Old soviet photography equipment

[agnixie]

So I got a Kiev 19 a bit back but haven't shot it yet, because I forget to get film for it (it wasn't really so much fake soviet nostalgia as the fact that it was cheap enough that I could consider it without second thoughts).

And I wondered if any shutterbugs on there had tried them. I've also been curious for a bit about their Blad clone (which iirc isn't actually a clone for the internals), the Kiev 88, and I wondered whether there was anything I should worry about before taking it out for a try/considering getting the latter to try medium format. Are Kievs any good, besides the fact that they're obviously rather bare, no-nonsense mechanical cameras.

[khad]

According to a hobbyist friend of mine, some of those bare, mechanical cameras contain some of the finest lenses ever put into mass market cameras.

Quality varies, obviously, but there's a good chance that you might be able to find a gem. The Kiev 88 in particular is noted for its selection of quality lenses.

http://haardt.net/kiev88cmreview.htm

[Spawn of Stalin]

I used a Kiev 17 in college which is pretty similar to the 19, it has a Nikon mount so it was easy to find glass for it. I don't know about Kiev branded lenses but their 35 slrs were budget models so I doubt they're anything special. Nice cameras but the meters aren't exactly reliable, mine was completely non-functional when I bought it, I don't know if the 19 can be operated fully manual but the 17 can. Personally I haven't used a light meter, internal or external, for about five years, your eye learns to meter for you in time and it's better to trust that than a machine. Best thing about these cameras is they are really easy to fix, the internal mechanics are way simpler than anything else I've encountered.

Kiev 88, now that is a nice camera, it's a Hassleblad in a Soviet shell, what more could you ask for?