Comment by supernova87a
5 years ago
I don't know if it applies to Soviet watches, but somewhere I read that the problem with Soviet cameras (Kiev, fake Hasselblad etc.) was not the design but the consistency of the manufacturing and quality control. On certain days/shifts you could get an amazing machine, on others, total crap.
I have some experiences with few Kiev cameras.
- Kiev rangefinders (2A, 3A) which are the Contax rangefinders copies. Overall they are pretty solid (build-quality wise probably the best, compared to FED/Zorki/...). The lenses are charming, too.
- Kiev 88, which are the Hasselblad copy. Only tried 2 or 3, and all of them have the usual light leak, irregular frame spacings etc issues.
+1 on manufacturing consistency/quality control. Shooting with Soviet cameras is fun when they are working properly. But if you are willing to spend a bit bigger cash, pick Japanese gears instead (Nikon, Bronica, Mamiya etc). Their built quality, overall, are better.
Sounds a bit like Japanese synthesizers vs US synthesizers in the 80s... the US synths had unstable oscillators and would always drift, even to the point where bands would have multiple on stage waiting for the currently playing synth to go wonky before being swapped out with one on the side lines.