A couple of pictures from KIEV 4aM

[leica M2 fan]

Am absolutely enthralled with the new for me Kiev 4aM I just received. Here are a couple pictures I took today with the Helios 103. Hope you like them, any comments are appreciated. Hope you can see the great color I saw and the sharpness. TIA

[Ash]

They remind me of holidays when I was younger, when we went to Lanzarote and other canary islands. Very similar feel. Where is that?

[captainslack]

Nice! I have the same setup, but haven't shot any color film yet. Have to run some through next time I take it out.

[leica M2 fan]

It is very nice, I like the soft pastel colors especially with Fuji Superia 100 or 200. These photos were taken in the San Francisco Bay area in San Mateo County.

[kmack]

Nice job with your Kiev. Try some of the Fuji Velvia slide film next.

Last summer I ran some Fuji Velvia 100 through my Kiev 4. I only tried it because the camera store near me had a sale on some that had expired very recently. The slides, while artistically banal, were very sharp and had great color, tone and very low grain. While most of that was due to the quality of the film, the Kiev acquitted it self very well, and I had to congratulate myself on getting the exposures correct using a hand held meter.

[leica M2 fan]

still.... color rendition, sharpness, good exposure count for something. I used a hand held meter and the exposures were right on and I also congratulated myself. There will be time in the near future for more artistic representation. Thanks for your comments.

[FrankS]

What I love about your post is that you are clearly expressing joy in the use of an FSU camera even though you are a Leica owner. Like me and many other Leica owners, we simply love photography and interesting gear, and do not desrve the "Leica snob" label. (I do admit though that there are some folks who do.)

[David Murphy]

Am absolutely enthralled with the new for me Kiev 4aM I just received. Here are a couple pictures I took today with the Helios 103. Hope you like them, any comments are appreciated. Hope you can see the great color I saw and the sharpness. TIA
Fantastic performance -- I am impressed

[leica M2 fan]

What I love about your post is that you are clearly expressing joy in the use of an FSU camera even though you are a Leica owner. Like me and many other Leica owners, we simply love photography and interesting gear, and do not desrve the "Leica snob" label. (I do admit though that there are some folks who do.)

I am enjoying the FSU cameras and haven't shot the Leica in over a month. I just can't get over how great the FSU lenses are especially the JUP-8 and I-61LD and the Helios 103 on the Kiev. The colors are so vivid and clear and extremely sharp.I checked some similar photos made with a Nikon 35-105 AF lens and the only difference I can see is that there is less light fall off at the edges. If one prefers the truer real colors then this is the way to go, but I kind of like contrasty images along with very nice, strong blue sky.Thanks for your comments Frank, I value your opinion.

[DaveP]

Those lenses love a polarizer, try one , you'll be impressed!

[rolleistef]

you look so open-minded for leica users! I once asked on a leica forum an objectiv vision on a IIIf, explaining that I wanted to choose between different cameras (a F3, a Rolleiflex and a
IIIf.. I know they're very different cameras but i'm quite flexible and the way I shoot depends on the camera, not the contrary) and they answered had to buy a R6. "why" i said "because there's nothing as good as Leica".
Well your 4am shows it's not completely true! of course a creamy III is just heaven on earth but winding a Kiev is (nearly) as good, and I'm really having fun with mine! If you mount a nice old lens on it, you can get amazing vintage-looking pictures... nearly lith-looking!

[vrgard]

Nice to see another Leica owner appreciating the virtues of a Kiev. I, too, enjoy both cameras very much and find the negative comments I've seen about the Kievs a bit off the mark at times. As much as I love using my Leica, there's no beating the value one gets out of an entire Kiev outfit of camera plus multiple lenses for less than $300 total. Particularly when you start seeing the quality of the images that can be obtained. And yeah, I do enjoy the very mechanical feel and heft of the Kiev camera.

[leica M2 fan]

Nice to see another Leica owner appreciating the virtues of a Kiev. I, too, enjoy both cameras very much and find the negative comments I've seen about the Kievs a bit off the mark at times. As much as I love using my Leica, there's no beating the value one gets out of an entire Kiev outfit of camera plus multiple lenses for less than $300 total. Particularly when you start seeing the quality of the images that can be obtained. And yeah, I do enjoy the very mechanical feel and heft of the Kiev camera.

My first 12 exposure roll went off without one glitch from loading to unloading and I got 14 shots to boot ! Very easy to wind on, and all in all a good experience. The " grip" is a little hard to accomplish right off but it will get better with practice.I also like the heft of the camera. Used the 35mm JUP-12 in the last 3 shots with an old Telesar multiple viewer and it was just fine. :D

[leica M2 fan]

you look so open-minded for leica users! I once asked on a leica forum an objectiv vision on a IIIf, explaining that I wanted to choose between different cameras (a F3, a Rolleiflex and a
IIIf.. I know they're very different cameras but i'm quite flexible and the way I shoot depends on the camera, not the contrary) and they answered had to buy a R6. "why" i said "because there's nothing as good as Leica".
Well your 4am shows it's not completely true! of course a creamy III is just heaven on earth but winding a Kiev is (nearly) as good, and I'm really having fun with mine! If you mount a nice old lens on it, you can get amazing vintage-looking pictures... nearly lith-looking!
I just like using different cameras and photo gear, I can't honestly tell anyone what is the absolute best camera out there. They all have their own charm and some people like Contax, some like FED, some like Canonet, some like Retina folders. I enjoy them all.

[FrankS]

I enjoy the variety. I can understand (convince myself of) the logic/wisdom of sticking with one good woman/partner, but not the view of using/enjoying just one camera.