 2 Zorki 4Ks. The Industars and Jupiters are superb lenses. Wish I can live up to their quality, soon! Regards, sp.
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There's something about them that makes people giggle. They do take nice pictures.

 

Do remember that on some of these you can fog the film if you rewind it with the lens cap off.

 

I was lucky to find a nice FED-4 in its original box with its guarantee, "passport," other paper work, and manual.<div>00RK5S-83605584.thumb.jpg.0d84f96eb45badfee54cb4b0f331a4f7.jpg</div>

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Your pictures with the Jupiter 8 are nice and sharp. Another lens that provides nice crisp results is the Industar 61LD. You can still get them quite cheap, but for some reason, the price on Soviet made cameras seems to be on the rise. I'm looking for a Moskva but they all seem to be going through the roof.
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Thanks again everyone for all the nice compliments.

 

Adam, I have a roll of TRI -X almost finished in my Kiev 4 that has another Jupiter 8 lens. Excited to see how that one is. I also just loaded a roll of Ilford XP-2 in my Zorki 5 with the collapsable Industar 22. I have heard good things about that lens as well.

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I'm glad you have had such good luck w/ the Kiev's. It has taken me about 3 buys to finally get a good Fed 2 but I really like it. Probably should have just bought the first one and sent it out for a CLA but I seem to like doing things the hard way when it comes to cameras. I had a bit of a surprise w/ the lenses. Went out and shot the J-8, the 61LD, Industar 50 3.5, and the coated collapsible Industar 10 and measured them against my Elmar 50 3.5. The Industar 10 was the better lens. It can't resolve as much as my Leica R lenses, but up to maybe 8x12 it is really a fine lens.

 

Here's something most people probably wouldn't admit to doing. I shoot the Industar 10 on a Bessa R3a w/ a LTM to M adapter and it is one heck of a combination. Sort of the best of both worlds.

 

Now that you have the Russian bug it's time to explore the world of folders!<div>00RKO7-83739584.jpg.550a75dbc08e421f4956fc0ab412ed8b.jpg</div>

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Nice shot Steve. I'm not so familiar yet with the Russian lens designations. What exactly is an Industar 10? How would it be different than my I-22?

 

2nd part on folders, I went out searching for a Moskva 5 awhile back, but had trouble finding anything that didn't look like it had been run over by a Panzer, so I gave up and opted for a RB67 and lenses. Go figure. Still have a few Kodak and Japanese folders I play with.

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"Nice shot Steve. I'm not so familiar yet with the Russian lens designations. What exactly is an Industar 10? How would it be different than my I-22"

Industar 10 was made before WWII for Kharkov's made FED camera and SLR camera called "Sport'. Resolution of the I-10 is 30/18 lanes per mm. It is 4 lenses semi-glued anastigmat based on the Tessar optical design. After WWII Leitz Elmar lenses, parts, optical glass etc. found a good home in Krasnogorsk city about 10 miles from Moscow. The lens Leitz Elmar was renamed Industar 22. Number of first post war soviet rangefinders like FED and Zorki were equipped with those lenses. TLRs Zenit also received that lenses as a standard kit. The main difference of I-10 and I-22 that the focal length of I-10 is 49.99 mm vs 52.43mm of I-22. Later I-22 was improved and renamed Industar 50. And by the way leatherette of the Soviet camera always came in one color – black.

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The prices are going up for U.S. buyers for two simple reasons: Demand for FSU equipment is rising and the dollar is taking a pounding compared with most other world currencies. Shipping from Europe to the U.S. has been rising because of the weak dollar and the rising cost of fuel.
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