Kiev rangefinder
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| 1956 Kiev II image by Paulo Moreira (Image rights) |
All these models are derivatives of the pre-war Contax rangefinder bodies, and were made after the war by Arsenal at Kiev in the USSR.
Unmetered models
They are all derivatives of the Zeiss Ikon Contax II.
The Kiev 2 (or Kiev II) is a clone of the pre-war Contax II. The front plate is engraved in Cyrillic, which distinguishes it from later unmetered models.
The Kiev 2a is a Kiev 2 with flash sync added.
The Kiev 4a is a Kiev 2a without the stabilizing foot. Later models have top speed of 1/1000 s instead of 1/1250 s.
The Kiev 4am has a fixed take-up spool and a rewind lever.
Metered models
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| 1980 Kiev-4M image by Süleyman Demir (Image rights) |
They are all derivatives of the Zeiss Ikon Contax III.
The Kiev 3 (or Kiev III) is a clone of the pre-war Contax III. It has an uncoupled selenium meter.
The Kiev 3a is a Kiev 3 with flash sync added.
The Kiev 4 is a 3a without the stabilizing foot, and with some cosmetic styling changes influenced by the Contax IIIa. Later samples have top speed of 1/1000 s instead of 1/1250 s.
The Kiev 5
The Kiev 5 is a pure Soviet design. The lens mount does not have the inner bayonet and it has a film advance lever.
Links
- Tribute to Kiev 4
- JM Burtscher sovietcamera website : www.Sovietcamera.fr website
