Bugs Bunny wrote:

Group,

Been all my life fascinated by Hassy but never had cash reserve to buy
one.

So this has led me to question very similar like Hamlet

a) buy ARAX88 (Kiev) model with lenses I consider fullfilling the basic
photographic subjects - pets, persons, scenery, architecture

b) or tighten the belt one notch more and save save save and buy
refurb Hassy 500CM or similar and couple lenses



Depends. Are you going to be happy with the normal lens and maybe a 50mm or
a 150mm and nothing else? The "problem" with buying the blad isn't the cost
of the camera, it's everything else that goes with it. Even an extention
tube for a 'blad is going to cost more than another lens for a kiev.

I have several kievs and think the K-60 is the simpler, more reliable of the
2 cameras. That said I just got an ARAX K88 that I special ordered with
their titanium foil shutter, in the twist-click P-6 mount and 3 rebuilt old
type backs and it's smooth as silk. I also have a Hartblei 1006c (88 in P-6
mount) that was converted to use 'blad backs and this new ARAX is just as
smooth.

Once you have a reliable P-6 body, it opens up a world of cheap optics that
cover anything you could ever imagine doing. Also haveing a focal plane
shutter allows you to "hack" different lenses onto the camera like
enlarging lenses for macro work, old barrel lenses etc.

http://www.geocities.com/kievgurl/tessar_150mm.html

I adapted a 35mm OM macro lens to mine and it works great.

http://www.geocities.com/kievgurl/hack.html

Also the lenses are faster than the blad ones and you only have one shutter
to worry about instead of each lens haveing a different shutter that may or
may not be the same as the others.

Sure the kievs aren't the best build camera on the planet, probably one of
the worst but they -can- be made to work well. For someone on a limited
budget allow you access to styles of optics you'd -never- be able to use on
another system. I also want to add someone thinking about these should have
-some- skills at doing minor adjustments. If you don't know which end of a
screwdriver to use, get something else.

http://www.geocities.com/kievgurl

http://www.geocities.com/kievgurls

--

Stacey, the Kiev user POV