Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/07/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]G Hopkinson wrote: > > What is the silk cord problem that you referred to with the Kiev body? > Thanks for the remarks, Hoppy. I'll try and get a shot done with the Sonnar that you might like. It really does quite well. The film combination here (Fomapan 200 + Rodinal) probably doesn't do it justice when it comes to tonality. The silk cord ... A Kiev is a Contax, not a copy, really, but Arsenal (the factory where they were made) got the Zeiss Contax factory after the war. Germans lost and it was pay-back time. The Contax (second version) had a fantastic shutter (the first version was junk). Instead of cloth curtains it had metal. Nikon didn't bother copying this construction when they brought out their rangefinders. They just couldn't get it right. Too difficult. So the curtains don't break or get pin-holes, but the silk cords that pull them and space them do (about once every 30 or 40 years). They just need to be replaced. By the time they need to be replaced, there is also a lot of other cleaning that needs to be done. That's where I am. If you are really, really interested: http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/replace%20shutter%20ribbons.html Thanks again, Daniel