Kiev 4 35mm camera

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Why Buy a Kiev 4 Camera?

The design of the Kiev 4 is firmly based on that of a classic pre-war German camera that once cost as much as a small new car to buy, and its use with modern film emulsions means that it is effectively better now than it was in its heyday. A real Zeiss Contax III will cost three or four times as much as a Kiev, but that's for its 'collector' value. For a user, the Kiev represents much better value simply because it is at least twenty years younger. The low prices of Russian cameras is no indicator of quality or intrinsic value but it is simply because there are so many of them currently available on the second-hand market. With the collapse of communism, photographers behind the former 'Iron Curtain' have a new freedom to buy the Japanese cameras of which they have been deprived and they are releasing for sale the Kievs, Zorkis and FEDs to which they have been restricted for decades. How long this situation can last is anyone's guess, but currently it is an excellent opportunity for perceptive Western photographers to avail themselves of some interesting cameras with historical connections at very affordable prices.

While modern digital or fully automatic, auto-focusing compact zoom cameras afford a complete novice the potential to produce well exposed, sharp pictures, I doubt whether, once the novelty has worn off, this can be very fulfilling to a creative personality. Such a camera in the hands of someone who understands what it is doing can be made to perform even better, and the Kiev is an excellent choice for someone who wants to learn, and practice, the basics. Even someone who has learned the basics with a single-lens-reflex camera can gain a lot in terms of widened experience and technique from the use of a coupled rangefinder camera, and the Kiev offers excellent value in this category. What you lose - the use of zoom lenses and macro operation (except with the aid of expensive and fiddly accessories) - you gain in having among the most precise of focusing systems. With the widest of rangefinder bases and clearly engraved depth-of-field scales, the Kiev offers pin-point focus of a single object or the accurate spread of sharpness between two objects at differing distances in a way that is unrivalled by the generalised, imprecise near-accuracy of a modern autofocus camera.

A major attraction for me is the sound of the Kiev's shutter. Made of interlocking brass strips, it operates vertically, and although fairly quiet, at its top three speeds you can hear and feel the thud as it chops off a slice of light. At slower speeds it makes the sound of a mechanical sneeze, and at 'B' it opens and closes so gently that it is almost inaudible (in marked contrast with my Zorki 4K, the shutter of which sounds like a hedge clipper).

The camera's styling is one of functionality with a touch of brutal elegance. If you think that you don't like its appearance at first meeting, rest assured that it will grow on you. It was more than a little influential in the design of Nippon Kogaku's rangefinder cameras, the Nikon S series (though they couldn't manage to duplicate the brass shutter blinds), which eventually, with the addition of a pentaprism, became the Nikon F and the foundation of the Nikon empire.

Leave your mobile phone and other electronic gadgets at home, take a stroll down a country lane with your Kiev outfit, and you can emulate how a wealthy amateur photographer of the late 1930s would have felt with his/her state of the art camera equipment. Don't forget the contemporary trilby hat - it can be pressed into use as a lens shade. This feeling doesn't just apply to the Kievs either. Would you like to walk around with a vintage Leica without having to worry about losing or damaging a valuable antique? Look out for a Zorki 1 or FED 1, which have the appearance, all the functionality and most of the feel of a Leica II without the high investment cost.

Operational Differences Between Models

Until the introduction of the Kiev 4M and 4AM, the design permitted the use of two film cassettes, where the removable film spool could be replaced by a second cassette so that the film need not be rewound after exposure. Useful only for the 'real' photographer who loads his film from bulk and then develops it himself, you can use either standard reloadable cassettes or special Contax or Kiev cartridges, which are feltless and consist of two tubes, one inside the other, each with a slot to provide the light trap, and which are automatically opened and closed by the operation of the camera's base lock keys. It is absolutely vital to decide at the time of loading the cartridge or cassette whether the film is to be rewound or not, as this will determine whether the film is secured firmly to the centre spool for rewinding or just pushed into the slots enough to hold it during loading, but lightly enough to allow the end to pull out and be wound into the second cartridge.

