Best video on the Kiev i've seen. It may be worth adding tags / title for 'Kiev 4' etc because a lot of what you show is almost identical for those, just knobs look a tiny bit different specifically the light / shutter calculator
The Kiev is a lovely camera to look at, and the rangefinder spacing makes it one of the most practical to use. It also has a pretty quiet shutter. The downside is the complexity of the shutter which make it a specialist job if one fails. I prefer it to the FSU Leica spin-offs. Nice review!
You have to have the long end of the take up spool facing the bottom plate. Practice taking the back off and putting it back. Note the way he turned the knobs.
Fantastic video. I own + use a Kiev 4 with superb results from it's Jupiter 8m lens. Whisper quiet shutter is a delight. Did you get round to testing the Jupiter 12 35mm lens with the Kiev? I've often desired getting this lens as it has a reputation for for rivaling much more high calibre lenses such as Ziess etc, although prices seem to have crept up somewhat. Thanks for the video. Ps: I also have an Orion 28mm f6 lens in m39 screw mount not yet used - again would love you to test this lens
The Kievs are lovely cameras - I remember eyeing them rather enviously in Dixons in the late 70s - they seemed very exotic at the time! The J12 works nicely with the Kiev, but in my experience are very difficult to mount! One bonus of the Kiev system is that lenses are quite a lot cheaper than L39 versions. I'd love to test that Orion lens - I've heard a lot about it, but have never used one. If you'd like me to review it, please contact me at zenography11@gmail.com
@@zenography7923 Hi Nigel, Re: Orion 28mm lens Thank you for your reply. I will willingly send you the lens for a review by yourself. This lens was purchased several years ago but has sat in a draw. The main reason being that I have not got round to obtaining a 28mm viewfinder. Please send me your postal name + address including advised postal service + I will send it on to you! Yours truly Derek Holmes
Hello, I love your reviews! I'd like to know how many focal length USSR lenses are available for Kiev cameras, and how the viewfinder/rangefinder works on those, because I always watch videos about Jupiter and Industar lenses, all of those around 50mm. Best regards!!
Hi there, glad you're enjoying the videos! There were quite a few lenses made for the Kiev - Jupiter 8 (50mm), Helios 104 (50mm), Jupiter 11 (135mm), Jupiter 12 (35mm) are the most common ones I think. There may also be some wider lenses - the very rare Orion 15 is a 28mm lens. There are others too, that you can read about here: www.sovietcams.com/index.php?398258553 Lenses for the Kiev are not as common as the Russian L39 lenses, however, as they are Contax mount, all the pre war Contax lenses will fit, and many post war ones too. As I'm sure you're aware, you'll need an external viewfinder with the appropriate focal length for any lens other than 50mm. Thanks for watching!
Zenography Might be worth mentioning that the Russian turret viewfinder comes in left and right handed versions. The more common one where the actual turret is to the left of the mounting foot when viewed from behind is for Leica/Zorki/Fed cameras while the less common right handed one is for Contax/Nikon/Kiev. I think the right handed one might actually hit the shutter speed dial if mounted on a Zorki 4, but I don’t yet have one to try. The left handed one does fit in a Kiev 4A, but it makes the rewind knob rather difficult to use unless removed while rewinding film. Because the active viewfinder is not directly above the taking lens the parallax correction for close subjects is not as accurate as when the correct finder is used. What is the complication when mounting a Jupiter 12? I’m hoping to get one for my Kiev 4A soon. Does it mount on the internal or the external bayonet.
Thanks, glad you liked the video. As I recall, this camera was a real bargain at around £35 - it wasn't well described and I think that scared off some buyers; I took a risk but in this case it paid off!
Great review, I just purchased a slightly later model of the same camera, the Kiev 4 type 3 which also has the light meter. Quick question mine came with a film spool that needs the end of the film to be trimmed to fit in as its narrow, also very tricky for the film to catch and start winding around. Is it possible that I have the wrong spool for this model as I was expecting the spool to simply take the standard end leader width
I think I might know the answer to this one. The Kiev take up spool is, for some reason, often lost, and a common fix is to take the spool from a used 35mm cartridge and use that instead. It works, but can be a bit tricky. Sounds to me like that's what the problem is. Thanks for watching!
Zenography thank you for the reply, you are right and in fact I ended up finding a used exacta camera spool which is perfect and metal and works really well :)
Zenography really surprised at how well this camera is engineered , I guess it’s a Contax after all . Can’t wait to try it now I have a spool will keep you posted
Hi, a nice review again. A lot of info about the Kiev story. The title says, "Kiev rangefinders by Peter Henning". Here the web page. www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/zconrfKiev.htm . I hope you like it. Maybe you know it allready.
is it stable and solid and reliable? - i asked,because i already have smena symbol and Fujica ST605N - i never tested,how these camera take picture,i have to ask: what about quality of the pictures from kiev 3?
It depends which lens you use - many have a Jupiter 8, which is very nice indeed; some have a Helios 103 which is said to be a bit nicer! No problem with picture quality from the Kiev!
Best video on the Kiev i've seen. It may be worth adding tags / title for 'Kiev 4' etc because a lot of what you show is almost identical for those, just knobs look a tiny bit different specifically the light / shutter calculator
Very good review and demonstration. Loved the whole light meter reading bit. Thank you.
The Kiev is a lovely camera to look at, and the rangefinder spacing makes it one of the most practical to use. It also has a pretty quiet shutter. The downside is the complexity of the shutter which make it a specialist job if one fails.
