Re: [Leica] Re: Contax/Kiev

[Stephen <cameras@jetlink.net>]

the first Kiev 5 I saw had a broken advance.  I asked the local Russian camera
guy about it.   he told me of his difficulty of finding them for resale,
because many of them back in Russia had a similar problem.   He also told me
the Kiev 5  was always an uncommon camera.  "Classic Camera" (a well done,
expensive quarterly camera magazine) recently did a feature on Kiev 35's, and
didn't even list the 5 !!

My own Kiev 5 is presently having the straps replaced.

Stephen Gandy

Mark Langer wrote:

> In response to some of the responses to my posting on the Kiev 5, I've
> owned mine for several years and know several others who own the same
> model.  I have never had a problem with the lever film advance, nor do I
> know anyone else who has.  Has anyone on this list (including you Steve)
> experienced such problems, or is this basically hearsay?  I must admit
> that I use the knob wind on mine as frequently as the lever wind, so maybe
> I just haven't been making much of a demand on this component.
>
> As far as Kiev/Contax lenses not fitting the Kiev 5, it lacks the inner
> bayonet mount of the other Kiev/Contax cameras.  Hence, it takes a
> dedicated 50mm lens that fits via the same external bayonet mount that is
> found on all other Kiev/Contax camera.  All other focal lengths in the
> standard Kiev/Contax mount will fit with no problem.  I've never seen a
> Kiev 5 for sale without the 50mm lens, so I doubt that this variation
> would be much of an inconvenience.
>
> I should point out that not all models of this camera have bright lines
> for 85mm.  This is a distinct advantage and the ones with this feature are
> the ones that should be sought out.
>
> McKeown's lists this camera's value as around $350, as I recall, but I
> know that some were listed for auction on eBay some time ago and did not
> come close to this figure.  A clean Kiev 5 with 50mm Jupiter lens should
> be obtainable for less than $250.