Robust - dropped twice and no sign of internal jarring Great standard lens - and the choice of using those great old Zeiss Jena lenses aswell Buying from Roskam eliminates usual problems Mirror lock up - you could handhold this at 1/30 and not see any shake on the prints.

Slow flash sync Weight No interchangeable backs But I''m an enthusiast and have no problem with this

Bought this camera as an introduction to medium format, having recently ditched the world of autofocus EOS slrs for full manual control. After two months research, finally bought it off Hans Roskam in Netherlands. I''m a freelance journalist, so my first outing with it was to CUba for a story. I was blown away. While my EOS died half way through my week there, the Kiev took some beautiful shots (and without me knowing how to use it properly). Russian/Ukrainian cameras always seem to get a rough deal in the photo press - the Kiev 60 can have problems with flare, wonky film transport and widlyl inaccurate metering to name a few - but I couldn''t have been more impressed. Have since taken it on trips to New Zealand and Spain and have shot maybe 20 rolls on it. It''s heavy, and rudimentary, but if you buy from Roskam he strips the cameras from new and makes sure the internals are fine. Not only that, but the meter is spot on! As good as the meter on my FM2. The Kiev won''t be for everyone - it doesn''t have polaroid backs, the flash sync is 1/30 and there''s the sheer weight of the thing - but it''s the best $250 I''ve parted with. The standard Arsenal lens is capable of crisp images and the 30mm fisheye is worth buying the camera alone. Incredible piece of glass. Two professional photographers - Hassy users - have seen me using this and gone out and bought them. One now uses them on pro shoots.

Customer Service

Not needed, but Roskam is an excellent vendor and, apparently, ina league of his own when it comes to fixing problems. Plus, he offers a three year warranty on his Kiev 60s.

Similar Products Used:

Pentacon 6; Lubitel; Yashicamat 124G

Plethora of Lenses from 30mm fish to 1000mm. Zeiss, Schneider and Arsenal quality lenses. Like the 35mm feel.

Getting it directly from someone other than a dealer who will provide a warantee. Needs a spot meter.

I like this camera. As long as you get if from a reputable dealer like Mike at KievCamera it will be fine. This is a manual camera, that with the right Zeiss Lenses is fantastic. I am getting the same quality as I did with my Hassy 503CW.

Customer Service

Kiev Camera provides the best service I have ever worked with.

Similar Products Used:

Kiev 88CM, Hassy 503CW

solid, great lens selection

Can have problem that need to be addressed and worked o.

Ok where to start, it’s a darn good camera if you know how to work with it. It handles like a 35mm yet with a good Ziess lens on it will take fantastic pictures! Film spacing can be a problem and can also be easily adjusted if needed. The meter that comes with it is useless and should be set aside (camera weighs less with it off). Get yourself a good hand held meter and have at it.

Customer Service

Ha that''s funny

Similar Products Used:

none

Price and quality german optics.

"Lens" flare actually caused by reflective surfaces in the camera body. Can be fixed cheaply with a flocking kit. I''ve heard about reliability probs but haven''t experienced any in the short time I''ve owned this camera.

The camera so far hasn''t had any mechanical probs. Looking to get a flocking kit for internal parts of camera. Reflections from surfaces inside the camera are causing "lens flare" in certain types of lighting situations. The camera can be rebuilt with a 1 yr warranty from Kiev USA for $225 - that''s still way cheaper than buying most other medium format slr''s. Lens sharpness is very very good. LOVE all the cheap zeiss lenses available for the camera out there. Arsat makes a 30mm lens that''s suppose to be quite good also. Were talking quality medium format lenses for under $200.

Customer Service

Haven''t used them yet but I''ve heard good things about Kiev USA. They can rebuild used cameras to make them more reliable.

