Kiev is a Soviet and Ukrainian brand of photographic equipment including cameras manufactured by the Arsenal Factory in Kyiv, Ukraine. The camera nameplates show the name "KIEV", with older cameras using (in Russian) or (in Ukrainian) in Cyrillic.
In November 2009, it was announced that the Arsenal factory would be closing after 245 years of operation.
Kiev 35mm rangefinders
Arsenal produced several 35mm film rangefinders, which were clones of the pre-WWII Contax II and Contax III cameras.
Kiev rangefinders retained the same lens mount as the pre-WWII Contax rangefinders, making the lenses interchangeable between both brands. The lens mount of both cameras was sophisticated compared with other cameras of the time. The so-called 'Contax/Kiev bayonet' actually consists of two bayonets – the inner bayonet, which is used exclusively for 50mm lenses, and the outer bayonet, which is used for all the other lenses. This makes adapting Kiev lenses which use internal bayonet to modern mirrorless cameras complicated compared to those that use the external bayonet. The internal bayonet lenses do not have a focus ring, because the bayonet is actually the helix. Adapters for such lenses tend to be more expensive than simple external bayonet adapters.
The number of Kiev rangefinders vastly exceeded that of the pre-war Dresden and post-war Jena and Stuttgart Contaxes.
Kiev
After the Second World War had ended, the Soviet Union demanded new sets of Contax tools from the original toolmaker in Dresden and then ordered a fair number of trial cameras to be made with Zeiss trademarks and coated lenses from these 1946 in post-war East Germany. With this successful, everything together with German instructors were transferred to Kyiv. Missing specialists were in a few cases recruited in West Germany. Any still available parts went in the same direction. In fact, removing the front of some very early Kiev cameras, one could see that the metal was originally stamped with the Contax name, then pressed out and re-stamped as Kiev. By the early 1950 all the parts for Kiev cameras were produced in Ukraine.
The Kiev camera, like Zeiss Ikon Contax, is a full frame 35mm rangefinder camera with a long rangefinder base and combined rangefinder-viewfinder. It has a metal "window blind" shutter, which runs vertically. Shutter speeds range from 1/2s to 1/1250s + B.
The four digit serial numbers (first two digits represent the production year, and four additional digits represent the actual serial number) and research suggest production of fewer than 5,000 cameras annually.
Kiev 2 / Kiev 2A The Kiev 2 was very similar to the original Kiev. The most noticeable change was a new logo. There were also some minor cosmetic changes, such as design of the balance foot. Production was increased to 15,000 cameras annually, requiring five digit serial numbers.
There were two types of Kiev 2 camera, one of them being the Kiev 2, and the other being the Kiev 2A, which was essentially the same camera, but with the flash sync. The flash sync connector is located underneath the viewfinder window.
Kiev 3 / Kiev 3A The Kiev 3 was a copy of the Contax III officially introduced in 1952, though earlier models were built from 1948 on, based on German Contax parts. It was built until 1955, after which it was replaced by the Kiev 3A, essentially the same camera with flash synchronization. It was very similar to the Kiev 2, but it included an uncoupled selenium light meter. It likely had top plates and meter cells from Zeiss Ikon in the earliest models. The meter settings are located in the rewind knob crown.
Kiev 4 / Kiev 4A
The Kiev 4 and 4A are the most common of Kiev rangefinders. They had some minor visual modifications to be visually closer to Contax III.
The Kiev 4A was an updated model of the Kiev 2A. The camera bottom is now flat, missing the support foot. The rewind knob now includes the film speed reminder. There was also a new back/base plate. On the other hand, the Kiev 4 replaced the Kiev 3A. It included all the modifications made to the Kiev 4A, but also added a new, smaller and more sensitive light meter.
Kiev 4M / Kiev 4AM The Kiev 4M was a modernized version of the Kiev 4. The Kiev4M is usually considered less desirable than the Kiev 4 because of their poor quality control. There are two versions: the Kiev 4M and the Kiev 4AM, which is the same camera, but without the light meter.
The shutter speeds are marked from 1/2s to 1/1000s + B. The camera inherited a lot of its cosmetic changes from the Kiev 5, like the self-timer level and rewind knob. It also introduced the hot shoe for flash sync. It also added a fixed takeup spool.
With the Kiev-4M, the standard lens was changed from Jupiter-8 to Helios-103. The Helios-103 is generally believed to be a very good lens, usually surpassing the Jupiter-8 in reviews.
Kiev TTL The Kiev TTL is a next development of the Kiev rangefinder series, but was never mass-produced, remaining a prototype. It features the same rangefinder as with previous Kiev rangefinders, but has a bright, 1:1 viewfinder. The most noticeable feature is TTL metering. For this, it uses two selenium cells behind the lens. During exposure, those cells move out of the way. The meter needle is visible on the camera top and also in the viewfinder window.
Kiev 5 There was also a Kiev 5 with a modernized upper part with integrated meter. Its design drifted far away from the Contax base other Kiev rangefinders were built on. It added a much larger viewfinder, with parallax corrected (only on some versions) frame lines. The viewfinder seems to show what 35mm lens is supposed to see with frame lines showing what 50mm lens would see. Some models even had four angle marks for 85mm lenses. It did not offer the long rangefinder base of previous Kiev rangefinders. All the Kiev 5s offered the selenium light meter. It also replaced the shutter winding knob with a level, rendering it much more user-friendly.
It offered a lens mount similar to the older Kiev rangefinders, but it removed the internal bayonet for 50mm lenses. The external bayonet stayed the same. The camera lost compatibility with all the usual 50mm lenses (Jupiter-8(M) and Jupiter-3, later introduced Helios-103 could not be mounted either) because of that. The camera first used Jupiter-8NB lens, but later came with Helios-94 out of the box.
