Modified & CLAd Kiev60 / Arax60 MLU

[kari v]

I have read quite a bit about Kiev60 being not-so-hot at factory default quality

and I can easily believe that. What is interesting is that I can't find bad

comments about Arax60/MLU. It seems that they make good job adjusting these

beasts and they are not terribly expensive. A slr-like 6x6 and availability of a

30mm fisheye (under 200 euros new) with surprisingly good reviews sounds like a

nice deal. Zeiss Jena glass gets good reviews too.

 

This is for hobbyist / experimenting amateur photog use and I'm not going to

spend too much money. I considered Mamiya 6x7 but getting a reasonably priced

fisheye for that seems impossible and the camera is bulky for handholding (I

think I could manage it, but still). I see many people recommending 6x45 but I

really don't want that. Square seems interesting (you don't have to crop to

print, standard sizes are just... well... sizes) and with the fisheye perfect.

I guess I've pretty much made up my mind unless someone can point out that

Arax60/MLU has serious flaws or that there are options I haven't noticed.

[johan_de_groote]

I bought mine at Hartblei. No problems so far that I cannot attribute to my mishandling of it. But this is for hobby use, not hard daily use.

 

The MLU is something that I don't have the hang of yet. But I seldom use a stand so that may explain it.

 

I bought the 55PSC at ARAX and the service was fine. The only negative point I have is that when you pay with credit card at their "transaction provider" they add $25 for handling the transaction. I found that a bit steep, more so because there is no mention of it until you see the final amount that will be booked on your card.

 

Even with that added it is still cheap.

 

The quality that comes out of it surprised me. I do not have the 30mm yet, but the CZJ lenses are good. Very heavy as well and easier to find than I tought.

[robert_marvin]

I've been very happy with my Arax 60 MLU, which I've had for about three years. I've had no problems at all. If I could have said the same about my Pentacon Six TL, I wouldn't have had to buy the Arax. I have three CZJ lenses(50, 80, 180) that I bought for my Pentacon, plus an Arsat 30, Hartblei 65 shift, and Vega 120--all are very good.

[johan_de_groote]

I got a Pentacon 6 TL and sent it to Olbrich for a CLA. Hope to use it as a second body. The P6 is much more silent than the Kiev.

 

The CZJ stand at the moment is 50/120/180. I love the 120 for portraits inside, the 180 needs too much distance.

[robert_marvin]

My P-6 was CLAed after I received it by Eddie Smolov,in Brooklyn, NY and works OK. What annoys me most about the Pentacon, as compared to the Kiev/Arax, is the more difficult film loading and the tendency, when using the camera without the ER case, for the back latch to catch on my bag and open when I take the camera out. The Pentacon IS a far more elegant looking camera than the Kiev (even a spruced-up black Arax). The best example is the lovely WL finder, a beautiful example of '50s industrial design which has only one problem--it doesn't work! I'll take the plain-looking, Rollei TLR-copy Kiev WL finder over the P-6 one any day.

[kari v]

"when you pay with credit card at their "transaction provider" they add $25 for handling the transaction."

 

Arax mentiones a handling fee at their site. It's not too bad, beats sending cash for sure.

 

"the lovely WL finder, a beautiful example of '50s industrial design which has only one problem--it doesn't work!"

 

:D

[dweezil]

I've bought a 2nd hand Kiev 6C that I have for about a month or two now, without a problem.

Yest it is Heavy. Yes it is crude. and yes the ttl prism is about 2 stops of and because of the stupid power switch design it sucks batteries like a kid sucks lollypop's. But that last thing could also be explained as a design flaw on me as I always forget to switch it off.

 

As far as I've come to understand the other big 'problem' with the pentacon six or exacta 66 is that both the prism finder and the wlf have a lot less than 100% of the view.

 

As for the bad quality, it's not so bad as they say. That seems to be an old pain; as a kid we drove a lada for about 5 years, it was not the car of your dreams but it never failed and always started. My first camera was a Zenit E and the same went for that one. It wasn't state of the art but it always functioned.

 

So going with hartblei or arax is probably your best bet.