For the photographer who never uses the two cassette option, it can be annoying that the take-up spool can fall out of the camera when the back is removed, and for him/her the Kiev 4M and 4AM has a fixed take up spool and a flip-over crank on the rewind knob. By turning the base lock key to point at the red dot, the drive sprockets are disengaged, to save having to hold in the button of the earlier models while rewinding - all modifications to make film handling easier and quicker. Additional modifications are a brighter viewfinder, an easier to see shutter dial and a hot shoe for flash, while retaining the PC socket.

The Kiev 5 has a rewind knob with a fold out crank at the end of the camera, next to the viewfinder , but the rewind release button and film loading is exactly like the Kiev 4.

Kiev 4M: A shows the base lock key in the rewind position,
B shows the other side of the lock and the cam follower, the 'scoop' of which presses on the sprocket spindle to disengage the drive.
C shows the cam follower in normal (closed) mode and
D the rewind knob with crank handle.

With the 4M/4AM models, the standard lens was changed from the familiar f2 Jupiter to an f1.8 Helios (spelt 'Gelios' because there's no Cyrillic equivalent of 'H'). This lens will retrofit the 4 and 4A models but usually not the 2 and 3 because their inner bayonets are of a slightly smaller diameter, nor can it be used with the 3-D beamsplitter because the lens barrel is too big. Opinions differ as to which is the better lens but from my limited testing I'd cheerfully use either of them. I'd always assumed that the Jupiter (pronounced 'yoopiter') was named after the planet or the god of that name, but I see that it translates as 'floodlight.'

Some of the earliest Kievs from the late 1940s were supplied with 50mm Zorky (translates as 'sharp') lenses, a name more familiar as that of a range of screw mount lens fitting camera bodies, which were usually supplied with 50mm Industar lenses.

A Tip for Kiev 2, 3, 4 and 5 users to speed up film loading

Call into your local One-Hour film processing laboratory and ask them for discarded 35mm cassettes, not their containers, and pull them apart. As well as saving the velvet strips for possible later use as sticky foam replacements or patching light leaks, notice how the fragment of remaining film is held by the spool. Select new films that you intend to use in a Kiev and trim their ends to match the fragments. Feed each of the tongue shaped ends into a liberated spool, ensuring that their knobs face the same way, remove the camera's take-up spool and store it somewhere safe. The paired film-and-spool sets are much quicker to load and you won't drop the take-up spool while doing it. When the film is exposed, rewind it as usual but don't use excessive force when the end (was the beginning) is reached. As you remove the film, tear off the empty spool so that the film is not accidentally reloaded.

The Contax Hold

You will gain little enjoyment from using a Kiev 4 until you have learned the correct hold. Handle it as though it were any other camera and your fingers will obscure the rangefinder window. With the 50mm standard lens fitted, check that the index finger of your right hand rests on the shutter release, the second finger on the serrated focusing wheel (and therefore on the infinity lock, which is the plunger immediately behind it) with the third and fourth fingers gripping the black leatherette beneath, and well clear of, the rangefinder housing. This ensures that the rangefinder has an uninterrupted view between your second and third fingers and you can focus by rotating the serrated wheel while watching the rangefinder image. For vertical/portrait format pictures, rotate the camera to the left so that your right hand is uppermost. For lenses other than the 50mm (and perhaps the 35mm) you will still need to maintain this grip, but focus by rotating the lens's own focus ring with the left hand.

The foregoing applies to all models except the Kiev 5, where the narrower base rangefinder and elimination of the focus wheel makes this hold unnecessary.

To Wind or Not to Wind...

With most Russian 35mm cameras it is advisable to wind the film (thereby cocking the shutter) before selecting a new shutter speed, and a red sticker on my recently purchased Zorki 4K warns of the importance of doing that. This procedure is probably not essential in the case of most Kiev models as the shutter dial does not rotate with the shutter blind operation, but it's well worth checking the shutter operation of a newly acquired model before entrusting it with film. Both of my Kiev 4 models from the 1960s have a tendency for the shutter blinds to leave a gap on some occasions - try this sequence on your own camera while it is empty:-

1. Cock the shutter (wind on) and fire the shutter at one of its fastest shutter speeds;
2. Without winding on, turn the shutter dial to 'B',
3. Wind on, then press and release the shutter button.

