Today I shot a roll of Tri-X through a 2x tel-extender I purchased from Kiev USA. I will report on the results as soon as I soup the film. I also received a 45 mm Mir wide-angle in the mail today. I have had it for years but have not shot it because it needed repair. I sent it off to Arax in the Ukraine. It took less than a month from the time I sent it off to get it back. It appears to be working fine. Will know soon.
BTW, someone sent me a PM about the title of this social group. Bolshie was an old-fashioned British term for a communist. I thought it would be appropriate as a name for this social group of people who shoot Kiev slrs. I suppose we could also include the East German SLRs. And what about the Czech Meopta Flexaret?

Hello Anscojohn, a group for all Bolshies? You suggest Meopta Flexaret which is a TLR, so I suppose you are not totally into Bolshie SLR?? I have, and use, several Bolshies, but unfortunately no SLR, so I'm not quite sure if I belong to your intended Bolshie group. But an all-Bolshie-group sounds nice! Well, my bolshie story: I bought in Prague some time ago a "silver" Meopta Flexaret Automatic (the last Flexaret! (http://www.tlr-cameras.com/Czech/slides/11. Meopta Flexaret VII.html; quite nice (and sharp!!), but being used to the ground glass of my Hasselblad 500C I have had some thoughts about the possibility of getting a better GG. By now I have some more bolshies: a Moskva 5 (6x9 (6x6), close to Zeiss Ikonta), a Zorki-1 (close to Leica II), a Zorki-4 (close to Leica III), and a brand new TLR Lubitel 166 Universal.
So what happened to the Tri-X?
//Bertil

Good morning, AnscoJohn and Bertil;

I wish I had looked through the list of camera groups earlier. I could have been here long ago. Yes, I do have a Hasselbladskji or two here, along with a selection of lenses and some accessories.

John, the meaning of the "Bolshie Blads" was immediately evident to me. But normally I watch for "Kiev" or "Kneb" or even Kiev-88 or Kiev-88CM when looking at medium format camera forums when watching for things from the FSU. And, thank you for setting up a forum here on APUG "for people who love the worst cameras in the world." And, yes, with the changes in the way that history is being taught now [in one recent history text, World War II covered almost two (2) pages], the Bolsheviks now are not often recognized by people who may have only dim memories of the television pictures from Southeast Asia.

Bertil, nice to see you here also. Your group of FSU cameras (more extensive than mine) surely will qualify you for membership here among people who understand and yet still appreciate FSU cameras.

With now only three (3) people here over a 2.5 year time period, is there any consideration for promoting unabashed propaganda about this group and its existence?

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land,. Washington

Hello friends! In fact I left the Bolshie Blads for some time, since nothing happened in this group (thought for some time the whole group was a mistake from friend Anscojohn in view of his posts!).
Have now, Ralph, re-joined this very special group!!!! Hope more will happen this time!!!
/Bertil

Bertil !!! Are you OK?

You have changed. Your complexion is different. You have lost your bright green color. Has the fall season affected you? Will we see this dark gray until the next spring?

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Hello Ralph!
Yes I'm very OK, and will show up like that until I get another and better idea! (Got a little bit tired of the green man!).
Would be fun if this group started to live it own life, even though starting it once was a mistake from John!
/Bertil

Good morning, Bertil;

OK. I admit that I was enjoying that one. At times I have been told that I can have much too much fun with the simplest of things. But it was a surprise to see your new image.

If we look at what has happened with the forum in just the last couple of days, I think it is on its way. If there is activity in a forum, people will come and participate. In just a 24 hour time period, the membership doubled. That is a real indication of what just getting the group out into the recent activity list will accomplish. The next thing that might be done is to add something to the group name to show that it is actually the Kiev camera group. The current title is just a little obscure. It is a delightful thing when you realize what it is, but it is not openly obvious. At this time, it will attract a talented but limited population crowd. But, I do not think that John made a mistake.

