'Solid bodies and lenses. Skillful use of metal and plastic. Excellent lens selections; the optics are military specification quality as they are product of Arsenal of Kiev Optics. The technology that produced Sputnik and Kalichnikovs that are most prolific produced gun ever. Anyway, the cams are straight-up, pragmatic photographic tools. With practice and care, their performance also maximizes. Because of the emphasis being placed upon the actual 'USE' of the camera, their dis-assembly and assembly modes are easier than most. Rivets, stampings, pressure-forming or bonding and other non-arcane component methods are avoided for a preference of plain geometry of mechanism and use of threaded connectors. Few hair-springs are used and instead, flat metal springs are preferred. This does not save either room or weight, but has better longevity. Climates of the Soviet are really harsh, so consider these components are adaptive to colder operating temperatures.

'Obviously require a certain amount of DIY and mechanical aptitude. Seem to require above average amount of lubrication; needle applicator and lithium or silicon lube. Though they are inventory at Radio Shack, that's not usually known to some photographers. Besides the inventories are usually depleted. Also, screws may need maintenant tightening, possibly even glue. But most weaknesses are result of lack of practice with them.'

'Have used these cams for years. Previously had used certain models of Prakticas. Also doing MF with Penta-Six. They are very unique technically. BUT require a LOT of practice with getting the pressure exactly right and knowing the idiosyncrasies. The years of doing 35 mm with Prakticas must be the way to get used to the Soviet technology. Actually, have colleagues that would only shoote Hassies and you should hear them gripe about the hyper-sensitive lens shutters. Eventually, they'd figure on having a spare while the other was on the way to the shop for tweaks. SO, the clunky, film-plane shutters of the Kievs, other MF, and Pentacons are actually an advantage as being pragmatic and 'work-effective.' These days, a number of up-grades are possible. Kiev USA does theirs for about 300. While there's a company, ARAX, that offers similar polished up version for about 800. As with the Praktica 35 mms, keep tightening the screws and sparingly lubricate the mechanisms where possible. Never use a lot of pressure on any mechanism, knob or lever. There are certain 'orders of operation' that usually eliminate the kinks and jamming. Also, there are adapters for the wonderful lenses so that they'll even mount onto the Nikon F1 mount of the DSLR's. Have gotten some v. photogenique results from doing that. Also, some of the lens mounts are so tight that they have had to be sanded with emery paper. So would recommend these cams for a dedicated photographer with enough DIY repertoire.'

Customer Service

'Have to say this. That there were years when a lot of technicians would NOT even work on them. Most likely that would have been because of politics; the cameras may say, 'Made In Russia Occupation.', 'Soviet East Germany' and so on. But that has been getting cleared up with Glasnost, most likely. So technical support has actually improved every year. KievUSA used to have a table at FotoPlus Expo, but they are the other side of that Perestroika story. The enormous factory of Arsenal at Kiev doesn't produce any cameras. The Russian and really the whole Eastern bloc has gotten dependent upon the West and Asia for their digital imaging. So the bandwidth of the tech support that you'll get depends upon knowledge of the digital resources as the main tool. That refers basically to The Internet, as that's what has gotten to be the paradox of the technological niche and has actually saved some of the worthwhile efforts that should eventually be a true sub-culture. Mike Fourman was referred to, KievUSA has a great web-place and if you write to the Arax company they'll answer your letter. Besides the blogs of diligent DIY-ers are flourishing.'

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'Sort of did a 'hop' from the Brownie 120 film up to the MF useage. The digressions from this sort of clunky, pragmatic equipment were mostly, well, they still are, to motion picture cams. The cam, as a technology, has evolved from the pin-hole to digital movie cams, say a Red One or Digital video cam. So these Kievs and other geometric-mechanism cameras occupy a particular niche. Some of us seem to keep liking that sort of technical mentality. And there are a lot of photographic results of that way of thinking besides Jeeps, revolvers, fountain pens and so on, if you're talking about basics of design. Specifically, they are similar to Exacta, Praktica, Pentacon, Lomo and most MF plate cams; Graflex, Kodak and others. The design directives that produced these sort of cameras also were at work on some of the movie cameras, Krasnogorsk and Konvas. So there's really a whole modality, possibly you'd say a lifestyle. But as of yet, they are still peripheral to the world of digital imaging.'

Cheap system to put together, excellent results with care. Extremely high quality compared with 35mm. No automatic exposure modes, no AF, no fancy electronics and great optics.

