Difference between revisions of "Arsenal"
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* web site of the [http://www.kievaholic.com Kievaholic Klub] | * web site of the [http://www.kievaholic.com Kievaholic Klub] | ||
* [http://www.collection-appareils.com/kiev/html/complements.php Cameras and User manuals] at www.collection-appareils.com | * [http://www.collection-appareils.com/kiev/html/complements.php Cameras and User manuals] at www.collection-appareils.com | ||
+ | * [http://www.retrography.com KIEV section at Retrography.com] by Simon Simonsen, Denmark | ||
[[Category: Camera makers]] | [[Category: Camera makers]] |
Revision as of 11:40, 8 September 2007
After World War II, much of the tooling at the Zeiss factory was appropriated by the Soviets and installed in the Ukraine, at a defense factory in Kiev known as Arsenal. Arsenal is best known for having cloned some notable cameras, including models by Hasselblad, Zeiss Ikon, Nikon and Pentacon. Most of them were not copied directly, but were instead simplified for production behind the Iron Curtain. Some, such as the Contax clones, were quite good. Arsenal also created one of the most original of all cameras: the Kiev 10. Of all Soviet camera manufacturers, Arsenal also has the largest cult following, given their product complement of cheap yet usable medium format equipment.
The Arsenal factory produced all Kiev cameras. The most well-known camera produced at Arsenal is the Kiev 88 (derived from the original Salyut), which shares origins with the original Hasselblad 1000 and 1600. Who borrowed whose design is the subject of endless debate, which you can read about in a number of places.
The Arsenal factory also made Mir and Arsat lenses, which were good Zeiss copies. Their ubiquitous quality-control problems notwithstanding, the Ukrainian lenses are quite good, and some of them are outstanding. The company still produces cameras and lenses.
Contents
35mm
Rangefinder
SLR
Fixed Lens
- Kiev 35
- Kiev 35A
Medium Format
SLR
16mm Subminiature
- Kiev Vega
- Kiev Vega 2
- Kiev-30
- Kiev 30 M
- Kiev 303
Links
- company homepage
- Wikipedia's Arsenal company history
- Rick Denney's Kiev camera page
- David Haardt's Kiev 88CM page seems to have an Arsat bias
- Alfred Klomp's page of Soviet logos
- Kiev 60 help Kiev60SLR page has simple lens tests for this camera.
- Kiev pages at Antique Russian Camera
- 35mm Kiev rangefinders at Communist Cameras
- Kiev medium format help page but also with usable information for other formats.
- Arsenal page at Collection G. Even's site
- web site of the Kievaholic Klub
- Cameras and User manuals at www.collection-appareils.com
- KIEV section at Retrography.com by Simon Simonsen, Denmark