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Hello Raplh, well if you think that it rely is a Kiev group I may not perhaps fit in, since my "Bolshies" is not the "blads" (being a Swede I grow up with the original!), rather some nice 35 mm Zorkis. Though wouldn't mind a group around the USSR produced cameras since after all a lot of very interesting cameras of this type is used by a lot of folks, not just the "blads".
bets regards
/Bertil

Good morning, Bertil;

You have a very good point, and it does bother me a bit. The only thing that I am saying is that the abbreviated term " 'Blad" normally does refer to the Hasselblad, with which you are quite familiar, although "Hassy" is probably more common. When we add in AnscoJohn's reference to "Bolshie" refering to the Bolsheviks or Communists, that clearly translates to the Hasselbladskji, also known as the Kiev Salyut or Kiev-88 and the variants by Gevorg Vartanyan of ARAX and also by Hartblei. Then there is also DVD-Technik and I think there might still be a company in what was Yugoslavia. When we also look at the "fine print text" describing the group, the cameras listed there also come mainly from the Ukraine and the city of Kiev, but there are exceptions. The final reference to the "M/F SLR" does pretty much nail it as being a particular special interest group, but I am not sure that I want to restrict it to just those cameras exclusively. For one thing, most of us who do have a Hasselbladskji also have other FSU cameras. At the very least, including the Pentacon-Six and the Exacta 66 would seem to be appropriate, even under the current definition. When we broaden the definition just a little, the Meopta should be in there also, along with several others.

This is one of the reasons why I have been asking about, and I have sent messages (yes, plural) to AnscoJohn. I really would like to talk with him about this. I am becoming a little bit concerned about not receiving any response from him. I hope he is OK.

As far as other cameras go, I admit that I have a personal interest also in the general expansion of this group up into the field of "FSU cameras." In addition to the Kiev-88 and Kiev-88CM here now (which clearly do qualify under the current definition), there are also the Zorki-4 and Zorki-4K, along with a FED-2 in transit (probably in mid California right now), and I would like to get a Kiev-60, possibly from ARAX. I just missed getting a very nice Kiev-60 right here in Latte Land. The Kiev-60 might be something that I will work on when the planned additions to the 4 by 5 view cameras are accomplished.

Hopefully AnscoJohn will step in here soon and we can begin a serious discussion on this topic. At least it would be nice to learn if his intent was to limit the group to just the Hasselbladskji. Having a special interest group just for the Kiev Salyut and Kiev-88 certainly is not a problem, but it would be nice to make provision for the other orphan cameras out there also, in one way or another. We just need to know which way to go in doing that. I have some ideas, but it would be nice to have AnscoJohn included in the discussion.

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Well Ralph, I don't have very strong views on this matter.
When I said that perhaps the hole group was a mistake by John I gathered that from his thread "Mistake results in 2 headings" saying " I hope the moderators can expunge the group called "Bolshie". It was a result of me pushing the wrong button at the wrong time.".

But perhaps I miss understood the whole thing: he perhaps started two groups by mistake: one group "Bolshie" and his intended group "Bolshie Blads" designed for "Blads", and just wanted moderators to delete the just "Bolshie" group. This sound reasonable in view of this very thread that he initiated.
But since he in this thread mentioned the possibility of including Meopta Flexaret cameras, which as far as I know are only TLR cameras, I thought he wasn't necessary just into "Blads", but rather "Bolshis", i.e. cameras produced in USSR and related countries in east Europa. Who knows? I agree, it would be nice if John had something to say on this matter.
I also agree: the name "Bolshie Blads" is perhaps not the very best, but perhaps depends on what's the point with the group.
Personally I'm a little bit interested in the cameras and their history produced in USSR and the related countries, and particularly I like my early Zorki, think it is a 1D (1953-54)
Best regards
Bertil