I prefer it to the FSU Leica spin-offs. Nice review!
Yes, it's a beautiful old thing, straight from the age of mechanism and machinery. Glad you liked the review and thanks for watching!
Very interesting to see also on Kiev-5
You have to have the long end of the take up spool facing the bottom plate. Practice taking the back off and putting it back. Note the way he turned the knobs.
I just picked up a Kiev 3 today (Oct. 9, 2021) and this video is very helpful. Mine is serial #5705463 with Jupiter 8 #5727594.
These are lovely cameras, and the earlier ones have the reputation of being rather better made than later ones. Enjoy!
Great video. I shoot with a Contax III
Fantastic video. I own + use a Kiev 4 with superb results from it's Jupiter 8m lens.
Whisper quiet shutter is a delight.
Did you get round to testing the Jupiter 12 35mm lens with the Kiev?
I've often desired getting this lens as it has a reputation for for rivaling much more high calibre lenses such as Ziess etc, although prices seem to have crept up somewhat.
Thanks for the video.
Ps: I also have an Orion 28mm f6 lens in m39 screw mount not yet used - again would love you to test this lens
The Kievs are lovely cameras - I remember eyeing them rather enviously in Dixons in the late 70s - they seemed very exotic at the time! The J12 works nicely with the Kiev, but in my experience are very difficult to mount! One bonus of the Kiev system is that lenses are quite a lot cheaper than L39 versions. I'd love to test that Orion lens - I've heard a lot about it, but have never used one. If you'd like me to review it, please contact me at zenography11@gmail.com
@@zenography7923
Hi Nigel,
Re: Orion 28mm lens
Thank you for your reply.
I will willingly send you the lens for a review by yourself.
This lens was purchased several years ago but has sat in a draw. The main reason being that I have not got round to obtaining a 28mm viewfinder.
Please send me your postal name + address including advised postal service + I will send it on to you!
Yours truly Derek Holmes
Hello, I love your reviews! I'd like to know how many focal length USSR lenses are available for Kiev cameras, and how the viewfinder/rangefinder works on those, because I always watch videos about Jupiter and Industar lenses, all of those around 50mm.
Best regards!!
Hi there, glad you're enjoying the videos! There were quite a few lenses made for the Kiev - Jupiter 8 (50mm), Helios 104 (50mm), Jupiter 11 (135mm), Jupiter 12 (35mm) are the most common ones I think. There may also be some wider lenses - the very rare Orion 15 is a 28mm lens. There are others too, that you can read about here: www.sovietcams.com/index.php?398258553
Lenses for the Kiev are not as common as the Russian L39 lenses, however, as they are Contax mount, all the pre war Contax lenses will fit, and many post war ones too. As I'm sure you're aware, you'll need an external viewfinder with the appropriate focal length for any lens other than 50mm. Thanks for watching!
Zenography
Might be worth mentioning that the Russian turret viewfinder comes in left and right handed versions. The more common one where the actual turret is to the left of the mounting foot when viewed from behind is for Leica/Zorki/Fed cameras while the less common right handed one is for Contax/Nikon/Kiev. I think the right handed one might actually hit the shutter speed dial if mounted on a Zorki 4, but I don’t yet have one to try. The left handed one does fit in a Kiev 4A, but it makes the rewind knob rather difficult to use unless removed while rewinding film. Because the active viewfinder is not directly above the taking lens the parallax correction for close subjects is not as accurate as when the correct finder is used.
What is the complication when mounting a Jupiter 12? I’m hoping to get one for my Kiev 4A soon. Does it mount on the internal or the external bayonet.
That is a lovely looking camera, may I ask how much this was please? Thanks for another great video, hope you are well.
Thanks, glad you liked the video. As I recall, this camera was a real bargain at around £35 - it wasn't well described and I think that scared off some buyers; I took a risk but in this case it paid off!
Great review, I just purchased a slightly later model of the same camera, the Kiev 4 type 3 which also has the light meter. Quick question mine came with a film spool that needs the end of the film to be trimmed to fit in as its narrow, also very tricky for the film to catch and start winding around. Is it possible that I have the wrong spool for this model as I was expecting the spool to simply take the standard end leader width
I think I might know the answer to this one. The Kiev take up spool is, for some reason, often lost, and a common fix is to take the spool from a used 35mm cartridge and use that instead. It works, but can be a bit tricky. Sounds to me like that's what the problem is. Thanks for watching!
Zenography thank you for the reply, you are right and in fact I ended up finding a used exacta camera spool which is perfect and metal and works really well :)
@@hayderassam Glad it worked out. How are you enjoying the camera?
Zenography really surprised at how well this camera is engineered , I guess it’s a Contax after all . Can’t wait to try it now I have a spool will keep you posted
Hi, a nice review again. A lot of info about the Kiev story. The title says, "Kiev rangefinders by Peter Henning". Here the web page. www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/zconrfKiev.htm . I hope you like it. Maybe you know it allready.
"world's tallest rangefinder" Take a gander at a Mamiya Super 23, for example.
Could you make a video of the zenit camera alone?
Hi there, check out the video entitled 'Zen and Zenit' for a review of the Zenit SLR.
is it stable and solid and reliable? - i asked,because i already have smena symbol and Fujica ST605N - i never tested,how these camera take picture,i have to ask: what about quality of the pictures from kiev 3?
It depends which lens you use - many have a Jupiter 8, which is very nice indeed; some have a Helios 103 which is said to be a bit nicer! No problem with picture quality from the Kiev!
🙏🙏🙏
Thanks for looking in Gopal!