stephen_lumsden

I ended up putting a bid in for a Contax ii which had a CLA 4 year back on ebay but had not been used. I ended up winning it for £93 and its in really good condition. I still am curious for a Kiev ii or iii though. That will have to wait.

I actually got a contax ii from HS in 2008, did not really use it till 2022 and now really like it. Thinking about this again, but for a backup body. There seems to be a lot of honest vendors like okvintagecamera.com and sovietcamerastore.com with some also on eBay. Deciding between a 1954 Kiev ii for about 190 USD or a 1953 Kiev ii for 249, both serviced (have to have the Cyrillic modes). Which one to go for?

I sold a Rolleiflex automat in favour of keeping a T. The T then was a lot of hassle in repairs and I sold it to cut my losses. Back to a yashica D now.

Canonet ql17 giii. I sold it when I thought a newly acquired x100 would sort it all, but never jelled with that.

The L2 does not get the justice it deserves. I am not crazy about the shutter button location myself or the really loud mirror slap. It does lack finesse also, but is reliable with a good viewfinder and delivers consistently.

Hi I enquired about getting a Contax II from Henry Scherer and its basiclly going to take 10 months and about $600-700 for a Contax II with a post war Sonnar (coated). I am looking at Fedka.com who have slightly newer Kiev IIs, $235 which I can forward to a technician who can do an ok overhaul for about $100, fairly quickly. I know the quality of the Contax is better, but just how much in comparison to the earlier Kievs (I have a 4 btw) ? BTW I would like to stick with the Contax 11/Kiev as I have the J-12. Anyone in a simialr boat? regards Stephen