Hi All,
I have not been doing much thinking about my camera toys for some months. As my physical infirmities increase, it is more and more difficult to get around comfortably. I sure like talking about our toys, though most of my activity has been aimed (pun intended) at trying to dispose of my significant assemblage of vintage military firearms in preparation for a major move in about eighteen months.
Those informed enough about history to pick up on the term Bolshie are my kind of people. I can see the points that our Kievs are really not ''blads" tho I, also, refer to it as my Hasselbladski.
I, too, Ralph, have a 500c but all my lens flexibility is in my Kiev 88. Keeping the name Bolshie Blads does, sort of mean only the SLRs of the Hassie shape and size; so we should, then, decide to come up with somethng more apposite to our broader interests. I have two Zenits, a Kiev 17, and a RF from the former SSRs--as well as several Prakticas from ''der sogenannte DDR."
All these cameras are interesting examples of machinery from a bygone era in socio-political history. If renaming the group is decided upon (I vote ''yes"), something along the line of "Bolshie Boxes" might be in order. Thus far, I guess, we have not attracted any errant Bolsey owners (grin).
I really wanted a Flexaret because of the multi-format capability but could never afford one. I was told my a guy from the Soviet Embassy in Washington who used to patronize theretail camera shop I managed for a local firm that under Comecon the CSSR was not allowed to manufacture cameras, just the Meopta enlargers.
I'll be checking in frequently.

Good morning, AnscoJohn;

Nice to have you back. If you have been reading the messages posted, then you also know that there was a measure of concern about you.

Sorry to hear that you are now engaged in disposing of your vintage military firearms. I guess as we get older, at some point this kind of a thing does happen. I no longer have any of my motorcycles. The cameras are still here, and at this time are actually still growing, but that will probably change. I am not sure what will happen with the radios here. I did have a U. S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, along with an FN Browning Grand Puissance with the Tangential Rear Sight, but not the slot in the back for the Shoulder Stock. Sometimes people feel that they need your possessions more than you do, so those went away in that fashion. Sad.

The Kiev Salyut or Kiev-88 and the Hasselblad: Well, there were several other things that were more common with the Hasselblad 1600F and 1000F, but the only things really in common now with the 500C and later cameras are the viewfinder and accessories, the flash hot shoe, the cable release socket, the tripod mount, and the fact that they use 120 Roll Film. The film magazines never were really compatible, and the New Type Kiev-88 Magazine probably is a better way to do it for holding the film flat than the Hasselblad 12 and A-12 magazines.

There are several other FSU cameras here also, including now an Ihagee EXA marked "Made in USSR Occupied Zone of Germany." An interesting camera that still is representative of the kind of thinking that the German engineers and others utilized in coming up with novel ways to do things in photography. While we may often say that they were mainly just copying things from other countries, if we look at the improvements that they often built into the later versions of those "copies," clearly they had some very good ideas also.

The nickname of "Hasselbladskji:" Well, if we look at the story that came out of Ukraine about both the Hasselblad and the Kiev Salyut being based on a camera found in a downed German aircraft in the closing days of World War II, it does seem that at the very least, we have cameras that have an intriguing history behind them.

What do we call the group?

Enjoy; Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Hello, nice to see you back John!

So Ralph's question: "What do we call the group? "

Why not just "Bolshies" and an explaining text like: for all those who take an interest in the cameras produced in USSR and related East European countries during the same historical period.

Of course a lot of people, even those owning and using these cameras, have never met with this word "Bolshies", and don't know what it stands for, and the history behind it.
But it's some kind of fun with this word, so why not keep it? A text along the suggested lines would be enough to explain.
The picture for the group could be some nice detail from a Bolshie, some nice engraving of a name of a camera or lens, plenty of that stuff on some Bolshies!
Best regards from Sweden
/Bertil

