A 1951 Kiev-2. This camera is really a German camera made in the old USSR. It had been a Contax II before WW2, but the factory, blueprints, machines, tooling, and even personnel were taken by the Soviets as reparation. Early Kiev still had German-made Contax in them, since the first production runs used the remaining German surplus parts.

This Kiev-2 still bears the original Contax design details, and may still contain German parts. As years passed (the Kiev were made until 1984 or 85, with hardly any change), the quality in terms of make and finish declined. The later ones I've seen are really badly made.

The achilles heel of this camera is really the shutter. Its mechanism consists of two metal slatted blinds which run on two ribbons of silk. Metal running on fabric -with some friction, as needed for the shutter to operate properly- will soon wear out the fabric. True enough, the ribbons break soon after these cameras are found. I've seen the ribbons break in ALL 8 of my Kiev cameras. This Kiev-2 lingered in a steel drawer for almost 3 years before I was able to repair it.



Here it was before repair, and after stripping the original worn leather covering:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v93/zorkikat/_IGP5171.jpg


Repairing its shutter is not too difficult, but will be quite impossible without the right instructions and correct material. The ribbon used in the shutter has to be correct, and there are no easy substitutes for it, at least locally. I was able to order some silk shutter ribbon from Japan. I wasn't sure at first if this ribbon would work. But it turned out that this ribbon is almost the same as the ones originally used by Zeiss for their Contax II shutters.

These are the shutter blinds, removed from the camera, with the new Japanese silk ribbons:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v93/zorkikat/_IGP5176.jpg


And after restoration:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v93/zorkikat/_IGP5182.jpg

No attempt was made to "fully" restore the camera's cosmetics. The pitted paint finish and surface abrasions were purposely left as they are, to retain the aged look of the camera. The leatherette trim was found in Divisoria.

One repair shop in R Hidalgo, Quiapo took a Kiev in for repair. When I talked to the repairist, he said that they couldn't repair it. I don't think they can. :D

congratulations!

good job on restoring this gem.

And a test exposure made with the Kiev-2, with its Jupiter-8 lens, at f/4. This lens is really a Zeiss Sonnar 50mm with a different name:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v93/zorkikat/K2_016.jpg

(Luckycolor 200 film- fotofabrik color processing/scanning)

Jay, I like this thread! It would really be nice to have others post their restored jobs. It would give insights on source of parts & labor, how to, technical discoveries, inter-operability of parts, compatibility of model variants, pricing and investment challenge.

BTW, That's a really nice clear sharp photograph of old. :)

Wow... amazing job you did there....

Wow! A-1 Job Jay... awesome work with the shutter repairs. :)

Congratulations on restoring the camera Sir Jay! :)

WOW!!! You are a genius!!! :)

Jay, how much do you charge if I have you restore my camera? I inherited an old camera from my late aunt and its still in pristine condition except that the shutter doesn't work.

nice to see around here Jay, your fascination for the retro's has never wither.
nice restoration there

great great great job jay. you really are skilled with your hands :)

Hi Jay, I found this inside my dad's tool cabinet. He said he got this set in a street market in switzerland back in '84. I'd call this Frankenstein if someone can bring this back to life. :)

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a175/arivelazco/DSC_8493.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a175/arivelazco/DSC_8494.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a175/arivelazco/DSC_8495.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a175/arivelazco/DSC_8496.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a175/arivelazco/DSC_8500.jpg

Wow!! A GTN, But man, OUCH on the condition it's in. Complete set pa :)

I know daniel.. what a waste.. hehe lemme try to colgate it if it will LOOK better. hahaha

Hahahaha, Are the wide and tele lens clean or fungus infected narin?

Yeah, I'd try to salvage the add-on lens and just get a good one off the web since they're so readily available... Might not be worth the effort to repair that. The batt corrosion looks nasty.

The lens attachments are still ok... even wondering why they are still in good condition when all of them were stored in the same box.

I guess... its just nice to save it since it was used by my dad to take pictures of us when we were still kids... senti reasons lang :)

Jay, how much do you charge if I have you restore my camera? I inherited an old camera from my late aunt and its still in pristine condition except that the shutter doesn't work.


I'm afraid I may not be able to help you with that. My repair skills are limited to Russian and Ukraininan cameras, mostly Leica or Contax derivatives. :-) I have accepted a few friends' cameras - but those were really rare occasions. Repair and restoration is mostly a hobby for me.

I am curious though what camera that is which you inherited.

Hi Jay, I found this inside my dad's tool cabinet. He said he got this set in a street market in switzerland back in '84. I'd call this Frankenstein if someone can bring this back to life. :)



Ari,

To add a bit what's been said in the TKP group-

From the condition seen in the pictures, thorough cleaning is the first step. Use a toothbrush and some 'wipe-out' or 'mc' cleaning paste. Brush off and wipe whatever you can.

