The most I have ever spent on a camera

[TVphotog]

Just occured. Even my vaulted Nikon F3 did not cost this much. I hemmed and hawed about the purchased for the last 2 days. I just finally summed up all the courage I had... Unfortunately, I am at work and was not able to fortify myself with some liquid courage. I pulled the trigger on this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290157727728&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fse arch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D 290157727728%2B%2B%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1


Once the seller confirms the cost. I will use paypal, just in case. Then it is an anxious wait for the mailman. Oh, that will be the worst. I hope the camera is just decent.

[TVphotog]

I guess it is just the trepidation of dealing with the unknown that has me so worked up. This is gonna be one anixous wait for the postal person!!!!!

[Xmas]

The kneb's are nice

Noel

[varjag]

They sure are getting expensive..

[dee]

Nice one - better than mine , but early ones 1950 /51 sem more expensive .

My pair of Kiev 2 and 3 kost me $190 a month ago , but they are 1954/5.

Now I want to have them cla

Dee

[TVphotog]

That was really what sold me on it. It is a 1950 model with a J-8M and a ZK 50mm. Most of the Kievs with ZKs that I have seen are at least twice as expensive. Every other Kiev I was watching on Ebay and other places was close if not just as expensive and a newer model to boot. Like I said, really it is just the fear of nothing ever showing up in the mailbox. At least I can use paypal and have some recourse if that happens. Some one beat me out earlier this week on a less expensive, but again newer model. I didn't want that to happen and decided to just bite the bullet. I can see a few spots in the pictures where the camera body was obviously repainted. So I am not kidding myself. I don't think it will be a jewel, but I could be wrong. Most of the ones I have seen lately are a bit beat. The insides of this one look to be a bit cleaner than my '56 model, which is still in pieces. Come to think of it I don't believe that I have one working Kiev right now. I have a 4A that is close, but no workers right now.

[dll927]

The most I've ever spent for a camera has to be for my Maxxum 7D. And I bought it when they brought the price down from $1,600 to $1,100.

However, I'm old enough that I have to temper my comments regarding prices. In 1983 I bought a Leica M4-2 for $800 for the body. I won't go into what a new Leica would cost now.

Inflation eats away. When I was in high school I had a Montgomery Ward photo catalog. There was an RF Contax for $444, and I still remember that price, even though I'm talking about the mid-1950s. That was a lot of shekels in those days - probably more than many people earned in a month. So when we talk about prices, we have to be a bit careful WHEN we are talking about.

[Tom hicks]

Paul ,take a deep breath , it will all be OK. When it comes in price won't matter anymore , specially when that first roll come out just like you like it. My Zorki 4 is pretty smooth when compared to the Fed 5 and the fed 3 is almost as smooth as the Z. Are the Kiev's smoother than the Z's , tell me they are not. there was a Kiev 4m on ebay that went for 29.00 in OK City. I was going to bid on it and had been watching it for 14 days , didn't sell the first time but it was very close to mint. I'm sure the older ones are better .

Thanks again for the help.

Tom

I looked at the thread on shutter curtains and from what I can figure out , both curtains on my Z4 are evenly spaced. but the second curtain must be a little slower than the first. I don't think I'm up to the task of fixing it myself so will prob. just send it to Oleg or someone local.

[zhang xk]

The most I've ever spent for a camera has to be for my Maxxum 7D. And I bought it when they brought the price down from $1,600 to $1,100.

However, I'm old enough that I have to temper my comments regarding prices. In 1983 I bought a Leica M4-2 for $800 for the body. I won't go into what a new Leica would cost now.

Inflation eats away. When I was in high school I had a Montgomery Ward photo catalog. There was an RF Contax for $444, and I still remember that price, even though I'm talking about the mid-1950s. That was a lot of shekels in those days - probably more than many people earned in a month. So when we talk about prices, we have to be a bit careful WHEN we are talking about.

Hi,

I am owndering what $444 1950's dollars equals today's money? A Kiev 4 was about 3x the price of a Rolex in 1970's.:D

[TVphotog]

Ok, this has spurred me onward to finish getting my Kiev 4A back together. This is the one I bought a while back that was beautiful until one of the shutter ribbons broke. I just used a good shutter from one of the junk 4s I have laying around. Last night, while watching some action flick on TV, I put it all back. I now have one functioning Kiev 4A. Unfortunately, the shutter out of the 4 is not as smooth as the shutter it replaces. Eventually, I plan to replace the ribbons in the original shutter and re-unite it with the body. Gonna toss a roll of BWCN400 in it today and shoot it real quick. Good thing about the camera I just bought. The seller claims a shipping time of 5 business days. We shall see and no doubt I will give a full report of the experience good or bad. I am hoping for a good experience!!!

[Keith]

I hope it's a good camera for you because the early Kiev II (Kneb) is quite a piece of gear. I bought mine from Fedka and I think I paid more than that for it but it's a gem of a camera and I love using it ... with a good Jupiter 3 on it's a match for a Contax and Sonnar any day! :)

[fanshaw]

Hi,

I am owndering what $444 1950's dollars equals today's money? A Kiev 4 was about 3x the price of a Rolex in 1970's.:D

The price of a new Kiev-4 in the UK then was around 25-30 GBP. I have no idea of the price of a Rolex at that time, but I suspect that it would be much more.

