Reconditioned Kievs

Gyck

Has anyone here bought any reconditioned Kievs from Kievcameras or Arax Photo? I'm interested in a reconditioned Kiev 88CM or an Arax MLU and I'm wondering about the quality of the cameras from either company.

Ta.

Slav

Quite a few Kiev88-based and some Kiev60-based cameras suffer from uneven curtains travel at 1/250 and above. Seems like this problem cannot be easily fixed (if can be at all). Arax kindly keeps an example on its website:
http://araxphoto.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=87

Also there is a limited selection of accessories. In particular there is lack of AE prism finders and spot finders (the Spot TTL for K-88 is spot only from the marketing perspective).

IMHO the only reason to go for a reconditioned Kiev is a collection of Pentacon-Six lenses already in possession. But still I would consider a Mamiya 645 body and a Pentacon to Mamiya adapter if I could live with auto-aperture control not working (as a first option) or a plain Kiev-60/Kiev-6C or Pentacon-Six (as second).

Gyck

Thanks for the reply. I didn't know about the problem with the shutter, very obvious in the sample image. Do you know if this is a consistent problem?

So, do you consider the 60 to be better than the 88, and would you differentiate between the Kiev and the Arax versions?

I had discounted sourcing a Kiev from ebay based on the problems with variable quality. Would you recommend sourcing a Mamiya on ebay?

Again, thanks for the reply.

Slav

Gyck wrote:

Do you know if this is a consistent problem?

I don't think it is. It might appear from time to time on certain bodies and at the same time there are people claiming they have never seen it.

Gyck wrote:

do you consider the 60 to be better than the 88

It really depends. I think 6C and 60 is a successful Pentacon rework while 88 is not so successful copy of Hasselblad (though it's only my opinion). What might be seen as Kiev-60 advantages is that it's dirt cheap and rather simple camera. Out of the box it might benefit from some improvements (like internal flare reduction, mirror springs removal/adjustments, simple MLU installation and possibly film frames interspacing adjustment) but they are pretty straightforward and suitable even for DIY.

Gyck wrote:

would you differentiate between the Kiev and the Arax versions?

Obviously Arax/Kievcamera/Harblei etc. are better. It's just like quality control for Arsenal so they do the necessary adjustments plus they install some nice features like MLU or Pentacon mount on K-88. My point is does it really cost the price difference? I would definitely prefer a Mamiya or Bronica SLR for about the same money.

Gyck wrote:

Would you recommend sourcing a Mamiya on ebay?

Well, it's a matter of personal experience I guess. I got my RZ67 on ebay with no problems. Dealing with a reputable seller can significantly reduce the risk.

Another good source of used photo equipment is keh.com. Their grading system is rather pessimistic from my experience so what they mark bargain can often be seen on ebay described as excellent.

Gyck

Many thanks for the detailed feedback!

mtracey

Have you considered the Pentacon 6TL ?

Redundo

I have an Arax modified Kiev 60 MLU bought directly from the Arax website. I have had absolutely no problems with the camera, it has worked perfectly since the first time I recieved it. In fact it is my favourite camera.

I don't particularly like the TTL prism, it works well enough, but I prefer the waist-level finder and using a lightmeter or another camera to judge exposure. I've never found high shutter speeds to be a problem; the lenses go to f22 so you don't often need to go beyond a 500th of a second anyway.

Would I buy one off eBay? No. The Arax guys are reliable and well-priced.

Would I buy another Kiev given the choice? Honestly, no probably not. I love the camera, I really do. But at the moment fully kitted Mamiyas are going for roughly the same price on eBay as the Arax. No comparison. Though you may have problems getting deliveries to Ireland.

Arax do have one or two advantages over other Med Formats though; namely the 30mm Fish-eye lens and the Tilt-Shift lenses. These are specialist kind of lens, but they are meant to be good quality.

Gyck

Have you considered the Pentacon 6TL ?

No, I haven´t. I´m actually looking for something with interchangable backs, I`m not sure if the 6TL`s give me that flexibility. I probably should have been clearer when I initially posted.

Redundo, thanks for the detailed feedback. I was initially interested in the Arax version of the Kiev 88 kits due to the incusion of two film backs and the 6*6 format, and that´s still an important part of my decision making.

I`ve been looking at Mamiya kits on eBay on the back of Slavs comments. Something I can`t seem to find are 6*6 backs for the Mamiyas. There seem to be some good deals on eBay for the 645 Pros but I would really like to retain use of the 6*6 format.