Similar Products Used:

yashica mat 124g, Mamiya 7, Mamiya RZ, Hasselblad

Inexpensive, great lens availability

Big, ugly, heavy

I''ve had no problems with my reworked K60. I bought it reworked (including MLU and flocking) from Mike Fourman at Kiev Camera. Yes, it is heavy, ugly, and slow, but this has been a great second camera with image quality high enough to do pro work on. You can''t beat the price. Add this to the affordable Zeiss lenses available, this is probably the best deal in photography.

Customer Service

Have not needed it, but Mike Fourman at Kiev Camera is supposed to be very good.

Similar Products Used:

Various TLR, various manual 35mm and medium format SLR (canon, hassy)

The Kiev USA Kiev 60 costs 400 dollars, it is a fully tuned and strenthened Kiev 60, the
cameras shutter and film advance problems are cured before you get it with exception of Kiev 80mm lens design flaw. Cover the shiny metal stop down level with black electricion tape or you will get a light leak at under 3 feet!
The lenses are all sharp
and the pictures you get
are worth the trouble of learning how to use an all mechanical camera.

Kiev USA cures the weakness of an of the shelf Kiev 60 and gives you are guarantee.

Paying the extra money to Kiev USA is worth it.
Even the meter is adjusted and matches my hand held meter. You will love the great big sharp negatives.

Customer Service

They stand behind the camera for a year

Similar Products Used:

None

Price and quality of lenses

Found Hair in the lens and had it removed by customer service (see below)

Very nice camera, with outstanding optics.I doubt that japanese or "german" (often made in japan, e.g. Zeiss) lenses could give much better picture quality. The lenses are Zeiss clones anyway made using German World War II technology and machines. The quality of lenses is already exceptional-pictures taken with 35 mm Nikon 50mm/1.8 look like junk, compared to the Kiev's ( and I am not talking about grain and other things unequal between 35mm and 6X6). Pictures taken with 30mm, 85mm and 200mm look sharp and have beautiful color balance.I have the same problems with camera as others here-meter is OK, but I use handheld meter for better results; and spacing between frames varies from 1 to 15 mm. If you want a camera only as a hobby, this one is good enough. Spending $4000-$6000, would not get you much better pictures, only better meter and winding mechanism

Customer Service

Believe it or not, but my parents live across from "Kiev" customer service in the city of Kiev. If one buys the camera in Ukraine they do have customer service for him.

Similar Products Used:

None

Cheap,very "mechanical" in character and even looks good (IMHO).
Optics are usually very good. I find them to equal much more expensive japanse glass.
A great way to practice technique in Photography.

Clumsy operation.
The aweful film wind level may destroy your film (overlapping frames).

The only cheap way to experience medium format photography. It has its charm - all mechanical and robustly built. Even the clumsy metering and setting mechanisms are forgiven but the winding lever is a potential disaster. BE CAREFUL when winding, keep it maintained to avoid picture loss.

Customer Service

unavailable. Where I live one has to look for camera technicians of russian origin...

Similar Products Used:

Pentax, Canon, Nikon SLR's

A medium format slr with meter, two prisms, normal lens, filters, lens shade and strap for under $200 -- NEW!?
It's strenths are: sharp and inexpensive lenses, reasonable design, convenience of shooting 120 film with an slr-style pentaprism.

It's not built by Japanese or Germans.

Great introductory camera for cheap 120 slr shooting, though this camera might be as much as you'll ever need. If you get a well-built one with properly collimated lenses you'd be hard pressed to distinguish end results from cameras costing 20 times as much.

Customer Service

You're on your own, pal.

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya C330, Rollieflex 2.8 F, Great Wall 120 TLR, Mockba 5 6x9 folder

Sharp 80mm lens, easy to handle, light weight w/wristlevel finder.

No mirror lockup on my camera, flash sync only at 30

Results from this camera are great, very sharp vivid colors, very nice and I paid under $200 for
my Kiev 60 kit. I love this camera some results are better then fuji67.

Customer Service

never needed.

Similar Products Used:

Fuji67, Mamiya RB67