Hi Bertil and Ralph,
Thanks for getting me back reading the group, Ralph. Ralph, you are probably lucky your GP-35 didn't have the stock attachment--that puts it in the "machine gun" class. Being the frugal persuasion (my bride sez ''cheap, cheap") I have just an Hungarian clone, which I love dearly. On a joint note I have just been tasked with getting a picture of my 91/38 6,5 Mannlicher-Carcano and some ammunition to support a website being set up to follow=on a National Geographic Channel special on the JFK assassination, to air 9pm EST, November 20. To speed things up, I shall have to use a digithell camera, though.
That EXA was a real oddball--a chunky little brick that used the mirror as a shutter. Sure was quiet. I gave it and an Exakta VX-IIa to a friend. He loved the Exakta because he is left handed.
Likewise conjoining shootin' irons and cameras, the word Bolshie was also applied, informally, to a short-barelled ''brookhandle'' Mauser military pistol in 7.63 Mauser crtridge, gend goes, was popular among the Bolshevikii in the early days of the Revolutionary period. So the idea of renaming to group to Bolshies, with the explanation sits well with this former European history major.
How do we go about getting the moderators to changing things for us.
Dismembering my era and firarms accumulations both require me taking digithell pictures, which is not comfortable on my aching back, etc. Oh, well. Oh, btw, the only really valuable shooting iron I have is a Johnson Semi-Automatic Rifle, Model of 1941.
I forgot to mention I have a FED 3 with the "radioactive" 2.8 lens. It sure cuts a sharp image. My Prakticas ended up helping some kids in France get into film photography. I kept one lens, though; a 50 mm 2.8 DDR Tessar. I also re=acquired a 100 mm 2.8 Orestor (click stop!) which did great portraits for me in the day and which I gave to my friend's wife years ago when she acquired a Pentax Spotmatic. She went digithell about two years ago, so............
Must run; next time I shall relate how it was I ended up with two Zenit Photosniper outfits after a mishap at Wrigley Field.

Hello John,
unfortunately have no idea how to change the group name, just gathered that two guys, Sean and John, are often mention as really driving this site; though I haven't jet found some "click here to contact us".
Perhaps you or someone else can find it.
/Bertil

Good morning, Bertil;

Sean is easy to contact. The second item in the APUG English Forums is "Feedback and Discussions." You can leave a public readable message there. If you want to discuss something quietly with Sean, just find a message he has posted and click on his underlined name there, look at the list of Moderators, or find him in the Members List, and click on the underlined name there. That will get you at least to "Options" where you can choose to send a Private Message. He is not hiding.

Enjoy; Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Before we ask Sean to do something, we must needs decide what to rename the group to make it more inclusive. As I expressed before, I think we should stick with something containing Bolshies, but that is, perhaps, just the former history major speaking. I admit the term might rope in Bolsey collector/shooters hoping to correct our spelling. :confused:
"Combloc" is out there, of course, to describe what my friend termed my "...commie pinko cameras." Truth, tho, that phrase should, aptly, apply only to my red-covered FED 3, the covering of which has kind of faded to pink. Hmm, maybe it's the radioactive effects of it's tessar-formula lens.

Hallo John and Ralph! (no body else seems to take part an interest in this discussion, though I think things can change!)

As I said, I think "Bolshies" i quite a funny name – no other name in the APUG's group have a funny or otherwise smart name, so in this case we (John!) are first!

After all, it was the Bolsheviks who, in Some Sense at least, were responsible for the production of the photographic equipments in question.

So my suggestion is:

>Bolshies; for all those who are interested in the cameras produced in USSR and related East European countries during this historical period<

(Perhaps my English could be corrected in the subtext!)

As I said before, my only complaint, OR rather question, concerning "Bolshie Blads" was that for me, as a Swede, "Blads" signified SLR's and particularly the type that Hasselbalds V-cameras represents – in Sweden a common name for Victor Hasselblad's V-camera is a "Bladare" (cf: a song is a "sång", and one who sings is a "sångARE", a Hasselblad camera is a HasselbladARE, thus short: bladARE!

/Bertil

Good morning, Bertil;

Well, there are a couple of groups where there must be some sense of humor associated with the name. The United States Pacific Northwest Regional (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and the Soon to Be State of Jefferson) Group does have the distinction of having the longest name on APUG at this time.

I am not sure that I would want to broadcast to the general public the short abbreviation you mentioned for the Hassy. You know that most of the English speaking people will probably just refer to it as a "Bladder."

Enjoy; Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Good Morning. Ralph;
I get your point!
/Bertil

Necessary repair work would come under the rubric "Bladder Problems,'' then.