Kiev 4a with 50mm F2 lens- Silver /Brown & Black Lizard Leather- Condition: Mint
Kiev 4a Rangefinder with 50mm f2 Lens - Silver/Red Leather: Condition: Mint-
About this camera
In some ways the most desirable as they don't have the meter and are therefore lighter and in some peoples opinion prettier. In beautiful condition, serviced and working beautifully. It has been restored and covered in beautiful brown & black Lizard Leather from Japan. The camera comes with a 6 month warranty, a roll of 24 exposures film, an original Kiev Instruction Manual (in English) and the original case.
The camera has the wonderful Jupiter 8M (the M means it has click stops) which is in excellent condition, without haze, scratches or fungus.
Body Serial No: 7704005 (1977)
Lens Serial No: 7701386 (1977) - 9 blades,6 elements in 3 groups
About Kiev Cameras
The Kiev rangefinder cameras were developed after WW II in the Arsenal factory in Kiev (Ukraine). Soviet forces had "relocated" equipment and personnel from the Zeiss Ikon factories in Germany. In Kiev Zeiss Ikon's Contax production line was set up again and quickly started production under the Kiev brand name. Pretty Much an identical copy of the Contax III just made in the USSR using the Contax manufacturing equipment. The lenses use the Contax mount and are terrific.
Early models are said to have been made from original Zeiss Ikon stock the Soviets had taken with them. There are reports of models with the original Contax nameplate behind the new Kiev shield.One of the excellent things about this Kiev is its long rangefinder base: 9 cm. This allows for very accurate focusing. For example, when you are focusing for a tightly composed portrait, you see a clear difference when the nose or the eyes are in perfect focus. Combined with the clear depth-of-field scale on the lens, this allows isolation of the subject from the background. Furthermore, the viewfinder and rangefinder are combined in one large bright window so you do not have to look through two windows for focusing and framing. Leica did not combine the two until the Leica M3 in 1954.
Kiev 4 and 4A (non-metered) are a follow up to the Kiev II and III which were copies of the Contax II and III respectively. With several improvements over the original design. It was made between 1956 and 1987 in several variations of the model, and over 1 million cameras were sold worldwide..
In many ways the Kiev is a reliable Contax clone and a sturdy piece of metal equipment. The bayonet for the lenses is the Contax rangefinder mount, so Carl Zeiss made Contax lenses can be used. This particular lens is a Jupiter-8M standard 50/2 lens.
It was made at the Arsenal plant and its serial number, starting "77", suggests it was produced in 1977. The lens has an engraved distance scale and two diaphragm scales, one visible from the top and the other only seen from the bottom of the lens. This is because the lens rotates during focusing, and the design allows one scale or other to be at least partially visible from above. In some focusing positions, the two scales are to the left and to the right. (By contrast, the Sonnar for the Contax II has only one scale, and the camera must be turned upside down to set the aperture at some focusing positions.)
The light meter on top of the camera is of the selenium cell type. By turning the ring on the left, the needle in the window is matched to the diamond. For overexposure by one or two stops, the meter has the marks -2 and -4 to extend its usability. A speed and aperture combination can then be read from the two metal rings. Of course this meter is not coupled to the lens; the photographer has to set these parameters by hand. Most selenium cell meters are dead or inaccurate now since they do not age very well, but on this copy it is working well. The sensitivity range on this camera is set in GOST, the Soviet equivalent of ISO/ASA. Note that the cold-shoe proudly states : "sdelano b CCCP"; made in the USSR. This may mean they were considered to be of export quality.