[zorroflores]

444 USD-1950 = 3,629 USD-2006

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual sold for $125 in 1965 = 785 USD 2006 but the current price is over 3,000 USD, Rolex was not the hype it is now until de 80's or so they say..

[fanshaw]

444 USD-1950 = 3,629 USD-2006

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual sold for $125 in 1965 = 785 USD 2006 but the current price is over 3,000 USD, Rolex was not the hype it is now unitl de 80's or so they say..

The Kiev was much cheaper than a Rolex and more surprisingly, about the same price as an Olympus Trip.

[TVphotog]

Okay, the camera arrived today. Twelve days to get to the middle of America from the Ukraine is not too shabby. Pretty good travel time I would say. Anyway, the camera looks just like pictured. I played with the shutter speeds and they seem close to right. The ZK lens looks good as well. It does have some light cleaning marks on the front element though. I think that it will still perform well. A couple of things that I did notice. The ZK lens seems a bit shorter than the J-8 that was included as well. Also, it is a bit lighter. Now, from fellow КНЕБ-ers (kiev owners for cyrillically challenged readers;) ) are there things or markings I should be on the look out to tell if my newest arrival is part contax? I know if I take off the front cover and it has contax engraved on it I am good. I was wondering if there were some tell-tale signs that may give a clue as well. First, I gotta put some film in and see what the real problems are!!!

Thanks

[Santafecino]

TV--
If the back is from a Contax it says Zeiss Ikon. (No joke; mine does). And Kiev po-russkiy is KNEB, with the N turned around.

You are going to love it, and we have Communism to thank for these glorious relics. Doesn't bother me but it sometimes seems strange.

My advice--get a Jupiter 9 and a Jupiter 12 and really go to town.
--Lindsay

[kiev4a]

One of the reason the earlier Kiev IIs were smooth is at least some of the parts were actually made in Germany and brought back to the SU. One from 1950 very well could have some German parts. Later Kievs were all Soviet-made parts and the longer they made 'em the sloppier the quality control got. Some of the last Kiev 4ams were allegedly hauled directly from the factory to the dump. There was a "No Name Kiev" without any brand name on the front plate, supposedly made for very limited introduction in the U.S., that is supposedly the best of all the models quality-wise.

[NickTrop]

The Kiev is more expensive than the Rolex but it has a much, much better lens and smoother shutter. Could never get a good pic out of my Rolex.

[kiev4a]

Most I ever spent on an FSU camera was $170 about four years ago for a 1948 FED/Zorki. Wish I had kept it because they are worth about three times that price now.

[SolaresLarrave]

I really, really, really and absolutely DO NOT appreciate the effect this thread had on me. I cannot sue you because it's not your fault, but if I ever buy a FSU camera, it'll be your fault and only your fault, TV. :)

At least the one your seller had looked good... and very interesting.

[TVphotog]

Yeah, I already have a J12 to go with the other bodies I have. I just was interested if there might be some 'contax' type markings inside the camera that would lend some clue as to it's birth. So far, the camera seems fine. It appears that the rangefinder is off a bit on the horizontal. The shutter is also very sticky. I need to 'jiggle' the advance knob to get it to fire. I have run some film through it and will get it developed tonight. The camera top will come off and all the ol' Jak Snot will get cleaned out. I think that once I clean and relube the camera the shutter problems will disappear. I could be wrong, it has happened before;)

[TVphotog]

Okay, here she is!!! I did cheat a bit. She was disassembled last night and given a good cleaning. I also repainted a bit as well. The front logo got a new coat and the serial number as well. The film counter dial will get a repaint tonight. The body itself, needs a repaint as well, but that will have to wait a while. I still have a 2A in the pile that is in the process of being repainted and re-skinned. The shutter problem has not gone away yet, but I think I have a line on it. Of course, I can only get the shutter to fowl when the camera is together. When I disassemble the camera the shutter operates fine. I believe that there is something impeading the advance gears. I just have to figure out what it is. The film ran through yesterday has not been picked up yet. I do know that I will have to replace all the light seals. The one where the back meets the top casting is gone as well as the ones that surround the RF and VF windows. Anyway, that is enough rambling for now, on to the pics. As we all know threads like this are useless without pictures.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/cgarman/Zorki%203M/kiev1.jpg
This is her. The front emblem shows nicely now that it has been repainted.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/cgarman/Zorki%203M/kiev2.jpg
This is the ZK lens. You can see the scratches on the front element. I used this lens when shooting film in the camera yesterday, so we will see how it performs.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/cgarman/Zorki%203M/kiev3.jpg
Serial number showing 1950 vintage.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/cgarman/Zorki%203M/kiev4.jpg
Ziess bumps!!!!


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/cgarman/Zorki%203M/kiev5.jpg
This shot actually shows the bad paint on the body. It will definitely need some touching up at some point. The leatherette covering looks pretty decent for 57 years old. It is not nearly as dried out as the covering of my 2A was. I will effort some pics of the case as it is home-made and quite the work of art!!!