[rollei_list] Re: OT: Contaces and Kiev RF's

Indeed, Marc - but he includes later Kievs that were not assembled from Contax 
parts in this assessment, and is of the opinion that detail engineering changes 
in the II and III at Arsenal led to greater reliability. I pass this on 
second-hand, as I have but a later Kiev 4 which is OK but nothing special. 
Although he hasn't got quite the literary pedigree you have, he is actually a 
published author in the Leica world. I can't recall how many Kiev variants he 
has identified, but it's either 53 or 56 - I have a copy of his work on the 
topic on CD somewhere, but would confess that I've not looked at it for a 
couple of years.

Although I have always liked the Contax and Kiev rangefinders, my personal 
interest lies rather more in the somewhat bizarre Kiev 10 and 15.

And for the purposes of my original post, Peter, the early Kievs are not only 
Contaxes in all but name, but they're even more interesting pieces of history 
as a result.

Nick

----- Original Message ----
From: Marc James Small <marcsmall@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, 17 October, 2006 5:46:59 PM
Subject: [rollei_list] OT: Contaces and Kiev RF's

At 09:26 AM 10/17/2006, Nick Roberts wrote:

Ah, but which Kiev? And which Contax? I know a guy who has an example of every 
Kiev out, as well as several Contaxes, and he is of the opinion that the early 
Kievs are at the very least as good as the Contaxes, and sometimes better.


Good for your friend.  It has been established for some years that the early 
Kiev II were assembled in the Ukraine from parts made at Jena.  The actual flow 
goes:  Dresden Contax (I, II, and III), Jena Contax (II and III), Kiev II and 
III (German parts assembled at Jena), Kiev II and III (German parts assembled 
at the Arsenal Works in Kiev), Kiev II, III, and so forth, up to the 4M and 
4AM.  There is a rich literature on these cameras including the ZEISS 
COMPENDIUM which I co-authored with Charlie Barringer.  (None of this is 
especially new:  there is a picture published in the NEW YORK TIMES in 1947 
showing a German technician at Jena assembling a Kiev II complete with its 
Cyrillic nameplate.)

So, no, the early Kievs are not "at the very least as good as the Contaxes and 
sometimes better" as the early Kievs ARE Contaxes -- Jena Contax cameras in a 
Cyrillic sheep's clothing.  (I own every Kiev variant save for the 5 and a LOT 
of Prewar and Postwar Contax gear.)

Marc


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