Kiev 4

Given the way things are at this moment, I decided to bring to light a Ukrainian camera, the Kiev 4.

The Kiev cameras, in their different incarnations, were manufactured in the Arsenal plant, in the centre of Kiev, since 1947, with tools, plans and parts taken from the Carl Zeiss factory, in Dresden, as spoils of WW2. A Contax made before WW2, and a Kiev is indistinguishable, save for the nameplate. They were made with or without a light meter.

The one presented here is a Kiev 4 (type 3), a rangefinder camera with a light meter, made circa 1959 a successor of the III and IIIa.

It uses e focal plane shutter, with metal curtains, travelling vertically, exposure times ranging from 1/25 to 1/1250 and B.

The rangefinder is coupled to focusing, achieved by rotating the lens or the wheel on top of the camera, by the light meter window, it blocks on reaching ∞, to release it the lever behind the focus wheel or the pin by the lens must be pressed. Due to its generous base, the focus is quite accurate even at a close distance.

Operation of the uncoupled selenium light meter, after uncovering the light meter window, pointing the camera to the target, operating the pair of discs located on the top left of the camera, until the needle on the window reaches the diamond, alternately the 2 or the 4 to overexpose one or two stops, afterwards the pair of values are transferred to the respective selectors. The aperture is selected by rotating the ring on the lens and the shutter speed by pulling the advance knob and making the arrow coincide with the desired value. This one still gives good readings.

Near the advance knob, in the crescent-shaped window, is the exposure counter. The shutter release threaded to accommodate a remote cable is placed in the centre of the knob.

The lens is a Jupiter-8M. It's the Carl Zeiss Sonnar design, six elements in three groups, single coating on the front lens, nine blades diaphragm giving apertures from f=2 to 22. The lens has no helicoid, it's in the mounting ring of the camera, it offers an internal and an external mount, the same as Contax allowing to use of a broad selection of lenses, even those of the Nikon rangefinder with some restrictions.

On the camera front on each side of the lens are located the self-timer lever and the pc connector for a flashgun and closer to the lens the ∞ release pin.

The back door comes off for the film loading, the take-up spool is removable and might be replaced by a standard 35mm cartridge.