Can a Kiev 4M light meter be adjusted from GOST to ASA/ISO markings?
Asked 3/24/2020
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I have a Kiev 4M with the built-in top-mounted exposure meter and the film-speed scale marked in Soviet GOST values. Since GOST is close to but not exactly the same as ASA/ISO, Iād like to know whether the meter can be adjusted so the scale effectively matches ASA/ISO directly.
There is a small screw inside a protective collar on the back of the top cover near the meter. Is that screw for calibrating the meter or for rangefinder adjustment? If it is the meter adjustment, is changing the calibration by about 10% practical, or is it better to leave the meter as-is and convert speeds mentally?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source Ā· Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
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Relevant information is available both at the Kiev Survival Site and in Isaak S. Maizenberg's book All You Need to Know About Design and Repair of Russian Cameras (1996). The screw you mention is used to calibrate the galvanometer scale. Of this, Maizenberg writes:
To shift the galvanometer's scale, insert a screwdriver in the screw slot [...] and slightly turn it. If the screw does not turn, you should somewhat loosen the nut that is fixing it, and tighten it after the adjustment is completed. The galvanometer's scale should be shifted by small amounts. (p. 283ā284)
(This is actually in connection with discussing the Kiev-3, but as he notes later on in the book, the advice applies equally to the Kiev-4.)
Maizenberg also says that
[i]f the exposure meter readings deviate from the real value by over 50 percent, the meter should be adjusted with the aid of the calculator. (p. 284)
The calculator is the round part on top of the camera, and its disassembly is covered by Kiev Survival Site (see link above). But from Maizenberg's writing I take it that <50% adjustments can be carried out using the galvanometer scale fine-tuning screw alone.
Having said all that, a 10% difference is likely to be entirely negligible, at least with negative emulsions, and I'm not sure a selenium meter's accuracy is much more than that to begin with (?). Anyway, it should be an interesting exercise to see if the meter can be calibrated against an external standard using the screw alone, as this is a non-invasive procedure. I'm not sure I would go to the trouble of disassembling the camera unless the meter was widely off (by several stops).
Originally by user83032. Source Ā· Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user83032
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community ā verify before relying on it.
Yes. According to repair references for the Kiev 3/4 series, that screw is for shifting or calibrating the galvanometer scale of the built-in meter, not the rangefinder. The adjustment is meant to be made in very small amounts, sometimes after loosening a locking nut.
So in principle, a roughly 10% calibration shift is possible. However, with an older selenium meter, practical accuracy may be limited by age, sensitivity loss, and mechanical condition. Even if adjusted, the meter may not stay precise enough for the GOST-to-ASA difference to matter much in real use.
Because GOST and ASA/ISO are already fairly close, many users would simply treat them as near-equivalent or apply a small mental correction rather than recalibrating unless the meter is being serviced properly. If you do adjust it, make only tiny changes and verify readings against a known-good meter.
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