Now remove the camera back or the lens and view the shutter blinds while slowly winding.on. If the blinds have stayed closed then it probably matters little in which order you do it, but if a gap has appeared you will have to remember to wind on first, at least before selecting slow speeds in future, but for now gently lift the lower blind with a fingernail to latch it closed. This seems to work successfully from the back of the shutter but not through the lens mount so if you forget to wind on in future before selecting 'B', you will have to remove the film before the shutter can be made to work correctly. It would be as well to check if this happens with any other combinations of shutter speeds.

Since writing the above I have seen a copy of the instruction book and it does indeed recommend winding on before selecting the shutter speed. It just feels wrong to me though, and I think I will continue to select first except for when going down to a slow speed from a very fast one.

The Kiev Ever-Ready Cases

I don't share some users' oft-declared disdain for camera ever-ready cases You only have to examine the dents, scratches and scuffs evident on so many of them to realise that they have already protected their cameras from this damage. They are a second front against light leaks and in cold weather they are more comfortable to hold than chilly metal. A criticism that has been levelled at the Kiev is that it more angular than, for example, a Zorki, but when both are in their cases, because of the curved Kiev case lower section, they feel much the same. For glasses wearers, the case is curved beneath the metal eyepiece, affording some protection from abrasion, and the Kiev 3 case is even better, inasmuch as the eyepiece is totally surrounded by leather.

There are four distinct types of Kiev e. r. case:

1) That for the Kiev 2/2A/3/3A is said to be of original Contax design and has a flat top, two rivets and two press-stud fasteners. There is a small pocket formed between the brown leather and the lining at the back for a printed exposure guide or note card, and it is the only case that is fitted with a tripod bush.

2) The Kiev 4/4A case is also of brown leather, with a single rivet and two press-studs. The top is domed with a chrome and leather surround, and, like the 3/3A one, has a 5/8-inch retaining screw. Because the 4A has no meter housing, I can fit the camera with a small Leitz 50mm brightline viewfinder in the accessory shoe in the space left for the meter, and so I don't have to remove it to close the case.

3) This holds true also for the 4AM in the 4M/4AM case, which has a similar lower section except that the strap is attached to external loops, it has a quarter -inch retaining screw, and, most noticeably, it is black. The top keeps the dome but the chrome and leather strip no longer surrounds it, intead it runs the full width of the dome over the top, looking at first sight like a handle. The brown leather noses of the other models have been replaced by a black plastic one, much larger than the small increase in size of the Helios lens would seem to justify, making it more bulky to carry, but alone in its ability to contain a folding rubber lens hood attached to either lens type.

4) The style of the Kiev 5 case is similar to that of the 4M/4AM, but slightly taller and deeper, in brown and with a leather nose with chrome trim. Probably the most impressive of them all, but you could expect that a case that size would hold a medium format camera!

A Useful D-I-Y Case Modification

When I had my original Kiev 4 in the 1970s, I improved the usefulness of its case by drilling out and removing the rivet that held the top and bottom sections together and replacing it with a set of motorcycle jacket press studs (snaps) that I bought in kit form with a small circular anvil and punch. This allowed me to separate the two case halves and so use the bottom part on its own with other lenses and leave the turret viewfinder attached

I have long wanted to do the same modification with my current cases and after several months of searching, and some expensive buys of unsuitable fasteners, I finally located the solution to the problem in the form of a Prym Sport & Camping kit of 10 sets of 15mm diameter fasteners with tools. Cost was £5.55 (~US$7). Although stronger and vastly better for the purpose than the "heavy duty" Dritz fasteners that I tried, they are still a little too short to firmly hold in the full thickness of a Kiev case, and it's necessary to undercut the velvet lining and rivet them together through the leather only. Interestingly, these two firms are not competitors, both being members, according to the card attached to the Dritz pliers that I bought, of the Prym Dritz Corporation

Above, Picture left shows one of my Kiev 4(A)M cases with its rivet replaced by a pair of press studs,
Centre is one of the Prym kits I used for the purpose, and
Right is an illustration from the kit showing the tools as employed to fit the stud to the top half of the case. There is not enough room inside the nylon 'pliers' for the bottom half, for which the pliers must be used opened out flat and the anvil tool moved to the inside of the case, supported by a brick.