The camera improved upon the original Kiev models in many ways; however, it never gained popularity as it cost a lot more than the original Kievs, and was sold in parallel to them, causing them to have a comparatively short lifespan. The total production numbers are estimated between 8,000 and 50,000 units, making the camera quite rare.
Lenses +Lenses made for Kiev rangefindersNameFocal lengthMaximum apertureBayonetOrion-1528mmf/6.0ExternalJupiter-1235mmf/2.8ExternalJupiter-350mmf/1.5InternalJupiter-850mmf/2.0InternalJupiter-8M50mmf/2.0InternalJupiter-8NB50mmf/2.0ExternalHelios-9450mmf/1.8ExternalHelios-10353mmf/1.8InternalJupiter-985mmf/2.0ExternalJupiter-11135mmf/4.0External Some Kiev lenses are the same as Soviet m39 lenses for Zorki/FED rangefinders, but there are some exceptions.
Orion-15 is a very rare lens in Contax/Kiev mount. Unlike the Leica screw mount version of the same lens, this one is not rangefinder coupled.
There are multiple versions of Jupiter-8 lens available in Contax/Kiev mount. The -M version of the lens has click stops on aperture ring and the -NB version uses the external bayonet – it was introduced with Kiev 5, which does not have the internal one. The usual Jupiter-8 is the same lens than in M39.
Helios-94 has the external bayonet and was available as a kit lens on Kiev 5. Not a lot of information can be found online about this lens, but it seems that it cannot be mounted on older Kiev rangefinders – the focus scale of internal bayonet prevents that.
Helios-103 is exclusively available in Contax/Kiev mount. It has the internal bayonet and was a kit lens on Kiev-4(A)M. The lens usually surpasses Jupiter-8 variants in reviews. It has greater resolution than Jupiter-8 lenses and it is also faster.
Kiev 35mm SLRs Arsenal also made a range of 35 mm SLR cameras. They are not as well known as Zenit cameras.
Kiev Automat SLRs The unique Kiev Automat SLRs used their own unique lens mount; only a handful of lenses were available in that format. All these cameras use an unusual fan-shaped shutter. They are collector's items that were not exported.
Kiev 10 Kiev 10 was one of the most innovative cameras produced in the Soviet Union. It was one of the first cameras that offered automatic exposure. It also featured its own lens mount, shared with its successors. The camera had a light meter, but it was a selenium one. Its accuracy declines with age.
Kiev 11 A development of Kiev 10. Only small quantities of this camera were produced. The main difference was that the light meter was moved from the top to the side. Apparently, this was due to shiny chrome lenses reflecting the sunlight, rendering the center-positioned light meter on Kiev 10 inaccurate.
Kiev 15 TEE / Kiev 15 TTL This camera had two names during its lifespan, but these models were identical. The main difference in this model it was added TTL (Through The Lens) metering. Those meters are accurate even nowadays.
Lenses +Lenses made for Kiev Avtomat SLRsNameFocal lengthMaximum ApertureMir-20 Automat20mmf/3.5Mir-1 Automat37.5mmf/2.8Era-18 Automat50mmf/1.2Helios-65 Automat50mmf/2.0Helios-81 Automat50mmf/2.0Granit Automat45-80mmf/3.5Vega-21 Automat85mmf/2.0Jupiter-9 Automat85mmf/2.0Jupiter-11 Automat135mmf/4.0Tair-11 Automat135mmf/2.8Granit-11 Automat80-200mmf/4.5
Kiev F SLRs The Kiev F line, named for the use of the Nikon F-mount, was available since around 1980, constituted some of the most westernized 35mm SLRs available in the days of the Soviet Union. To satisfy the large internal demand, there was no discernible export at the time they would have found a ready market in the West. Instead, the Zenit with an external selenium meter was sold in large numbers. It was Soviet policy to export domestic surplus rather than the more desirable items of their manufacture.
Kiev 17 Kiev 17 was the first in the F line of Kiev SLRs. It was a fully manual camera. It did not even have a light meter. It is said to be a really unreliable camera.
Kiev 18 A rare prototype camera.
Kiev 19 A much better rated successor to Kiev 17. It offers stop-down TTL metering with helper LEDs in the viewfinder. It has a top shutter speed of 1/500s.
Kiev 20 This camera model adds the aperture coupling and the self-timer to Kiev 19 design. It also reads the 1/1000s top shutter speed.
Kiev 19M The body type is changed to molded polycarbonate, making it only Kiev SLR not made from metal. Despite its model number, it succeeds the Kiev 20. It has the same 1/500s top shutter speed as the 19, though. This is by far the most produced version of Kiev F SLRs. This model was produced long after Soviet Union fell and was also exported to other countries.
Lenses In addition to using Nikon F-mount lenses, the following Soviet lens were produced for the Kiev F cameras: +Lenses made for Kiev F SLRsNameFocal lengthMaximum AperturePeleng-N8mmf/3.5Zenitar-N16mmf/2.8Mir-47N20mmf/2.5Mir-73N20mmf/2.8Mir-20N20mmf/3.5Mir-24N35mmf/2.0Mir-67N35mmf/2.8Helios-81N50mmf/2.0Helios-123N50mmf/2.0Volna-4N50mmf/1.4Volna-8N50mmf/1.2Yantar-14N28-85mmf/2.8-3.5Kaleinar-5N100mmf/2.8Telear-N200mmf/3.5Yantar-20N35-200mmf/3.5-4.5Granit-11N80-200mmf/4.5Yachmar-4N300mmf/2.8
Kiev 35mm compact cameras Kiev produced some 35mm compact cameras as well.
Kiev 35 Kiev 35 was the prototype camera of the series. It was presented at Photokina in 1984 with the Industar-99 lens.
Kiev 35A