It’s funny how these things happen. A chance encounter with my old Olympus XA3, hidden in a drawer for about twenty years, prompted me to put fresh batteries in it, find a film, and take it on holiday. I hadn’t used a film camera for so long, my children (both in their twenties) looked at it in disbelief. Even more so when I told them that the film in it was black & white.
It got me thinking about the first camera I ever used, a Cosmic 35 borrowed from my brother, c.1970. Of course, the next thing I did was look on eBay to see how much they sold for nearly fifty years later. Not a lot. But I resisted the temptation. When the holiday photos came back though, the thrill of seeing photos which had been taken the old way raised the temptation level by a few notches. Going right back to basics with a camera where all the settings are up to you really appealed. Even better if that camera is nearly as old as you are.
A few days later, the eBay algorithms had got the message that I was interested in old Russian cameras, and fed me a whole stream of them. After quite a bit of reading up on the various models, I decided to go for it. Not a Cosmic 35, but something a bit more solid – a Kiev 4A. It was worth it just for the smell when I opened the case for the first time, that combination of leather and old camera. Even better, the seller’s description seemed to be spot on – all clean, a clear lens, and everything working.
Built in 1968, but with a Jupiter 8 lens from 1957, it must have seen some life in its time. It has probably never been for a walk around York on an autumn day though, so that was where I took it for a first try. A roll of Lomography 400 colour film was loaded, a light meter app was added to my phone, and off we went.
Focussing with the little wheel on top took all of five minutes to get used to, the rangefinder patch was as clear as could be, and accurate. To say the shutter is quiet would be an understatement – it is more of a soft “chunk” rather than a click. The whole thing feels so solid. OK, some might say it weighs a ton, but I really wouldn’t object to carrying it around for a day. Unlike its brother the Kiev 4, it doesn’t have a light meter sitting on top, so there is one less thing which might not work after fifty years. On this trip I got by with my phone app and a bit of Sunny 16 guesswork.
I have to say, I am delighted with the results. It is a pleasure to use, and I can see it becoming a regular companion. Now, why does eBay think I am interested in some other Jupiter lenses…?
Steve Phillips
https://www.instagram.com/stevephillipsyork/
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Thomas Sheppard on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
Thank you for sharing these, I have enjoyed them immensely
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
Gil Aegerter on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
CharlesMorgan on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
David Cuttler on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
david hill on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
"The Kiev 4A is a Soviet-era Contax camera made by the Arsenal factory located (where else) by the city of Kiev. After the end of WWII, the Russians seized the Zeiss factories as part of the war reparations. They took the tools, dies, left over parts, and a bunch of engineers and transplanted them to Kiev" [Karen Nakamura, Photoethnography.com]
In similar fashion, Zorki cameras were Soviet-era Leica (Thread Mount) copies, built in the KMZ factories, near Moscow. The Jupiter-8 is the LTM counterpart to the Contax-mount Jupiter-8M. Unfortunately the Russian LTM lenses used the Contax thread pitch in their focus helicoid, not the Leica pitch - a very small difference but it causes focus issues on "true" Leicas and clones. The wide lenses work fine, 50's are borderline but can be tweaked to work, and longer lenses (Jupiter-9, for instance) are fairly useless on anything but a Zorki.
Comment posted: 04/12/2019
Nigel Haycock on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 05/12/2019
Comment posted: 05/12/2019
Kodachromeguy on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 05/12/2019
Geof Abruzzi on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 05/12/2019
Comment posted: 05/12/2019
Pianino Tematy on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 31/08/2021
Ted Ayre on 5 frames with a Kiev 4A and Lomography 400 – By Steve Phillips
Comment posted: 30/12/2022
Comment posted: 30/12/2022