Cable Release Not Working on Kiev 88

Hello all,

I’ve recently acquired a Kiev 88 camera, and overall it’s working well — everything functions as expected and the shutter speeds are generally accurate.

However, I’ve encountered a problem when using a cable release. No matter the shutter speed, the shutter won’t fire when I press the cable release, no matter how firmly I push. By contrast, pressing the shutter button directly with my finger (though it’s a bit stiff) works fine.

I tend to use the cable release mainly for tripod shooting at slower speeds, which is when I noticed the issue.

Has anyone else experienced this problem with the Kiev 88? Is it a common quirk of the camera, or could there be a mechanical fault with mine?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Ik really not familiar with this camera, but I have encountered equipment that required a cable release with a fairly long protruding pin, as a shorter one wouldn't engage the shutter. Have you tried pressing into the release socket with something long and narrow to see if you can trip it that way?

On occasion I've fixed a dry cable release socket or shutter button with a single drop of clock oil, if some grit or rust getting into the mechanism was the problem. But you should be able to trip it as Koraks said with any long thin rod if it has any hope of working.

ghwilliam1903 said:

pressing the shutter button directly with my finger (though it’s a bit stiff)

Click to expand...

That might be the issue. If there's too much resistance, the cable may flex rather than continue travel. It may need a bit of attention. Like @loccdor just said.

I experienced this with a very late production Kiev 88CM (~2005?): The hole in the shutter-release button had been drilled too narrow! The threaded part was fine, so cable releases fit without a problem, they just couldn't do anything. Solution was to widen that hole. You might be tempted to speculate whether Soviet / Ukrainian cable releases were a bit different, but nope, I have examples of those, and they're pretty much same as other European and Japanese types. Once I modified the part, the camera worked fine with cable release.