Good morning;

I am still looking for a few more things for the Kiev-88 Kit here. There are two more lenses (or so) that I am seeking still, and there are also some small accessories to be found. Just finding back lens caps to fit the Salyut-C Screw Thread Mount is turning out to be a challenge. There are lots for the Pentacon-Six Mount, but not for the Salyut-C.

The question of a case for the kit seems to be coming down to; "What do I want to carry?" It looks like a compromise is in order in the form of a selection of cases or bags to fit what I want to do on that particular day. Yes, you can fit everything you need or want into a 53 foot (16 Meters) long van trailer pulled by a semi-truck tractor on the highway, but sometimes you just want to go out for a fun drive in the Mazda Miata.

Noting the apparent coming change in the films available from EKCo, I am beginning to experiment with some ADOX 120 roll film in the cameras. Well, it is a little "closer to home," so it does seem to be appropriate.

The lens hood on the Jupiter-36B 3.5/250mm lens was damaged, so I bought an 82mm to 86mm step-up filter adapter ring and a Sonia 86mm lens hood to thread together and put onto the Jupiter-36B. It is a little longer than the original hood, so I think that it really is an improvement. I have not yet noticed any vignetting.

One unexpected addition of a Kiev camera here was the recent arrival of a Kiev-3A 35mm rangefinder camera. Yes, it is smaller and lighter, but it still has the FSU shutter speed changing requirement of advancing the film and cocking the shutter BEFORE changing the shutter speed, so it will keep me in proper form for the Kiev-88s.

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Good morning, all;

The FSU camera group is growing again. Yes, there are the Kiev-88 and Kiev-88CM cameras here, and there is a Kiev-3A 35mm Rangefinder camera in addition to the KMZ Zorki-4 and Zorki-4K 35mm Rangefinder cameras.

Well, it is still growing. This morning a pair of repairable Kiev-6C medium format SLR cameras were handed to me. I thought that one of them was going to be a Kiev-60, but it turns out that they both are the Kiev-6C. Both of them do need work; one will be OK with a CLA, but the other one needs some parts, repair, and possibly even a "rebuild." I am not sure what to do now with both of them. Then there is the point that I really did want to find a Kiev-60.

And, there is a chance that I will be able to get one or two more Kiev-88 cameras with some accessories. The lenses for the Kiev medium format cameras are also continuing to grow with some serious work right now on getting a Tair-33B (the Salyut Screw Mount version) 4.5/300mm lens.

Yes, I know. I really am a camera addict.

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Good morning;

Hmmmmm. It has been a while, and not very much has been said here. I guess that it is time to say something again to show that there is still life here in the Bolshie Blads forum, and a continuing interest in Kiev and other FSU cameras.

Since we last talked, there have been a few additions to the Kiev Arsenal here (sorry about that one, but I just could not resist). Earlier it was mentioned that a Tair-33B 300mm f:4.5 lens was coming to join the Jupiter-36B 250mm f:3.5 lens. It did. However, it also had just the mounting ring for the lens hood threaded into the filter threads and it was stuck there, and it took a while to get it out. This is the odd Kiev Arsenal 88mm by 0.75mm filter thread, and it will need a step-up ring to go to the more common 95mm filter threads for use with filters and a new lens hood. The Heliopan people do make that Step-Up Ring, but it is $70 here in the USA. Then, a Mir-3B 65mm f:3.5 wide angle was found. Following that, a Vega-12C 90mm f:2.8 was located. Then a Pentacon Prakticar 500mm f:5.6 long telephoto lens was sent to me, but it also spent 7 weeks in the US Customs International Parcel Inspection Facility at JFK Airport on Long Island in New York. The Prakticar 500/5.6 does take an unusual 118mm by 1.0mm thread pitch filter thread, so it may be necessary to find a step-up ring to use the more common 122mm diameter filters with it. Next came a CZJ Biometar 120mm f:2.8 short telephoto lens in P-6 mount that was recommended as a good working lens for portraits. Then recently there was another Jupiter-36C 250mm f:3.5 lens sent here also along with an ARAX-60 or ARAX modified Kiev-60 120 roll film body which really does look like a 35mm SLR camera that was force-fed steroids as a kid.

Well, yes, I can make observations about the size and the weight of the ARAX-60 or Kiev-60, but I must admit also that it really does work nicely, and that MLU is a very nice feature. There is a noticeable difference in the way that it works in comparison with the Kiev-6C cameras that are here.

So, that is what has happened with the Kiev cameras here over the last year. There have been a few rolls of 120 film run through them, and I am developing a liking for what they do on a negative. (yes, I know, another one)

And, in my continuing quest for a copy of "the people's camera," there is an effort being made to find a Smena-8M.

So, yes, my interest in FSU cameras does continue. And, now I seem to have just about everything that I wanted to get for the Kiev-88, Kiev-88CM and the Kiev-6C and ARAX-60 cameras in the way of lenses. However, now I have run into another problem. One lens you may have noticed is not in my Kiev Arsenal; the 45mm Mir-26B 45mm f:3.5 or the Mir-69B 45mm f:3.5, although the Mir-69B is considered to be rare. There have been reports of lens resolution problems with the Mir-26B, but it may be possible to bring it up to equivalent performance with the later Mir-69B by having a good lens technician bring the lens back to the specifications for you to improve the lens resolution. One thing they will not be able to do is to eliminate the noticeable barrel distortion in the design of this lens, in both the Mir-26B and the Mir-69B versions. I have not yet bought one because of that, but I may need to do so anyway, due to other pressures that I never anticipated.

So, yes, there is still interest in and work on the "Bolshie Blads" here.

Enjoy;

Ralph
Latte Land, Washington, USA