VERY difficult for the novice user. I would recommend a lot of reading up and discussion before even attempting to use it as the smallest error can result in jamming or breaking the camera. Weight is surprising to those used to 35mm.

A low budget (price is in Sterling) medium format system that makes you think. This is not a camera for the inexperienced or for those who like computers with film chambers. You won't find zoom lenses for it either. In short, it really sorts out the men from the boys and rewards them accordingly.

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Lubitel and Ricohflex TLRs, Pentax, Chinon, Ricoh, Praktica, Zenit and Exacta SLRs

medium format quality for next to no money

build quality (everytime you wind it on it feels like its going to break) flash sync is slow

A medium format camera for peanuts.When they work they are fantastic mine came with the ttl viewfinder which needed to be set up but i havn't had any other problems with the system

Customer Service

not used

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bronica

Im giving 5 stars for both value and overall because of price mainly. There is no other way to get this much experience in any camera system, but the owner must be expert in taking apart lenses finders etc. or this could become a very expensive frustration very quickly. Great glass, really fun to get a lens or accessory at these crazy prices. I think it looks cool, or at least unusual... Pretty wide selection of lenses and accessories . I got all of the pieces, 4 lenses, the 2x, the groundglass, mag prism, standard prism, and a TTL prism (pretty accurate actually) a 645 and a 66 NT back, close up rings, and those nasty filters all for 1200 USD total. This is less than a single hassie lens...

Build quality is really bad. I have had two bodies that were fine however. The backs must be the NT series. The K88 mount is sloppy. This camera system always leaks light but this can be fixed. My Penatx leaked also and so did my old nikon Ft. Other repairs which are routine (nikons also) such as tightening aperture rings, lubricating lens focus threads, you should know how to do these things if you expect your kiev experience to be acceptable.

Kiev 88 is really a wonderful system. Yes it has problems, anybody who gets one will find out that you need to work on this thing. I have a newer camera, '99 Kiev USA modified (?) paid 200 on ebay for it. I broke one back when the flocking fell off and stuck to the shutter. I suggest you don't flock it.. You NEED the new NT series back they are much better mechanically. Also the 645 back is nicer if you can live with that frame size, there is less film advance per stroke so less stress on the gears. Check the back for leaks at the slide. Put a little strip of flocking on the back at the place where the body and back plate meet on the slide side - this gives a little extra pressure on that slide. It does make the slide hard to put in however. Also, take out the interlock on the slide so you can get the back off. It also helps to take out the auto stop down pins.. especially if you try to use the 2x or the extension rings

Customer Service

There is no such thing unless you mean CUSTOMER'S own service, for which you must always be ready :>[

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Nikon Ft, FA FE2 FM various nikon, tokina, vivitar lenses, now F100 and N55 and a slew of AF lenses Pentax 67 with wide and normal and a few accessories.. never liked the 67 much

good solid products

not fool-proved camera. Hugh potential for beginners to mess up and blame the camera for their mistakes

I bought this camera 2 months ago from Kievcamera. Before I bought this Kiev 88 CM, I read tons of stuff about MF. I used Nikon N70. In most time, I played auto. I have not had any problem with this camera (Kiev 88cm) so far. The meter was not bad initially. However, the knob for shutter speed somehow became loose. I used my Nikon to correct it with lens set at 50mm focal length on very bright gray surface illuminated by strong sunlight according to the method published at Kievalcoholic. Be careful about one screw of three. Actually, I took the knob off to see the location of the screws after turning the knob around. I did have several risky situations such as pulling shutter speed knob before cocking shutter. As long as you do not force anything, you can resolve this problem. In my case, I found out that taking back off solved the problem. Otherwise, the shutter could not be cocked all the way. Another thing is that after cocking the shutter, the dark slide can not be put back unless the shutter is fired. I do not know anyone trys to push dark slide in after the shutter is cocked. The pictures I took are very crispy, detailed, blowing away 35 mm films. No grainy whatsoever. I recently bought a brand new heavy duty (NO Name) tripod, a knockoff after Bogen, with load capacity of 26 lbs from Ebay. I have not played with 500 mm F5.6 mirror lens (Kievcamera)that is very heavy. I bought Jupiter 250mm from Russia. Is there anyone there who uses sonnar 180 or Flektogon 50 on kiev 88 cm (bought recently)without any problem of fitting? There are some weak spots in the English manual. For instance, it is not very clear about cocking shutter and setting up shutter speed, especially for beginners

Customer Service

none

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none

Mike Fourman is always willing to help. Camera is all manual and had not failed yet. I like "manual" It makes you think?