Above, Three early models with flip out stands - Kiev 2, 3A (with unfilled engraved name) and 2A

Which is the Best Kiev Model to Choose?

The Kiev 2A/3A (or 2/3 if you don't need flash) is best if you want your camera to look and feel like the original Contax AND you load your own film from bulk AND develop the films yourself. It takes two cassettes, which can be either standard 35mm reloadable types or the Kiev/Contax self opening types, or indeed, a mixture of both. The large rewind knob is a real pain in the wrist to use otherwise. The flip-out stand on the base is also an elegant way of standing the camera on a table top.

The Kiev 4 is best if you prefer the lower, sleeker appearance of the post war Contax IIIa. The base stand is gone and the 5/8" tripod bush is now part of the body instead of the removable base as in the earlier models, again to make it more like the IIIa, but the two cassette option remains and the pull-out rewind knob is smaller and quite tolerable to use with one cassette and spool. The meter 'turret' is replaced by easier to see flat rings. The 4 models are also cheaper to buy because there are so many of them, this being the most successful model in terms of production runs. The Kiev 4A is more like a 2A but with the Contax IIIa-type base. It has a film speed reminder dial added to the large, awkward and s-l-o-w rewind knob.

The Kiev 4M/4AM is best if you are willing to forgo the classic look in favour of a more modern design with its black, easier to see shutter dial and its very useful cranked rewind knob. The film take-up spool is now fixed so it is more convenient for those who buy their films in cassettes and send them for processing. The tripod bush is now threaded for the smaller, more modern 1/4" tripod heads. Of particular interest is that these modifications are the first to be applied to the Kiev that weren't Zeiss inspired.

The Kiev 5 may be best if you collect cameras as investments. There weren't as many made because it wasn't well received at the time and the reintroduction of the old shape in the form of the 4M replaced it. Larger and heavier than the original models (which themselves aren't exactly lightweight!), the 5 may suit the photographer who has difficulty in maintaining the "Contax hold" needed with the other models, because the rangefinder base was reducd to achieve this. The brightline viewfinder is easier to see through for glasses wearers, though the rangefinder spot is not quite as bright. There is a wind-on lever added but the shutter speed selector knob can still be used to transport the film in the usual way. The exposure counter is self-resetting and shares a window with the exposure meter needle.

There is no inner bayonet on the Kiev 5 so it has its own outer bayonet fitting 50mm standard lens, either a Helios or a Jupiter, which cannot be fitted to other Kiev models because there is no clearance at the rear of the lens mount for the protruding part of the camera's inner bayonet's focusing mount. The other interchangeable lenses fit more smoothly to a Kiev 5 because there is no infinity lock to disengage.

I wasn't originally keen to buy a Kiev 5, not least because they cost three times as much as the other models, but eventually the void in my 'collection' persuaded me to bid on some in eBay auctions until I eventually won one. It is much better built than I was expecting from comments that I've read, and I find it very pleasant to use and its apparent extra weight seems to help in keeping it still during exposures. It's an interesting bridge between the classic Kiev and a conventional rangefinder of more modern design, and I'm quite surprised that it is not in much greater demand as a user's rangefinder camera.

Note that the changes in detail of the various models described here should be taken as generalisations only as there have been several instances reported of a particular camera sharing the characteristics of two different model types, for example, one with a 3A base but with the distinctive top deck of a 4.

Above The latest models: a 4AM, a 4M and a Kiev-5 (the only one engraved with its model number)

With Meter or Without?

The selenium meters fitted to Contax and Kiev models, while not needing batteries, are not very sensitive and have not aged very well. Of my five metered models, one is accurate, one - the newest - hardly works at all, and two are okay if I apply corrections to the GOST settings. To save trying to remember which is which, I now try to remember to carry a small hand-held selenium meter, which enables my exposures to be fairly consistent over eight Kiev models. In spite of this, I still prefer the handling and look of the metered models, and I miss the calculator dial when using a 4A or 4AM. Many years ago I committed to memory the exposure tables that came with films, and while I can look at a scene and say, for example, "That's 1/125 at f5.6," it's very handy to be able to set that on the Kiev's meter dial and see at a glance what the equivalent speed is for, say, f16, or how wide an aperure I need for a faster, action-stopping speed.

