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m.m
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 04:52 pm: | 
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I am a camera lovie/junkie and still vey much a newbie. I have a modest collection of cameras and one I recently acquired is the camera listed in the subject: the Kiev 4. I acquired it on EBAY--couldn't resist the deal and took it to my camera repair store. The tech was honest in telling me that he was not familiar with the Kievs and wanted to be upfront in telling me that he didn't think it was a good idea for him to go into working on it--which I respect.
I have looked around a little but have not found much luck in seeing how to go about checking/cleaning the camera. One minus is that the film barrel (?) what holds the film, is cracked and held together by tape. Does anyone have any recommendations on how I can clean the camera? I have never tried to do this before. The reason why I'm asking is I paid so little that I thought I could give it a shot and do it myself, while getting a hands-on lesson about the innards of a rangefinder. Your input would be much appreciated.
(i'll be checking back through the next couple of weeks to see what your recommendations are so please feel free to comment!)
m.m |
rick
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 05:23 pm: |
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The Kiev 4 is an unusual camera, different from anything other than the Contax it was derived from; it's a good idea for your camera tech to leave it to someone experienced in the particular type. On the other hand, as you say, this is an inexpensive example for you to learn on, and what you learn will be applicable to the Contax II and III as well.
The takeup spool in the Kiev is a removable piece; you can make a replacement for it easily out of the core spool of a 35mm film cartridge. I can help you with that.
As for cleaning the camera, how dirty is it? Does it need cleaning badly enough to be worth the risks involved in disassembly? Unless this is for educational purposes, I would be fairly specific about my reasons for taking it apart.
Checking is another thing. First, be aware that one of the unique things about the Contax/Kiev shutter is that at slow speeds it actually does move slowly, and wheezes as if it had emphysema. This is normal, it was designed that way.
You can check the shutter speeds pretty well using your TV screen. See the method at http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-135.html ... this works for speeds from about 1/125 and faster, and you can more or less check the 1/2 and 1/5 second by ear. In between you kind of have to have faith if you don't have an instrument of some kind to test it with, but if the fast and slow are good, the 1/10 - 1/50 are probably okay.
There are repair notes at http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-29.html that show you how to replace shutter ribbons in this camera, but hopefully you won't have to deal with that for a while yet. Thomas Tomosy's "Camera Maintenance & Repair Book 2" also has a couple of pages on the Contax. I also have some notes for it on my CD, but again these deal mostly with shutter service that I hope you won't have to do. |
m.m
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 05:39 pm: |
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Thank you for your notes! They are extremely, extremely helpful. The site you included is clever and I have never thought of that before...it probably works with other cameras as well? It makes me want to try that on all my cameras just to see what turns out.
As for your question on how dirty the Kiev might be, it is actually a bit grimy. It came with dust all over the body--which I have diligently cleaned off. The inside of the camera was a little dirty as well, which is the reason for my concern and desire to clean out. Luckly, nothing looks as though it is rusting or oxidizing. I have tried releasing the shutter and it seems to function well, however, it seems as though it might be a little slow. I need to fix the forwarding barrel first so I can try shoting some film through to see what I might have to work with.
Also, do you have any idea of how alike the Contax is with the Kiev? I hadn't though about it but I could check out a book from the library to learn more about the Contax/Kiev. Thank you for all of your suggestions. p.s. do you know anything about richos and konica's? |
rick
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 08:33 pm: |
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if your email is correct, i'll send you a note. |
Dave P
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 11:40 pm: |
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The Kiev survival site is what you need.
http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/index.html |
Tony Duell
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 29, 2006 - 11:54 am: |
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I would recomend tracking down a copy of the book 'All you need to know about the design and repair of Russian cameras'. I think, alas it's now out of print, and it may not be easy to find, therefore. And the English is, shall we say, 'quaint' in some places.
That said, it has the clearest explanation of the Contax/Kiev shutter that I have ever seen. And it's pretty useful for the Leica-type shutter (Zorki/Fed), the Super Ikonta ragefinder (Moscow medium-format folders), etc.
If you're just going to clean a Kiev, you probably don't need this book. If you're going further, you do.
To answer another question, I've been inside several Kievs and also a couple of real Contax II's. They are _very_ similar, to the extent that most, if not all, parts will interchange. |
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