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Hi There

i am new to the Russian cameras, i am a proud owner of a Kiev III early model, S/N 52612.

i am quite satisfied by the purchase, since is a really nice camera, just some quirks i need to get used.

the only details is upsetting me, and i still have an open controversy, and is the left selector/rewinding knob that is not convincing me!! I mean the position looks strange, but unfortunately i do not have access to any other kiev to judge.

by the way i just run two rolls of film and dev them and i am amazed by the IQ!! WOW for a 64 years old camera!!!!

cheers

Welcome Marcolin! Thanks for posting!

Kiev III of that year is very possible to have still have German parts and Zeiss glass, so the results should be pretty good. If you post the picture of the rewind knob in question someone here can tell you if it's normal or not.

Best regards,
Vlad.

Hi Vlad!!

thanks for the reply!!

http://www.ussrphoto.com/resize/resize_image.aspx?ImgWd=800&IptFl=/UserContent/2542016_knob.JPG

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2542016_knob.JPG

t is normal for the window to point against the side wall of the light meter? is barely visible, and also impossible to make all the time vs shutter speed couples turning it. not usre if i can explain myself.

By the way i am really pleased with this camera. it is really well done.

http://www.ussrphoto.com/resize/resize_image.aspx?ImgWd=800&IptFl=/UserContent/2542016_top.JPG

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2542016_top.JPG


regards

No, it's supposed to point back like this.. Someone reassembled it wrong.. (this is someone's image from this forum)

http://ussrphoto.com/UserContent/KievIII_A_53b.JPG

http://ussrphoto.com/UserContent/KievIII_A_53b.JPG

Thanks i seen some pictures but is difficult to judge only by them, would be nice to have two picture of the know all turned left and all turned right (e.g. min and max DIN)

the seller advised the camera as : 'It has been serviced and tested and works well' ...

well not a great job!!

regards

Just wondering how hard can be to sort the issue with the knob. I don't have any exerience with kiev's cameras but I see here people dismantling kiev to the very basic components. I have some experiences stripping some Japanese rangefinders for basic maintenance. Do you think is possible to sort it by myself?

I think it's just a matter of taking the knob off and reassembling it.. Here's a good site for reference maybe you can find something else, otherwise there are plenty of members here that can probably help as I'm not very skilled on repair.

http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/cleaning%20and%20repairs.html

Cheers,
Vlad.

Hi Marcolin. I have repaired many of these cameras and the Contax orginals. I can confirm that the meter scale and rewind knob at least are Zeiss components on your camera. What may have happened here is that the selenium cell for the meter has lost sensitivity and someone has rotated the DIN scale to try to compensate for it. Before altering anything compare the meter reading with a known good hand held meter - best to use a medium grey surface like a brick wall. You can then adjust the DIN scale in one of two ways depending on the design. The most common design has a slotted collar screwed down to lock the DIN scale; this can be loosened to allow adjustment, then firmly tightened to avoid the risk of the scale slipping when the film speed is altered. Some Zeiss meter scales had a different design with a tiny grubscrew drilled into the thread used to screw the scale onto the post, this was adjusted at the factory and locked the scale in place instead of the collar mentioned earlier. If yours had this fastening then I suspect the grub screw has been lost; once the scale is set correctly a drop of super glue on the thread will hold it.

Cheers,

Steve

...Realised I failed to mention that the film rewind knob needs to be removed and the collar with the F: stops engraved pulled off to access the meter scale - watch out for the crinkled washer under the rewind knob. The link kindly supplied by Vlad is for the later Kiev meter which is a different design in this area.

Steve

Hi Steve

thanks for the reply, i think there are some german components on my camera. I am considering doing this, but at the moment i am waiting for the seller to came back to me, if he want to pay all the shipment costs I will leave to him to sort this out.

i am also intrigued by do it by myself and i am looking for some information on the web, and i found this

http://fotos.cconin.de/kameras/kievrepair/index.htm

http://www.ussrphoto.com/resize/resize_image.aspx?ImgWd=800&IptFl=/UserContent/2742016_rewind.PNG

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2742016_rewind.PNG

i am still looking if can find some more info while waiting for the seller's response!

cheers

Hi - your camera MAY be set up correctly. Take a look at http://www.cameramanuals.org/zeiss_ikon/zeiss_ikon_contax_iii.pdf page 29. This shows a Contax III set to 18 degrees DIN and the position matches exactly my 1938 Contax III, whose meter scale was fixed by a grubscrew at the factory. Now on my camera, 27 degrees DIN is obscured by the meter housing (the early meters only went to 27 DIN) - I reckon 33 degrees DIN, if it were there, would be in the same place as on your camera.

Cheers,

Steve

Hi,

My M series Contax III and my 1949 Kiev III, both 33 DIN, have the same positions, from 5 o'clock to 9 o'clock.

Jacques.

Jaques Steve Thanks for reply!!

i think you are right, maybe the position is correct, I ended the controversy with the seller ( I managed to have discount 50% on the price of a nice Jupiter 12 1964 [8D] ) and I will investigate more, maybe i will open the Kiev just to see some details inside and at that point i will check better. there is still a small details is not convincing me 100% and is the Time dial on the same rewind/exposure knob, i will investigate better.

I am also waiting for a ContaxIII M series bought on ebay (advertised as working at high speeds / sticking at low speeds ) let see, maybe comparing the two will help.

cheers