Kiev 60 Advice

Xylo · Dec 27, 2024

Hi!
I've been tempted to get a Kiev 60 for a long time (30 years), but being strapped for cash and browsing evilBay with the low values first (which is never a great idea), I've come across multiple cameras with the mention "shutter doesn't cock".
So, I'm wondering if it is an easy fix and worth the trouble?

While I have experience fixing cameras with leaf shutters, I never had great success with SLR's.
I do have tools and patience (and have CLA'd a Leica 1C before).

All advice is very welcome.

outwest · Dec 27, 2024

I bought one new from the "upgraded" source. It was a beautiful camera with a metered viewfinder. On the second roll of film the bottom of the take up spool holder disintegrated and fell out. I sent it back to the source for replacement and that was the last I ever heard of it. I still have the viewfinder. I also have a Pentagon 6 and if you are careful with the loading it usually works. The lenses are excellent and I picked up an adapter to use them on a Mamiya 645.

baachitraka · Dec 27, 2024

Get Pentacon 6 TL and send it to CLA (bit expensive for me but he build a 2-stage release)

Tools does help to certain extant but a technician who knows the bolts and nuts can do a great job.

P6 TL have some issues on improper frame spacing and dreaded 1/125 speed but CLA and proper loading of film can over-come these issues.

This page is very nice https://www.pentaconsix.com/TheCameras.htm

Xylo · Dec 27, 2024

Thing is I don't want to spend on a tech as it's definitely going to make the final price skyrocket.
I can get one that the shutter doesn't latch properly for around 150$ CAD. That's pretty much pushing the extent of my budget already.
If I had more leeway, I would definitely get a Pentax67, a Bronica or a Mamiya instead. But on the medium format SLR front, that's pretty much the cheapest I can get. I already have a Yashica A, but the reflex TTL viewing is really interesting to me (and the definite shutter slap).

baachitraka · Dec 27, 2024

If you are constraint on budget then Rolleicord is the best choice. But if you are looking for interchangeable lens system then I don't know what to suggest.

Broken system + CLA is always speculative...

Xylo · Dec 27, 2024

It's pretty much what I was thinking about.
Rolleicord and Yashica A are pretty much the same user experience, so no point in getting one.

I guess I'll have to find a way of giving this idea a pass and look for another way to scratch that itch... Probably fewer risks with a folder.

4season · Dec 27, 2024

I am feeling old as I realize that my first exposure to Kiev 60 cameras was indeed about 30 years ago, when the once-forbidden Soviet fruit started flooding into the USA.

Even then, lubrication was a problem, and my hunch is that those eBay cameras need a CLA, or at least a Clean and Lubricate. Probably fairly simple, but this is just my guess.

baachitraka · Dec 27, 2024

Xylo said:
It's pretty much what I was thinking about.
Rolleicord and Yashica A are pretty much the same user experience, so no point in getting one.

I guess I'll have to find a way of giving this idea a pass and look for another way to scratch that itch... Probably fewer risks with a folder.

folders are compact but you have to make sure bellows are light tight and the shutter is working and for the sophisticated you may have to make sure that uncoupled/coupled ranger finder works...

I have had put my money in Rolleicord and accessories and I am very happy with the choice.

Maris · Dec 27, 2024

I figured I needed a roll-film SLR with a focal plane shutter so I could shoot a variety of home-made and experimental lenses. The Kiev-60 came to mind because of the competitive price BUT
this camera had a bad reputation for film wind and shutter issues. The problem was that the camera was initially manufactured under a Soviet command economy where production totals were paramount
and quality control was secondary. There were even Kiev-60 examples that didn't work brand new out of the box.

The answer for me was to buy a Kiev-60 that had been fully refurbished by ARAX, a Ukranian company run by Gevorg Vartanyan.
ARAX includes people who assembled the Kiev-60 on the original production line at Zavod Arsenal in Kyiv so they knew the camera inside out.
My Kiev-60 cost more than many eBay examples but it has worked flawlessly for years. A good decision, I think.

reddesert · Dec 27, 2024

I'm not in the "all Kievs are necessarily terrible" camp, but I don't think buying a SLR that is already known to not work is a good idea, unless it's nearly free and you will enjoy messing around with it almost as much as the making of photos.

I haven't kept track of medium format prices since they got somewhat more expensive, but a working Bronica ETR or SQ seems like a better bet. The Mamiya TLR system, although not an SLR, is perhaps the MF system that remains fairly inexpensive, and mechanically fairly simple.

Romanko · Dec 27, 2024

Xylo said:
So, I'm wondering if it is an easy fix and worth the trouble?

If you are asking this question the answer is: "Definitely no".

Marcelo Paniagua · Dec 27, 2024

Have two working condición Kiev 6c and they usually Work ok, although I get an overlapped frames every once in a while.

Of you arent proficent on fixing this kind of cameras I don't recommend getting one. You usually need to tear it down and not an easy exercise.

Kiev 6c are cheaper that Kiev 60 by the way.

Sanug · Dec 28, 2024

The left hand shutter release of the Kiev 6c would be a no-go for me.

I don't recommend buying a defective Kiev 60. Repair may be expensive or even impossible. Look for a 100% working one instead. When a Kiev 60 is in good working condition, it is a reliable camera and better than the Pentacon Six.

The Kiev 60 has two issues:

1. The paint of the mirror box is glossy and causes flare. You can repaint with black matte charkboard paint or glue some velours foil inside.

2. The film transportation mechanism was designed for older and thicker films. Actual material causes no overlapping, but nearly no distance between each frame at all. If you can live with it, an exposure number 13 is possible.

To get normal distances between each frame, you need to thicken the taking spool. I glued some 1mm velours foil on it. However, the frame no. 13 is no more possible, but you get proper distance between each frame.

Xylo · Dec 28, 2024

Maris said:
I figured I needed a roll-film SLR with a focal plane shutter so I could shoot a variety of home-made and experimental lenses.

I'm pretty much in the same camp as you on the homemade front.

I remember when I first saw one at a camera show, I pretty much fell in love with the ergonomics and that mirror slap. At the time it was 400$ and I had only 100$ in my pocket.

Now, a good working example is upwards of 500$ and I only have 200$ in pocket... bummer.

4season · Dec 28, 2024

Just be patient, bargains can still be had from time to time, and sometimes, several appear all at once.

Xylo · Dec 28, 2024

That's what I'm going to do. And hopefully I won't get a working one with a hole in the shutter.

Kiev 60 Advice

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency