Bitten by the Kiev Bug

[midnightcommando]

<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>I decided a few months back that I really needed to add a Kiev to my little family - several months later and I just purchased a Kiev 4AM from Ukraine (ebay seller ua-project). I'm now eagerly waiting for PayPal to transfer money so I can pay, and then I'll eagerly be waiting for a leeeeedle parcel from Ukraine ;)</p>

<p>I gather that quality control on the M-series was far more variable than on the original 4, so I appreciate this is a gamble, but at the price I paid I won't feel too bad about opening her up and poking around inside should the need arise.</p>

<p>I purchased the camera with a Jupiter-8M after having the J8 in LTM and being very happy with its performance.</p>

<p>So other than the basic stuff that's been gone over on the internet (don't set shutter speed until shutter is energised, turn backwards when going below 1/125 to charge slow-speed mechanism initially, be gentle rewinding film, use the "contax grip", etc.) is there anything I should know in particular about how to shoot with the Kiev? Any model-specific quirks to a functioning M-series Kiev 4?</p>

<p>( My biggest decision at the moment is whether I use Acros or APX100 as the first roll to go through ;-) )</p>

<p>Regards!</p><div></div>

[michael_dimarzio]

<p>Horst Horst Horst, Plus-X of course.</p>

<p>Cool machine, I hope you two have a lot of fun together for many years!</p>

[robert_hooper1]

<p>If you get a good one, (quality control was hit and miss during manufacture), you can achieve pretty amazing results according to friends of mine who have taken a chance on one of these well designed cameras. If you get a bad one, it seems it is almost impossible to return a Kiev 4AM to its intended performance standard. A toss of the dice. Good luck, Horst. Pray that the production line of the one you get was not influenced too much by the Pshenichnaya factor.</p>

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<p>.</p>

[robert_hooper1]

<p><a href="http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/zconrfKiev.htm">Here is an article</a> you might find interesting, Horst.</p>

[teneson]

<p>I've used both the J8 and the Helios 103 on my Kiev 4am. The Jupiter 8 has less tendency to flare, and has a pleasing signature. The Helios 103 (to me) has a rather cold, clinical rendition. If I could do it all over again, I'd buy the black Kiev 4am!</p>

[User_4525289]

<p>Good luck with Kiev. I do not like K-4AM but I have K-4A made in 1976 and it is OK. You will love the sound of the shutter at 1/50. Make sure that the inter-frame intervals are Ok. If they are not could be a challenge to fix since there is very few people in Europe or in N.America which can still do that. In general since Eddy Smolov is out of business I do not know if anyone in USA can still fix Kievs.</p>

[teneson]

<p>Doesn't Fedka.com fix Kievs? They're in NY State.</p>

[John D]

<p>The same bug bit me. I bought a 4AM from Fedka and it arrived the other day. No lens yet though. I picked up a couple of 50s from the big bay but they are in transit somewhere. Camera seems to operate just fine. Film advance a bit rough but shutter appears to be accurate. My understanding is Fedka will stand behind what they sell so I felt somewhat safer buying that way than taking my chances from overseas. A roll of film will tell the tale but need a lens so I wait for the mail to do its thing. Hope the lenses are not too bad. </p>

[astral]

<p>I bought a 4A a month ago, complete with Jupiter 8M 50mm f2 and black Juptier 12 35mm f2.8, all in excellent condition. I did need to tighten the rewind knob, and the winder does feel a little rough, but the first results are fine. The 35mm Jupiter 12 is significantly sharper than the 50mm Jupiter 8M, but the 50mm does improve significantly at f8-11 - I may get the collimation checked. The "Contax grip" is a bit of a nuisance, so I do tend to use the 35mm with hyperfocal focussing rather more than the 50mm. I have just ordered a Helios 103 (50mm f1.8) and if that turns in good results I'll be very happy.</p>

<p>I just be might be tempted to invest in a Contax IIa & 50mm f1.5 Sonnar in the future, but so far the Kiev 4a is fun to use.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikkormat/4869273322/sizes/l/in/set-72157624550123081/"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4869273322_03ac29e30e.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="500" /></a><br>

Jupiter 12 & KIev 4a. Some more Jupiter 8M & 12 shots <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikkormat/sets/72157624550123081/">here</a></p>