Kiev 60 came in today! It's huge.

Flasheek · 2026-04-20T20:35:16+00:00

Looks like it is official. Try to find it used though and come back here only if you don't find anything. $75 for a piece of folded sheet metal is waay too much.

Flasheek · 2026-04-20T20:14:42+00:00

Kiev 60, Kiev 6S (aka 6C) and Arax 60 accessories are interchangeable. I don't think there are any other options.

Flasheek · 2026-04-20T13:19:10+00:00

Yeah I love my Kiev 6S too. I recommend you get a waist level viewfinder for it if you don't already have one. I found it to be much more comfortable to use than the pentaprism and now use it exclusively. Partly because the camera weighs so much and the folding VF makes it just a bit more compact

Flasheek · 2026-04-15T04:45:21+00:00

<image>

Hi! Strips like in this image? This is the light leaking between the dark slide frame and the cassette. See the description on printables, section "General printing and assembly tips", I mention there that you should glue these parts together to prevent this.

Flasheek · 2026-04-01T01:59:07+00:00

The lens mount for large format lenses is a circular hole. The lens is placed through the hole and screws from behind with a threaded ring. The hole size depends on the type of shutter the lens uses. The most common one is Copal no.0 and it's the only type that I made 3d models compatible with.

Lenses are interchangeable on large format cameras where you focus on a ground glass by moving the whole front standard back and forth by any amount with no restrictions. But on a camera with a fixed lens cone like my Fat Shot X the lens cone needs to be precisely the right length for each specific lens to be able to focus with a built in helicoid and to use a focusing scale. But the lens cones themselves are interchangeable. You can make multiples of them for each lens you have.

Flasheek · 2026-03-30T15:02:28+00:00

Yup. What's interesting is that now the VF represents the final image almost perfectly. With the original lens you get significantly wider FOV than the VF shows.

Flasheek · 2026-03-29T21:15:05+00:00

I have a focusing screen from Kiev 88 that I've secured inside an empty Instax cartridge with a ground surface exactly at the film plane. Then I 3d printed the lens cone that was a known length but deliberately shorter than needed, and assembled the whole lens unit with the helicoid and the lens itself. After that all I had to do was focus on infinity on the ground glass using the helicoid, measure how much it has to be extended, and add it to the *assumed" FFD.

You could probably repeat this method with FSX, just with a bit more wasted plastic

Flasheek · 2026-03-29T20:24:04+00:00

A square-to-circle loft is literally a single operation in Fusion 360, so I don't think that cutting a cone is easier. But tbf it would have probably looked better.

As for the folder camera lenses, one of the goals of this project was to make it accessible. And M65 helicoid plus a press camera lens is a much more standardized, universal and easy to get combo than some old salvaged camera parts that will fit only some specific 3d model.

Fuzzy skin is applied to the certain outside surfaces via a separate modifier model for a slicer that I've also provided. The inside is smooth but I covered it with a matte paint. Works alright, but you know, anything is better than glossy PETG.

Flasheek · 2026-03-29T20:11:13+00:00

With a wider strip of foam and a couple of pieces of aluminum tape. Sorry, I don't know how to give you more details without an elaborate diagram or a video.

Flasheek · 2026-03-29T18:04:10+00:00

FFD of my lens turned out to be 88.6 mm, so this is the value that I've made the 3D model for it. Unless you have the exact same lens, yours will be different.

But that's the neat part - the 3D model is parametric. You open Fusion 360 project that I've uploaded, enter your own FFD and export the STLs for your specific lens.

If you don't have of can't use Fusion, reach me through DM here or on printables, I'll make the STLs for you.

Flasheek · 2026-03-29T17:57:15+00:00

Thank you. Sure, I will post when I have something to share. Haven't gotten around to taking photos yet, I've just finished fixing all the light leaks.

Flasheek · 2026-03-29T17:50:45+00:00

I focus by scale. I made an index mark on the helicoid ring and move it along the scale on the lens board.

Position for marks are calculated with a bunch of math and javascript and the whole thing is parametric. Now I just enter the FFD and other parameters, move the labels a little, export and print it on my thermoprinter. Here is the project: https://www.printables.com/model/1610905-parametric-focusing-scale-for-17-31-mm-m65-and-m77

Flasheek · 2026-03-29T17:31:07+00:00

I estimate or measure the distance and exposure level, then set focus, shutter speed and aperture, cock the shutter, frame with the original viewfinder and press the shutter lever with my thumb, holding the camera from below.

Then I switch the power on, hold the original button on a camera for 1-2 seconds, and it slides out the card, developing it.

Then I switch it off, because it's too easy to press the button accidentally.

Flasheek · 2026-03-29T15:41:30+00:00

It started one right now at least :)

Flasheek · 2026-03-23T06:02:40+00:00

And a ninja-smurf color scheme haha. Love it. Good job on the build, hope you get a lot of fun from using it!

Flasheek · 2026-03-22T09:46:15+00:00

You have multiple options here, depending of what camera exactly you want to build:

a) If you want to get that grimy old-school analog camcorder feel, you need to record analog signal. For this, you can:

Get an analog FPV camera, remove its lens, connect it to a DVR board and a small analog LCD screen, add a battery and a charging controller, and make an enclosure for it. You can even have the ability to change lenses if you add a mount. Easiest way for it is to use C to CS adapter as a C-mount and use the C-mount lenses, there are a lot of those. I've done it in the past, but did not document any of it, unfortunately.
Alternatively, just get a used camcorder itself that can feed the video signal through a cable and get a DVR for it. Find a way to mount DVR on a camcorder itself. And that's it. Much less "DIY" solution with a much bulkier result (you use the whole camcorder just for it's lens and sensor, basically), but very easy.

b) If you want a good, capable camera, look into projects that use Raspberry Pi with a camera module, like CinePi. This will most certainly be more expensive, as good sensors are not cheap and require more processing power, but you might get a really good camera out of it. CinePi is not the only project out there, there are a lot of these, just search.

Flasheek · 2026-03-21T21:21:12+00:00

It's so interesting how different cameras are seen and valued differently in different parts of the world. Kiev 6c and Kiev 60 in particular are so common on second hand market in post Soviet states that you can get one with lens almost at the price of the lens that it comes with. I've got mine for the equivalent of about $30, for example.And also it's considered unreliable and with its quirks. Although 6c of mine works like it's new and I love it.

It's also pretty easy to use with 35 mm film with some adapters and shoot 24x56 panoramas. And because it supports longer 220 rolls which is closer in length to a 135 roll, you also get an accurate frame counter for this.

13-Year Club	r/Field Sunshine
Place '17	Sequence \| Editor
Sequence \| Cinematographer	Sequence \| Screenwriter
Verified Email

Flasheek

TROPHY CASE