All Forums  General Discussion  Collectors and Users Open Forum  On Kiev / Contax Quality in Context .

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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Antispam question: Please provide registration password: Answer: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON New! Upload Image Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by dee[/i] [br]I should very much like your opinion upon Kiev / Contax in terms of perceived value / quality . My 1952 K II is evidently of equal quality to a Contax - as has been said many times by those who know . Just using my more worn-in 1951 indicates this . Yet the nicely worn '51 does not call out to me as '' SEE ME '' It took a virtually mint Kiev to do that . However , in many respects a very little early used Kiev II must be BETTER than a pre war Contax II - unless it's a shelf queen . It's a decade at least younger , has been circulated only within a community whereby many would prefer to shun it in prefernce for Western cameras Ukrainian engineers who , even now , knowing how many early cameras have been messed with , recommend the latest camera possible , which does not help much in establishing the credentials of pre 1955 Kievs LOL HIistory distorts perception - Contax is associated with exclusivity and quality , Kiev is lost among the comparitively ordinary later issues . Wear for a Contax is ' patina ' , dignifying , Wear for a Kiev is damage , lessening . I admit to this prejudice from decades of Western indoctrination . It took a new KNeB II to awaken me . I ' knew ' that an early Kiev is the equal of Contax , but now I am aware . Honestly - am I crazy , or is there any validity in this perception ? [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature. Check here to subscribe to this topic.