Then do an extensive check on the camera's parts- vf/rf clarity and contrast, look for corrosion, worn seals, etc. It's easier to assess a clean camera.

The external glass surfaces can be cleaned with unscented Facial Tissue moistened withwindow-glass cleaner like Windex or Kiwi-Blue. Or you can make your own cleaning solution with a 50+50 % solution of 20Vol Hydrogen Peroxide and Household Ammonia.

Facial Tissue can be safely used even on the lens surfaces. The tissue will never scratch the lens. It is the dirt stuck between the glass surface and the tissue which will.

Start cleaning lenses by sweeping clean all surface dirt (using a brush and blower). Stubborn dirt can be wiped off with tissue wetted(as opposed to moistened) with window cleaner.

Stubborn dirt may be removed with dishwashing liquid. I have in the past soaked lens elements in Joy diswashing detergent overnight. The lens element must be entirely removed from the barrel and free of any metal part for this treatment.

hi, jay and all vintage photography fans here. newbie dpp forumer here. it's interesting that my very first post in a digital photography forum would end up in film photography section. hehehe.

i have a yashica gsn and i was able to make minor repairs on it with the help of this site: http://www.yashica-guy.com. You'll probably need to work on what yashica fans refer to as the "Pad of Death". I was able to work on my GSN's pad of death using that site: http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/repair.html#nine

Jay, do you know where we can get crazy (cyanocrylate) glue here? What's a good alternative? When I did my yashica, i was trying to use contact cement (rugby) but it just won't work. I ended up using elmer's glue. hehehe. It held but I reckon it will not hold for a very long time and I'd probably need to work on it again soon.

What do you suggest I use next time? Thanks and you film guys keep shooting! :)

Jay, do you know where we can get crazy (cyanocrylate) glue here? What's a good alternative? When I did my yashica, i was trying to use contact cement (rugby) but it just won't work. I ended up using elmer's glue. hehehe. It held but I reckon it will not hold for a very long time and I'd probably need to work on it again soon.

What do you suggest I use next time? Thanks and you film guys keep shooting! :)

Sherwin

What parts are you gluing?

Many repair sources do not like cyanoacrylate used in any repair/restoration. If you must have it, it's fairly common- Bulldog is one brand. Or if you ever find yourself in hidalgo, they sell this at about Php 3-5 per tube in the sidewalks.

Are you gluing the leatherette trims? Rugby or rubber contact cement is still the best to use. The trick in using it properly is to first clean the surfaces to be glued thoroughly. Remove all traces of the old adhesive with acetone.

Then apply rubber contact cement on both surfaces of the items to be glued together- that means having rugby both on the leatherette and the camera's metal surfaces. Let the glue dry (until it's just a bit tacky) for about 30 min. Then stick the parts together. You have to this carefully since once in contact, the glued parts may be hard to separate. Once the leatherette is in place, press firmly by rubbing something smooth on it, like the back of a plastic comb.

RUbber cement can be used to glue the foam light seals as well.

Wow jay, You are amazing at this!!

Its great that you are familiar with leicas! I have an m6 and a 50mm 1.0 lens (noctilux) but I feel that it needs to be calibrated for it to be perfectly functional at a 1.0 opening. can you help me there?

Jay, it's a small rubber material (the Pad of Death (http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/repair.html#nine)) with dimensions 2mm x 4mm x 5mm inside the camera that serves as a cushion for the spring loaded action of the shutter release mechanism. It's glued on a small 4mm x 5mm metal surface. I couldn't get the rugby to stick on that small metal surface area.

The 2mm height of the rubber material is also important (don't exactly know why) so you need to spread the rugby thinly. I'm thinking it's because of the surface area and it was too small for the rugby to hold on to properly. i tried letting it dry and sticking the rubber material but it didn't stick firmly and was quite loose.

isn't bulldog a brand of super glue? pwede ba yun sa metallic surface?

here's my baby right here. needs some work in the light sealing department too. what material can i use for that and where can i get it? thanks, jay!

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a276/yellowminded/DSC_2487.jpg

wow! i hope you get it restored buddy.

theres actually 2 in hidalgo for sale but both are DOA coz of the pad of death.

i love my gsn and im dreading the day that i get the POD.

LOL! Now you guys know why I had Jay take a look at my Smena8M and Petri7 :D

@ Jay

Do you have the correct color patches ready? :D

Cheers!

Jo Avila

Gave the electro35 one last ride. Too much damage. The last frame from this camera with unintentional multiple exposures. Kinda weird since the subject was magnified at some point. the camera was glued to the tripod as i was testing which shutter speed it's stuck on without batteries.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/2448086685_0d0ec36504.jpg

You're amazing Jay! I did not realize that there are people like you who loves to restore old cameras..... come to think of it, are there are Camera Museum in Manila (or any that has something to do with photography)? Your hard work can be displayed in it!