Kiev 88 :: Inexpensive Medium Format

The Kiev 88 has long been hailed as the most inexpensive way to get into a medium format modular camera system. You can get an entire system for a fraction of what you'd pay for a Hasselblad.

But how is the quality? Is it worth it? Or is it easier to save a little more and upgrade to an actual Hasselblad rig?

I've had mine for years. I've had 2 actually - the first one died on me. They are great, but you earn every shot you take. They are extremely finicky and awkward to use. I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about photography though when I first started shooting mine so I believe their value is in what you want out of a camera.

If you're new to medium format or new to photography for that matter - you will learn a lot. And they are super cheap so its definitely an easy way to get into medium format.

The Kiev 88 was produced in the Ukraine up until about 2009. There are third party companies that bought remaining inventory and modify them. Unfortunately this starts getting expensive so I still advocate the original model.

The Kiev 88 is a copy of the Hasselblad 1000F. Originally known as the Salut - they later boasted a hot shoe and renamed the model the Kiev 80. A few more improvements lead to the classic Kiev 88 design.

I've covered this camera on the show before, but not in a full deep dive review. Today we will finally do that!

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Ted Forbes
The Art of Photography
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My name is Ted Forbes and I make videos about photography. I’ve been making photographs most of my life and I have a tremendously deep passion for photography that I want to share with you on YouTube.

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[robertschlosser]

I understand that it is a lottery... or should I say a Russian roulette, ) but I used my Kiev-88 very intensively for about 10 years and NEVER had a single problem with it. Maybe it was just my luck but I think the real reason of my camera's impressive reliability was the mark "Made in the USSR". Mine camera was made in the USSR in 1989 and I bought it the same year. During that years Kiev-88 was produced mainly for military and scientific applications and every camera passed through the thorough quality control system. I still keep my Kiyev-88 but don't use it anymore. Perhaps I'll try to play with it next weekend...)

[chriscunningham]

In addition, mine has been gone through by ARAX, upgraded parts and cloth curtains. Over eight or so years I've ran a couple hundred rolls with no problem. It's like driving a vintage truck. The good ones are really good especially upgraded but a bad one will drive you insane. Just don't shoot weddings with it! I use mine for art and landscape for which it's great.

[johnnewman]

If I were getting into modular Medium format on a limited budget TODAY, my automatic brand choices would be the 6X6 or 6X7 Bronica or Mamiya systems... There's no way I would touch one of these old Soviet war-horse cameras (Salyut, Kiev, "Hasselbladski", whatever). Having to deal with equipment reliability issues AFTER cleaning out your savings account would be a complete show-stopper for me.

[analogbug]

My first camera and the one that made me fall in love with film and 6x6 in particular.

I’ve since moved onto a Hasselblad 500CM but as you mention it was the perfect camera for me at that time as I had a lot to learn and wasn’t sure if I wanted to stick with film.

I created a lot of great images with mine and it has a special place in my collection because of that.

[wichersham]

2022 April, this video now has a whole new meaning.

[alannorthdevonuk]

Watching this video with a boxed unused and recently discovered Kiev 60TTL next to me. It was found where my son works and they were going to throw it out. Have the prism, the view looking down ting and as I now know a set of doublers, wondered what they where.Also a solid case. The mirror is by default in the up position but comes down when I wind it on. Goes up with enthusiasm. Thanks for the video, a different camera I know but related. It’s a strangely attractive machine I’m already proud to have.

"Salyut" is pronounced kind of like "salute" (in English) in some parts of the US, however not like in French.

[AMBrikaer]

Nice video on the Kiev 88 medium format SLR. Thank you Ted. Please: more! :-)

[Rudkut]

Great episode, Ted! Just bought my first very own kiev88, cant wait to get started!

[MezeiEugen]

Kievs (both 88 and 60) and Pentacon Sxi could be considered cheap in the 90s, when pros still used medium format in studio and wedding work. After they dropped them they came down to the prices of Kiev and P6. The market is literary flooded with Bronicas and Mamiyas that are cheaper and much more reliable.

These said, my Kiev 88 still works without problems. Original, unmodified, with brass shutter curtains.