Standard Arsat 80 mm lens drops off around the edges. Go with Zeiss 80 mm Biotar it's tack sharp.

At first I bought an older 88. (not from Mike) sent it back right away. Then I purchased a 88cm modified by hartblei from Mike Fourman. The 2 don't even come close. Now I have 3 Zeiss lens' 1 body and 2 backs with a metered finder all for under $1100.00. Great camera outfit.

Customer Service

Not much needed. Mike Fourmans standard reply is "send it back I'll replace it" He is Great.....!!!!

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Canon 35 mm EOS. 4 Canon lenes.

Lenses of great quality and low price, Manual camera that makes you work, Low price.

Bodies come with built in problems. If you get a bad one just send it back. Manual camera means slow to set up shots. If you want fast action shots, this is not the setup for you. Camera + lens = weight. Get a large bag and a monopod if you want to be mobile. Have a good hand held meter and know how to use it.

I decided to get into medium format photography several years ago because I wanted the larger negatives. After much reasearch, I bought a Yashicamat 124G. I was not completely happy with the single lens, so I started looking for an interchangable lens medium format camera on a budget. (I can't afford car payments for this hobby.) I ended up buying the KIEV 88 from Mike Foreman and have not regretted the purchase. The flash sync never worked on it but I use it for outdoor photography so I don't care. I always use a monopod because the body with the 80mm lens weighs about 5lbs and that is the smallest lens I have. The built in meter in the prism is useless so a hand held prism is a must. The shape of this monster takes some getting use to. This is not a starter camera. It is not quite sturdy enough for progessional abuse either. In two years I have run almost 200 rolls of film through mine without spaceing or film magazine problems. I mave several lenses and the Russian glass is top quality. I have even done slow exposure shots in natural caverns and been rewarded with outstanding B&W prints using high speed film.

Customer Service

Not Needed

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Lubatel Yashicamat 124G Seagull TLR Moskva 3

Price of camera, price of accessories, availability of lenses, pentacon 6 lens mount (compatible with Zeiss Jena lenses), interchangable backs including 6x6, 6x4.5, and digital.

Somewhat fragile, not for beginners, poor quality control at factory (camera body was upgraded but accessories are direct from factory.), smells funny.

NOTE: This is a review of the Hartblei modified Kiev 88CM from Mikhail Fourman at Kiev Camera. Kit included Camera body, TTL/Spot prism finder, 2 NT film backs, 80mm lens, some accessories. This is an excellent camera. I have been using 35mm equipment for quite a few years, and I decided that I wanted to try medium format. I didn''t want to spend alot of money, so I was interested in the Kiev 88 series cameras. I read all of the horror stories about reliability, inconsistency, etc., but noticed that the 88CM model was receiving generally good reviews. I ordered one that was modified by Hartblei. I have had no problems whatsoever. I did have to calibrate the metering prism, but it now deliveres reliable, consistent results. I have had no light leaks from film backs, everything works smoothly, the shutter timing is right on. Overall, I like this camera alot, but I do not recommend it to beginners. It does have some strange little things that you must do (read the Kiev 88 Do''s and Don''ts at Kievaholic.com). It is a fully manual camera, and if you have only used automatic 35mm gear this will be quite a change. You do need a little bit of mechanical confidence, because sometimes things need a little adjusting.

Customer Service

Excellent. Best photographic retailer I have ever dealt with.

Phenominal Lenses... Takes excellent photos.

Camera must be maintained professionally first, then used with care.

This is a fine product, as long as you do your homework and keep up with the maintenance. This is a great camera with excellent lenses, as long as you understand its strengths and weaknesses.

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Rolleiflex

1. High Value/Expense Ratio. 2. Solid construction. 3. Extensive Zeiss lens for 88 /w Pentacon mount. 4. Looks like a Hassy.

1.Unreliable mechanical design. 2. TTL-metering is un-accurate (about 1 full stop off). 3. Heavy for outdoor shooting. 4. poor film box manufacturing. 5.slow synch speeed (1/60)

I bought a used 88TTL /w Pentacon mount and cloth shutter on Ebay with a Ziess 50/f3.5 wide angle lens for $300. I also bought a Zeiss 180/2.8 and 80/2.8 to add into the set. Compare the results with my Rolleiflex and Yashicamet, the optical performaces of these zeiss lenses are outstanding. Due to its Heavy Weight, I used the set most times for indoor portrait or fine arts. You will be amazed that how much joy that $600 can bring up to you.

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Rolleicord IV
Yashicamat 124G