On the other hand, as I have mentioned earlier, the e.r. cases are the same size for either type of camera, and the unused space in my 4AM can be used to fit my small Leitz 50mm viewfinder. without having to keep taking it off. It is easier to see which mid-range shutter speeds are set on a chrome dial model 4A without them being obscured by the meter housing. Also, I suspect, but don't know for certain, that the Contameter parallax-compensating close up rangefinders available for the Contax are meant for use with the meterless bodies with their lower accessory shoes. Unfortunately, the 2, 2A and 4A still have the earlier, large, rewind knob, so the only meterless Kiev for me is the 4AM unless I go back to cartridge-to-cartridge film loading.

I haven't yet needed to but I would imagine that if you have to remove the top of a camera for service, it should be considerably more straightforward to do it with a meterless model.

The Accessory Lenses

The 28mm f6 Orion is much harder to find than the others and so is much more expensive. I have read that almost all of the factory's output of this lens was sent to T&OE in England. I bought a new one and sold it with my outfit in the 1970s without being aware of its scarcity, but I'd only used it a couple of times and hadn't been particularly impressed with it. It doesn't couple with the rangefinder and has to be focused by use of its distance scale, but since f6 is its maximum aperture, an estimated distance is sufficient. From my memory of it, it was good enough for its price then but I wouldn't pay "collectors'" price for a replacement now, and I'd suggest that the money saved by not buying one would be better placed in a fund to buy an excellent 28mm lens with apertures from f2.8 that is already attached to a body - the Ricoh GR1 or GR1s - with the bonus of owning a very small carry anywhere high quality camera.

The 35mm f2.8 Jupiter 12 is a much more useful lens. It does couple with the rangefinder and you have the choice of focusing with the serrated wheel or the lens body, depending on how well it mates with that particular Kiev body and the smoothness of rhe focussing barrel. You must be very careful when handling this lens because of its vulnerable glassware that has to be gently eased into the body cavity to avoid scratching. It's a source of amazement to me that so many have survived undamaged. The lens performs very well indeed, possibly because it can be focused with greater accuracy than that of a 35mm lens on an SLR camera. Be aware, though, that including a bright light source within the frame can give rise to spectacular multi-coloured flare..

Fit an 85mm f2 Jupiter 9 to your Kiev body and the character of the camera changes immediately. The lens dominates and the centre of gravity of the assembly moves forward a couple of inches. Alone in this group, the 85mm takes 49mm filters which makes it handy for me and my collection of Olympus OM filters and hoods. The performance of this lens is generally very well regarded by users. In its Leica screw form it needs a complicated arrangement of threaded sections that are very difficult to adjust satisfactorily over the whole focussing range but the Kiev version is free from such complications.

The 135mm f4 Jupiter 11 is the longest of the reasonably priced lenses and you can expect it to perform really well. A once-popular focal length in all s.l.r. camera systems, it has declined in recent years with the growth of quality zoom lenses. Very much the absolute maximum length for focusing accuracy with most rangefinder cameras, it falls well within the range of the Contax/Kiev because of its extra long rangefinder base, and indeed there was a 180mm Sonnar available for the original Contax.

All of these lenses were based on successful and expensive Zeiss pre-war designs and potentially offer the same very high levels of performance, qualities that can be shaved away by deterioration caused by age, mis-use or amateur disassembly.

The Universal Turret Viewfinder shows the fields of view for the 28, 35, 50, 85 and 135mm lenses and can be adjusted for parallax. In spite of what appears to be a very tiny peephole eyepiece, I find the view to be clearer than I expected, even while wearing glasses. It is a hard metal-to-glass contact though, and if you wear plastic lenses you may wish to glue something protective around the eyepiece to prevent scratching them. Unusually, the view is superimposed by two lines, one horizontal and one vertical, forming a cross at the centre that splits the view into quarters. I don't know what their original intended purpose was, but they have proved to be useful for helping to keep horizons level and buildings from tilting, not only by holding the camera upright, but also preventing them 'leaning back'. To do that, look directly at your view, decide where your eye level is and place the horizontal line across it.

