The Kiev Report Webpage

The Kiev Report

Welcome to the Kiev Report web page. This page is being hosted by a member of the Kiev Report forum, Rick Denney, to provide continued access to the material it contains. The page is maintained by the members of the forum, with Rick implementing requested changes. Do you know of something that needs correction? Email rick@rickdenney.com. All other comments about the web page contents should be posted in the General folder for group discussion.

The forum and the web page are not the same thing. The forum is hosted by Delphi Forums, but it is self-policed by the regular contributors. Any complaints about what appears on the forum should be directed to the forum membership using the persuasive arts. Your webmaster is the official forum host, but has abdicated all responsibility for what is said within unless the discussion becomes illegally abusive. (What this really means is, except in the most extreme conditions--conditions that have never occurred--the webmaster will not exert control over the forum except by his own persuasive arts.) But if you are abused by someone as a result a forum membership, let me know.

Within the Kiev Report Delphi forum, we have a number of categories of discussions down the left side of the page. We have separate headings for the Kiev-88 and Kiev 60 models and for 35mm SLR's (Zenit, Kiev) and rangefinders (FED, Zorki, Leningrad). We also discuss related cameras. You'll find much about the Pentacon Six in the Kiev 60 category, and even some about the Exakta 66 there. You'll also find, in the appropriate categories, information about the lenses for those cameras from Carl Zeiss Jena and from Schneider, which will work on the Kiev 60 and on certain Kiev 88's with the Pentacon Six lens mount.

Curious? Just have a look. Click: 'Go to the Message Board' (below), register with Delphi and start with the 'INTRODUCTION' folder. On the page where you are now (The Webpage) you find an archive of links with interesting pages on the net and with several suppliers. Moreover you can buy cheap on "Ebay". But remember... many Russian and Ukrainian cameras have technical problems, and buying without a warranty is taking a big risk; a bona fide dealer will be more expensive but it is worth the money usually. Which lead me to...

The Standard Disclaimer

What you do and how you spend your money is up to you. If everyone says such and such is great, and the one you buy howls at the moon, that's the way it goes. If you think something else is wonderful, and everyone else thinks it's unusable, then you just have to live with it. These cameras often attract adjectives like funky, quirky, cheap, crappy, wonderful, and so on. The only truth you can count on is what you hold in your hands. Thus, how you use the information on this forum is completely up to you, and you alone suffer the consequences if it turns out badly.

But if it does, tell us about it and we will commiserate. Maybe. But we've all been there.

We welcome any comments on the performance and service of suppliers, etc. But the Kiev Report is not a court of last resort for resolving conflict between buyers and sellers. Such discussions invariably hinge on the language arts, given that language is all the readers of the forum have to review. There is no access to the facts of any situation using the Kiev Report. If you have issues with a supplier, it would be best to resolve them or abandon any hope of doing so before discussing it on a public forum. We do not expect nor encourage proprietors to defend themselves on this forum, so we will also ask those who have complaints to respect the fact that they have one-sided access to the forum.

Go to the Message Board

*How do we feel about specific hardware?*
45MM MIR 26 LENS	180MM Sonnar Zeiss Jena	K88 Shutter Curtain material	K60 in 645 version
150MM KALEINAR LENS f/2.8	50MM Flektogon Zeiss f/4.0	K88 MLU (Mirror Lockup)
250MM JUPITER LENS f/3.5		K88 Film Backs
250MM TELEAR LENS f/5.6		K88 Rapid Wind crank
30MM ARSAT/ZODIAK FISHEYE LENS		K88 Prism Viewfinders
120MM VEGA LENS f/2.8

*Vendor list*
Kiev Camera Defunct U.S.-based full-service dealer	Arax Ukraine full-service dealer	Kiev USA Upgraded equipment / repair	Hartblei Redesigned and upgraded equipment
Roskam Optics Dutch sales and repair	rugift Russian cameras and lenses	DVD Technik Ukraine full service dealer and manufacturer of interesting adaptors	Soviet Camera Ukraine used equipment dealer
Baier Fototechnik German dealer, maker of adaptors for Kiev prisms on other cameras (including Pentacon Six); also modifies Pentacon and Exakta cameras to eliminate possibility of frame overlap

*Operation / Maintenance / Repair tips and procedures, plus other useful links*
Kiev Report Shutter Accuracy Test by Rick Denney	Rick Denney's Lens Tests	Related Equipment Links	Photography Links
Lens Filter size table	Trevor’s Pentacon Six Lens Tests	Robert Monahan's Medium Format site Comprehensive discussion of nearly all MF cameras, including Kievs	Zuga Photography Excellent Portraiture Site
Nathan Dayton's Commie Camera site	Kievaholic Klub A Kiev site and portal by one of our members		ShutterCity General Photography Forum
Kiev Report Meter Accuracy Test by Rick Denney and Kevin Ing	The Kiev Report Mother of All Lens Tests by Rick Denney
Stephe's Pages Kiev 60 Anonymous Kiev 88 Oblivious Russian FKD 8x10 Camera Good stuff from one of our members

Updated 2/9/06.

Webmaster: Rick Denney rick@rickdenney.com