All hope is not lost, however. We at Kiev/USA offer two options to bring you up to the most modern and reliable versions of the Kiev 88, and one upgrade option for Kiev 60 owners as well:
If you purchase your Kiev 88 from us, you already have the majority of the Kiev/USA upgrade installed in your camera. The only thing you lack is the hand crank, and our expert technicians can add it for you at any time at a cost of $150.00 (plus shipping and handling).
Upgrading a Kiev 88 purchased elsewhere...
Those who bought, or are considering buying, a grey-market Kiev 88 camera from elsewhere can still get our upgrade and our exclusive one-year limited warranty. The upgrade, which consists of the items listed below, costs $325 plus shipping and handling. We recommend that you also consider the addition of the hand crank for an additional $100 at the time of the main upgrade (a savings of $50 because disassembly of the camera for upgrade allows access for our technicians, which thereby cuts installation time). Your camera will inevitably require both of these upgrades. Keep in mind that addition of the hand crank at another time will cost $150, so it's a good idea to get this done at the same time as the main upgrade.
By the way, both of these upgrades are included in the prices of new Kiev 88 series cameras which are sold by us!
- The $325.00 Kiev 88, 88C, and 88CC upgrade consists of:
- Installation of improved shutter advance mechanism. It is made of a stronger material and, since the failure of this part is historically the number one problem with the Kiev 88, virtually makes a "new" camera out of a problematic one.
- Installion of improved film advance mechanism. This is the second most frequent repair on our technical staff's daily list of repairs.
- Performance of our flare reduction process: We remove the mirror and refinish the mirror box and...No more flare!
- Installation of superior Swedish parts in 120/220 backs that will eliminate light leaks.
- Improvement and calibration of shutter speed mechanism, as well as a calibration of the back(s) to the body. We add two shutter speed mechanisms as well: one for 1/60th second and up, and one for 1/30th second and down.
- A complete inspection, including a thorough cleaning, lubrication and adjustment (C/L/A) of all moving parts. Don't forget about all those gears and springs! Remember, this is a fully mechanical focal-plane-shutter apparatus... It will not function properly if neglected.
- Every upgrade carries our exclusive one-year warranty.
...Or, trade in that old Kiev 88 body! (As advertised in Shutterbug magazine)
Trade in your old K88 body plus $575.00 and we'll upgrade your entire outfit to a new Kiev 88CC kit with CPAM curtains and hand crank and free One Year Warranty...
...OR trade in your old K88 body plus $775.00 and we'll upgrade your entire outfit to a new Kiev 88CB kit with mirror lock-up, CPAM curtains, hand crank, and free One Year Warranty!
If you choose to trade in your older Kiev 88 body, please still be sure to send us your existing back(s), 80mm lens and finder(s) so that our experts can effectively bench-test your entire system with the new body.
Upgrading a Kiev 60 or 645 purchased elsewhere...
- The $260.00 Kiev 60 and Kiev 645 upgrade consists of:
- Installation of improved shutter advance mechanism. It is made of a stronger material and, since the failure of this part is historically the number one problem with the Kiev 60/645, it virtually makes a "new" camera out of a problematic one.
- Installation of improved film advance mechanism. This is the second most frequent repair on our technical staff's daily list of repairs.
- Performance of our flare reduction process. We remove the mirror and refinish the mirror box and...No more flare!
- Our exclusive L/L/E (light leak elimination) procedure, which insures a secure back door after film loading.
- Improvement and calibration of shutter speed mechanism. We add two shutter speed mechanisms as well: one for 1/60th second and up, and one for 1/30th second and down.
- A complete inspection, including a thorough cleaning, lubrication and adjustment (C/L/A) of all moving parts. Don't forget about all those gears and springs! Remember, this is a fully mechanical focal-plane-shutter apparatus...it will not function properly if neglected.
- Every upgrade carries our exclusive one-year warranty.
Upgrade your Kiev 60 to a Kiev 645...
Being that they are based on the same basic body and mechanism, the Kiev 60 can easily be changed into a Kiev 645 through a procedure which our skilled technicians do here at the shop.
First, we modify the film aperture into a vertically-oriented rectangular 6 cm x 4.5 cm frame. Secondly, we replace the film advance mechanism and recalibrate to allow for 16 frames (one more than you'd get on a standard 645 camera). Thirdly, we replace the film counter to count 16 frames and recalibrate that as well. Next we do a complete bench test, quality control check and a thorough C/L/A (cleaning/ lubrication/adjustment). Finally, we include our exclusive One Year Warranty!
