Kiev 88 shutter curtain doesn't move?

[anta40]

I purchased a Kiev 88 few months ago, and already shot 3 rolls with it. No problem, so far.

Then suddenly this happened: the camera was cocked (without film loaded), and the shutter curtain only moved just a tiny bit. Here's the video showing the problem


In general, what are the causes?

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

Bad engineering? . Seriusly there could be a number of reasons. I had multiple bodies failed on me. One time there where problems with the shutter release and a second one was a a part that became lose inside the body and got stick with the certain mechanism.. Unfortunatly both of them required a technician. I had about 5 - 6 Kiev 88 bodies over the years and two of them have been working correctly. The others have been sold as parts or repaired eventually.

Don't encourage people to temper with these cameras unless you know what you are doing/ have experience.

 

[neilt3]

A common cause for a jammed shutter on some Kiev cameras is caused by altering the shutter speed before you wind the film/shutter on .

 

[anta40]

A common cause for a jammed shutter on some Kiev cameras is caused by altering the shutter speed before you wind the film/shutter on .

Hmm I think I accidentally did that...months ago. Ouch...

 

[neilt3]

Hmm I think I accidentally did that...months ago. Ouch...

I can't remember which models are susceptable, so I always wind on the Kiev and Zorki cameras before I change the shutter speed.
I think when I bought my Kiev 88 years ago , the guy in the shop warned me about this .

 

[Kino]

For all your Kiev questions see:

| Kievaholic Klub - The place for Kiev lovers everywhere |

Home of the Kiev FAQ. Also a source of information on these temperamental but fun to use cameras, including how-to's and do-it-yourself fixes for common problems.

www.kievaholic.com

The gear stack is out of order probably.

I have sent 3 bodies to Arax in Ukraine to be fixed and they did a great job.

 

[guangong]

The same problem existed with the original Hasselblad 1000F. I know because I had one in late 1960s.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

For all your Kiev questions see:

| Kievaholic Klub - The place for Kiev lovers everywhere |

Home of the Kiev FAQ. Also a source of information on these temperamental but fun to use cameras, including how-to's and do-it-yourself fixes for common problems.

www.kievaholic.com

The gear stack is out of order probably.

I have sent 3 bodies to Arax in Ukraine to be fixed and they did a great job.

Agree. Arax does goob job. Also another person on Ukraine, Yuriy Marchenko, does a good job. He sells cameras on ebay and alwasy had great user experiences with him.

Yuriyperfect Ebay store

 

[Kino]

You have basically two options if you want to continue using a Kiev 88:

1. Pay the cost of shipping/repairs to this body and justify the expense by knowing you have a serviced/sorted camera.

2. Buy a random used replacement body that may work perfectly for a day or years; it's a real crap shoot.

Yes, it's not inexpensive to have the body CLA'd by anyone BUT it gives you a certain degree of insurance that the camera will work function properly for a long time.

One bit of advice; should you send it to Arax, bite the bullet and send your magazines to them to match them to the camera body. I sucked it up and bore the cost and spacing/light tightness is spot-on.

Any medium format camera now is decades old and should be serviced before you start using it regularly or you will probably have some preventable issues down the road.

It's all a matter of how important it is to you to use this particular camera for your work.

EDIT: In any event, you should probably STOP winding and firing the camera until you get it serviced. You are probably causing damage to the gearing, which tends to be made of softer metal.