Kiev rangefinder

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

A 1952 Kiev II

Kiev 4am

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

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