What are the thoughts about Kiev?

[indrekpoiss]

They are good entry to the rangefinder world. If you find a good working copy, they usually are not that expensive. And lenses are good. I have many working Kievs, and few that need to restored.

 

[1957ExaktaVarexIIa]

I would also vote for Contax IIA/IIIA as regular user: newer design, better finish, more reliable shutter

... and also a much more quiet shutter. Their post-war shutter is as quiet as the Leica M2's shutter (we've done a comparison in here).
The pre-war shutter of my Contax II is really noisy.

There is a good source of information about Kievs (and Contaxes) on Henry Scherer's website. Also about the Russian lenses.
About the shutters Henry says: "Kiev shutters range in quality from a "10" (equivalent to German quality), to a (1) (real trash)."

If you get a Kiev 4A from reputable vendor like Fedka or OKVintageCamera, you will most likely get a good working camera. But the price advantage compared to Contax IIA is diminishing.

... at least here in Europe. Contax RF bodies are cheap and so are their Zeiss lenses. I would barely buy a Kiev or a Jupiter lens.

 

[Donald Qualls]

The pre-war shutter of my Contax II is really noisy.

FWIW, the shutter in my 1955 Kiev 2 (seemingly a copy of the pre-War Contax II, rather than the post-War IIA) is very quiet -- quieter than most of my leaf shutters.