Well mine had only the frame spacing problem when I got it. And it varied depending on the spool position. But nowhere was it more than a 4mm overlap which at the time was enough for me to still do some testing with it. I have the repair book now but I've got the rest of a roll shot during the Leonid meteor shower I have to shoot off first. Bought a few bricks of out-of-date 120 film from a camera store on eBay (two bricks of Astia and one of NPL). So far the results seem to be good. Especially the color renditions of outdoor garden scenes. TTL meter reads very close to what my manual K-mount bodies read, maybe 1/3 stop off. TTL finder uses 3 A76 batteries. Trust the Russkies to use an odd voltage combination. I plan to do some winter shooting if we get some snow here. I love the 150mm F2.8 Kaleinar. By the way most of these lenses come with a 3 pack of front filters that fit in a compartment in the lid of the lens cases from the factory. So if you are interested check to see if they are there when you want to buy a lens. In the case of the 150 that means 3 82mm filters. If you are also contemplating a Kiev 88C (Hassy 1000 clone) only get one if it has the mod to convert the lens mount to the Kiev 60/Pentacon bayonet. It will save a lot of problems in buying lenses. The Kiev 88 is the one that needs some better light baffling in the mirror box area and it is something the Kiev repair places do as a part of a package. They can also add MLU to a Kiev 60 and/or convert it to 6x4.5 from 6x6 if you want. The camera, TTL finder and waist-level finder cost me $182 on eBay. And it looked close to brand new from a dealer of them in the mid-South. Kent Gittings
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Evan Hanson Sent: Friday, December 28, 2001 10:35 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Med Format Quandry Kent, how has the Kiev 60 worked out for you I'm thinking about getting an 88 but may get the more dependable and cheaper 60 and extra lenses. Evan From: "Kent Gittings" > All those choices have some merit. Still the main reason you buy the camera > is to hang good lenses on it and put the kind of film in the back you want. > If you want good metering you use a hand meter. According to a lot of MF > pros I know the Schneider lenses are the best especially the Xenotars ($$$) > which are available from a lot of the factories with their names on them. > And believe it or not they are also available to fit the Pentacon 6/Exacta > 66/ Kiev 60 bodies. I've heard that a lot of people consider the Pentax 6x7 > as a Spotmatic on steroids. Well after using a Kiev 60 for about a year now > I consider it more of an Alpa 9D on steroids (not as well built as the Alpa > however). You can get a Kiev 60 body for about $150-250 with the TTL prism > (uncoupled like the Alpa 9D). However they generally come in good mechanical > condition but need some upgrades and tuning to be on a par with other MF > bodies. Meters are surprisingly good and accurate enough for print film if > you don't mind the "match LED" system. The slow 1/30 flash sync might be > unacceptable for some. > The Warsaw pact made lenses are surprisingly good with one or two that you > might want to give a pass to (MIR 45/3.5 for one). The Arsat, Kaleinar, Aus > Jena (East German Zeiss) lenses are all very good and cheap at the same time > (all these factories were set up or improved using the captured Zeiss > technicians and plant machinery after WWII, while the West got the Zeiss > engineers). There are several places in the US where you can send any of the > Kiev's to be upgraded/improved/repaired to top condition. This includes both > the 35mm-like Kiev 60 and the Hassy clone Kiev 88 including changing the > latter's mount to the Kiev 60 bayonet/breech lock. Just think of having a > setup with both a 35mm type 120 body and another body with interchangeable > backs using the same lens system. I paid less than $200 each for all the > following lenses: > Arsat 30/3.5 Fisheye (a Bob Shell Best buy) > Mir 45/3.5 (a little soft but useable for small enlargements) > Aus Jena 80/2.8 (same lens design as the western Zeiss) > Kaleinar 150/2.8 (Bob Shell gem) > Mir 250/3.5 (good longer lens) > Mir 2x TC. > Arsat extension tube set. > Other good lenses include the Zeiss Flektagon 50/4, Mir 65/3.5, Zeiss > 120/2.8, Zeiss 300/4, and Pentacon 300/4 and 500/5.6. > Not to mention adapters to use the lenses on M42, Pentax-K, and Pentax 645. > I currently use an old classic Pentax/Honeywell Super-Lite II flash with it > on a Vivitar MF bracket. > I look at it more as an extension of my Spotmatic F/ES/ES II cameras than as > an addition to my Pentax K and Minolta AF gear. > And if you want to save money and have some mechanical ability there is a > repair/fix-it manual you can buy for the Kiev 60 to fix things like the main > problem which is the film's frame registration (they all tend to overlap a > little out of the box). However with the big 6x6 negatives you can often > live with a little clipping on the edges. > However I wouldn't consider it a pro MF camera even though Bob Shell > actually tried it. However in his opinion the body to use for that would be > the Exacta 66 Mk. III which is built like a tank (Tiger Tank). But it costs > as much as a new Pentax 67 II. So the thing is you try out the Kiev 60 and > if you like the lenses you invest in an Exacta 66 Mk. II body and TTL prism > for real work. > By the way anybody got any opinions on a good hand meter. I prefer one that > does ambient, flash, reflected and spot if that is possible. I have an old > Pentax but I need something newer and better. But not something as pricey as > the Minolta III Autometer or Flashmeter. > Kent Gittings - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses. www.mimesweeper.com ********************************************************************** - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