There are variations in the design of the turret viewfinder. The view in some is bounded by a black mask and in others by concentric rectangles so that the out of frame view is not obscured. Also, as with the one illustrated below, some have the bulk of the housing to the left of the accessory shoe when fitted and are thought to be for use with the FEDs and Zorkis as they do not obstruct the shutter dial. Others are a mirror image of it and the main housing is to the right of the accessory shoe, and are thought to be for use with the Kievs, but it looks as though these should be avoided - see below*.

Since writing the above, Kevin Kalsbeek has been testing his turret viewfinders with a variety of cameras and lenses to compare the fields of view indicated by the parallax compensation of the finders and the actual fields shown on a ground glass screen in the camera's focal plane. Of particular interest to the Kiev user is that Kevin's results show that the higher accessory shoe on a metered Kiev gives a more accurate field of view than the lower ones of a meterless 2, 4A or 4AM. These tests apply to the left-bulge viewfinders as illustrated below.

*Kevin has just one turret viewfinder that bulges the other way and found that when parallax compensation was applied, the unit tilted "backwards." Quite useless of course, except for use at infinity.

Also available are small single focal length viewfinders and I have one for 35mm and another for 85mm lenses. The 85mm one needed considerable filing down before the foot would slide into a Kiev accessory shoe. Neither of these will tilt to show the view at close distances.

The turret viewfinder, the 135mm, 85mm and 35mm Jupiter lenses - the viewfinder is NOT shown to scale!
All three lenses are shown in chromium finish, but they were also made in black.

Filters and Lens Hoods

As already mentioned, the 85mm lens takes 49mm screw-in filters and lens hood, as does the 50mm standard lens for the outer bayonet of the Kiev 5. All of the rest, including the 50mm and 53mm inner bayonet standard lenses accept either 40.5mm screw-in, or 42mm push-on filters and hoods. This should make it easy for a user to equip him/herself with an adequate range but these sizes are really not easy to come by. Another annoyance is that if you are fortunate enough to buy a range of Zeiss 42mm push-on filters, you can not use them with a screw-in lens hood because such a mount does not have a screw thread and you will have to locate a Contax push-on hood, a very pricey item for what it is. You may have to resort to making your own hoods from cardboard tubes and black poster paint as I have. They are effective enough if the wind doesn't blow them off but they are of incongruous appearance when perched on our precision made equipment.

An alternative method often mentioned is the use of Series VI filter holders and hoods in conjuction with a 40.5mm adapter. This system was in use in the U.S.A. from the 1960s but appears to have died out. I have never come across any of it other than in a table in an old Mayfair Photographic catalogue and I wonder if it was ever in vogue in the UK.

Some heartening news is that the 40.5mm screw in mount may be making a comeack as this size is being revived on some of the new digital and video cameras.

Note that the 28mm and 35mm lenses are already hooded with their front elements set well back, and only if you fit a filter to them will they need an additional hood to shade stray light from the filter.

Choice of Camera Finish

Only chrome models came out of the Zavod Arsenal factory but there is at least one Ukrainian technician specialising in converting Kievs into black ones, and Yuri Boguslavsky in New York (see Useful Links page) regularly sells meterless ones for around US $200. I thus far haven't felt inclined to spend three or four times the going rate for a chrome one for such a novelty, but if a black 4M came along, it would be hard to resist - there is on a Russian website a picture of a metered Kiev that is black except for the front plate. Other Russian cameras are frequently seen on eBay in a variety of colours but without such a large uplift in price.

Where's the best place to buy a Kiev?

It's fairly unusual to find a Kiev in a UK camera shop and when you do it's usually very expensive and offered without any guarantees, which is why I was without a Kiev for twenty-five years.

