NOS Kiev 4 boxed from 1965 - french import

Hi,

Just bought a new Kiev 4 + Jupiter 3 boxed from 1965 !

Camera comes with box plus import receipt and invoice showing both camera and Jupiter 3 were sold at the same time. First time I see proof Jupiter 8 can be replaced with another lens.

Price was 580 french francs. Monthly wages were about 370 francs so, the camera was expensive (1967 Leica M2 price was 1339 francs).

In 1965, as a beginning teacher, I earned exactly 795,04 francs. and I was in the suburbs of Paris...
So, I could have bought your Kiev, Jed. But only if eating rice and drinking water...

Not really cheap, I think...

Jacques.

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Originally posted by Jacques M.

Not really cheap, I think...

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I guess the first 2 digits are the years 1962 and 1963. Little bit strange to sell them 2 years later in 1965. I wonder how much cheaper it would have been with Jupiter-8 or Jupiter-12 and in comparison a Fed-2.

And who knew back then what the serial meant? Shops didn't have many cameras in stock, and from single cameras it is hard to say that the beginning means year!

Best regards,
Juhani

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Originally posted by cedricfan

Shops didn't have many cameras in stock

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Maybe not many in stock in Russia and East Europe, but maybe not in France. It doesn't matter if people knew about the first 2-digits, it's still strange that this Kiev was sold so late, isn't it.

I know another example about a Zorki-C, made in March 1958 and sold in December 1962. The passport was sold on molotok so I guess this Zorki was sold in Russia. Could be that Zorki-C wasn't easy to sell because most people chose Fed-2.

Another sample :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/heritagefutures/6924945271/in/faves-31745579@N04/

Camera kiev from 1959 and sale around 1962.

quote:

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Originally posted by jed

Camera kiev from 1959 and sale around 1962.

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As a transitional version with mixed parts from 3A and 4 maybe it was difficult to sell. Of course, if you want to buy a new camera and you have to pay much money you want to have the latest model and not a transitional version with older parts. But still, I think it's interesting, it seems Kiev's were not easy to sell in 1960s.

How would you know about new camera models in the time before internet, and in time when special magazines were also rare? The models didn't change that often in those days either.

Best regards,
Juhani

As an old man, I fear you are completely right, Yuhani!
And not only about cameras...

Jacques.

quote:

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Originally posted by cedricfan

How would you know about new camera models in the time before internet, and in time when special magazines were also rare? The models didn't change that often in those days either.

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The Zorki-C I mentioned #58063788 was produced in March 1958. Much competition from Fed-2 at that time. Two month later the successor of the Zorki-C came out, Zorki-5 without wind-knobs. You think there was no advertising in newspapers at that time? In 1959 Zorki-6 was available. Would you buy an old bottom-loader now? This is not the only example that a camera wasn't sold, but a special one. It was sold in November 1962.

And this transitional Kiev was even more expensive. Nobody wanted to buy it. I'm sure I wouldn't pay much money for an old model.

In 1960-ies Finland (4.000.000 people then) we had ONE technical magazine. It tested maybe twelwe cameras each year. There was one Smena, one Lubitel, and two Zenits in test, and for a whole ten years period. A couple of short one page intros also. I know because I searched all old numbers to find more knowledge, which was very rare to find. Back then I went to library to read magazines, as my brother started buying that magazine as late as 1972. Sometimes I got to read foreign camera magazines, but I think only one Swedish magazine came to the library.
Advertisements: usually for expensive cameras. And small, with little text.
Plus that not all models ever came here. I think there was more models that we didn't got than those we got!

Best regards,
Juhani