[Random]

I'm a medium & large format shooter and I would recommend something slightly different for a modular medium format Camera. I would highly recommend a Graflex Pacemaker Speed Graphic (mines a 3.25x4.2) and my ones been one of the most versatile cameras I own. Its an old press camera with a lens board (the lens is screwed onto a board which is removed), but importantly it has a focal plane shutter (along with the standard leaf shutter in the lens) and rail focusing. Its fairly easy to get a machinist to cut new lens boards (at about £10 total) and fit a mount to them. I got a lens board made which accepts M39 lenses (its just a thread cut into the lens board), and another with a salvaged Praktsix mount attached. The focal plane shutter means that it can technically take any lens that you can make a lens board with (within reason- my Copal 0 won't fit). You can get roll film backs for the graflex (I use a 120 6x9 back) which go for about £30 each and give 8 exposures per roll. Because of the bellows, I've found the Graflex to be really good for macro work, whilst its built like a tank and can survive a fair bit of abuse. On the downside, the camera takes about 15secs to set up and fitting the back with the graflock system can occasionally be difficult. The camera has no double exposure systems and it is easy to accidentally leave a shutter closed and get nothing. The ground glass focusing is good, but it can be slow for people used to SLR focusing whilst the top mounted viewfinder/ sportsfinder has parallax issues. The side mounted Kalart rangefinder is really good, but its not a viewfinder. All those issues are minor and easy to get around (Like shooting a rangefinder or TLR, its just a case of keeping parallax in the back of your mind) and the images are great. The fact that the camera is a work of art in itself doesn't hurt (it and my Leica III are my most beautiful cameras). I got mine for less than £200 in near mint condition with its lens and finders.

The other thing I use it for is as an improvised enlarger. My bathroom doubles as my darkroom and whilst I can get away with a set of trays and chemicals in the cupboard- a normal enlarger is out of the question.  I place the graflex looking down on a tripod, lock the focal plane shutter open and place the negative on an improvised negative holder on the back of the camera. Using my darkbag and a cheap LED torch, I shine a light through the back whilst making sure  that it doesn't leak. Using the bulb mode on a leaf shutter, it does a good job, but its obviously not a replacement for a proper enlarger.

[roninplaya]

Great review. Can you do a review of the Mamiya RZ67 system?

[brunoalmeida]

My first MF, borrowed from a friend for a year.

I have great affection for the images that I created, but I still have nightmares about that mirror...

[DarkAngelEU]

I never took the risk and got a Hasselblad instead, this thing is A BEAST! Whenever I got some extra cash (or need to do really hi-def studio work) I go for the Hasselblad without a doubt. This camera is probably the best one can get

[mavfan]

It doesn't have interchangeable lenses but I got into medium format with a Konica Pearl III (645) from the mid 50s.   What I like best is that it's a folder and easily fits in a jacket pocket when closed.  It also just looks cooler than the boxy medium format cameras ;-)

[vladislavbeda]

The main problem is the unreliable camera shutter, but there is a firm Araks in Kyiv, which consists of former specialists from the plant where Kyiv 88 was produced, and is engaged in tuning cameras for amateurs from all over the world. During the USSR, this camera cost a third of the price of a car, or 6 average salaries of a good engineer. From personal experience, yes, it's inexpensive, but disappointment from backlit films will quickly make you look at Japanese counterparts. Good luck and good photos :)

[jhalmu]

I bought few years ago Arax CM MLU (Kiev88CM) which cost like Hasselblad. I sold it cheap. Now I have Hasselblad. Pentacon Six was nice to shoot with too.

[Brutalexecution]

A friend of mine found this camera abandoned in faculty when they were getting rid of old junk. Camera was in working condition with set of lenses and filters and it was my first medium-format camera. I was mostly using it with Kaleinar 180mm f2.8, which is great lens and images came our gorgeous. However I had many problems, like curtain getting stuck in half of the exposure, light leaking e.t.c. Last time I shot with this Kiev 88, it produced half-blurry images for some reason, and I decided to move to more reliable medium-format system. I wouldn't recommend buying this camera, I think it is worth to save money for Pentacon Six, if you want to get into relatively cheap 6x6 format.

[homeontherange]

I have a Kiev 88 and have had a Yashica mat 124G.
My Kiev 88 leaked light.
My Yashica mat 124G was my favorite medium format
camera! I loved it.
Unlike the kiev which had a focal plane shutter, the
yashica mat used a copal shutter which enabled
you to use flash at all shutter speeds. It was great
to use for fill flash say, at the beach.
I preferred the Yashica for it's simplicity and ease
of application. The only downside with Yashica mat
because it's a twin lens reflex camera, you were stuck
with a normal lens.

[dinosaurfilms]

Holy what a shutter curtain! I think a leaf shutter in the lens is much preferable in these types of cameras.