The most obvious source is an eBay auction, and the cheapest ones are from sellers in Russia or Ukraine, though the supply has recently fallen off somewhat. From my experience I'd recommend the sellers who are prepared to offer a money-back guarantee and to avoid anything that is sold "as-is." If you have to pay by Western Union or MoneyGram money order, remember that this will add quite a lot to the price and I'm now careful to bid only on items where payment can be made either through Billpoint, PayPal International or CCNow. A few sellers from the former Soviet Union with whom I have had good experiences are annoushka, fotomaster, holms, photoua, and priluk and you should expect delivery in around seven to ten days to the UK. In the Slovak Republic there is the highly regarded cupog.To see what they have currently for sale, log on to eBay, select 'Search' and then 'by Seller' and enter each of these names in turn.

Remarkably, I have often found it to be easier and quicker to buy from the former USSR than from within the UK (except for such as the very speedy a.bargain), thanks to CCNow. Delays with UK transactions are mostly due to waiting for cheques to clear, a problem that has been addressed by Nochex, and I for one would like to see this system become more widespread. Details are at www.nochex.com. There are no fees for transactions, but each time you transfer funds to or from your Nochex account it costs 99 pence, against which you can offset the cost of a postage stamp, at least.

You should be aware that for many Eastern eBay sellers, cameras are just one of many commodities in which they trade, and that most do not have specialised knowledge. An exception is annoushka, who is an amateur photographer and an enthusiastic user of a Kiev 4. If it is important to you to buy from someone who is an expert, for advice or assurance, look at the auctions of fedka or see his website at www.fedka.com or email him with your questions. Yuri, a collector selling his 'overflow' more than just a trader, is in New York and rather more expensive than most Eastern sellers but he's a safer option for a beginner or someone who needs a Russian camera in tip-top working order. Vikentij Trofimov appears to be a camera specialist in Ukraine and I was pleased with the Kiev that I bought from him. He also now offers a very affordable camera repair service. You post your camera to him, he passes it onto a repairman and in due time it will come back to you. You have to be patient and avoid emailing Vikentij for progress reports for you won't get any. I haven't yet had cause to send him anything to repair but his service has an excellent reputation. See my Useful Links page. Sadly, he is talking of discontinuing this repair service soon to spend more time renovating his increasing numbers of cameras for sale.

The best quality in Russian cameras is reputed to be those imported into the UK by Technical & Optical Equipment (T&OE) in the 1970s as they inspected everything and corrected any faults they found. If a camera comes with documentation showing that it was a T&OE import, it should be a better than average choice, but, of course, it's no guarantee that the camera has been well treated in the intervening thirty-odd years.

Four Kiev 35mm rangefinder camera logos. From left to right: a protoype, single name (models 2 and 3),
the ubiquitous bi-lingual and the Kiev 5. Some cameras were sent to the USA with no name engraved.

Some Historical information

At the head of this page I make reference to the post-war transportation of the Contax production line from Dresden to Kiev. Currently there is an interesting Internet article by Larry Gubas, who went to Dresden and Jena to research the details and discovered, among other things, that the Kiev was originally going to be called the 'Volga.'

An On-Line Manual for the Kiev 4 and its variants

A kind member of the RF List (thanks again, Peter) has sent me an OCR'd scan of a Kiev 4 instruction booklet as supplied to UK buyers of the camera in the 1980s. Something in MS Word is preventing me from either printing it out or copying the illustrations to somewhere useful, but I have extracted the text from it, edited and added other models' data to it and have included it on this website for you to read, print (if your browser is compatible) or download upon clicking here.

My Kiev 4 Photo Gallery

I always like to receive feedback from visitors to this site and one such message mentioned the absence of any pictures taken with a Kiev, so to rectify that omission here are a few to start my Kiev 4 Gallery. I hope to add to it as time goes by. I sent two photos to the Russia2All gallery a while ago but the last time I looked they weren't doing well in the popularity voting.

Free Kiev wallpaper

My Windows desktop wallpaper/Kiev model identification chart is available for free download here. It is in medium resolution (800 x 600) and consists of six Kievs on a red background with white left and right margins for my desktop icons.Convert it back from a JPEG to a BMP for use.

This page was last updated on 26th June 2002

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