Home Camera Articles FOR SALE Orders I Buy / Wants Repairs Books Adapters
Kiev Rangefinders by Peter Hennig
Pre-war Zeiss Contax III, as new from factory
Most Zeiss Contax II/III enthusiasts are familiar with the Soviet Union's Contax copy, the Kiev. However, accurate Kiev information has not been widely available in the West. In most cases, Kiev cameras have been neglected as a Soviet plagiarism of low quality. Even interest in finding out what kind of camera the Kiev really is has been limited, in part because of Cold War stereotypes.
The true nature of the Kiev was pointed out in a very expressive way by a seller of Russian cameras in Sweden, right after the fall of the Soviet Union: “This is not a Soviet camera - it is a German camera, made in the Soviet Union” As a matter of fact, by these few words, he stated the essence of the origin of this camera. The Kiev camera is no plagiarism at all, but a legal replica of the Contax camera, made in the Soviet republic of Ukraine. You could say that, in some respects, the Kiev camera belongs more to the Zeiss hemisphere, than to the Russian one.
Kiev Beginnings
After the end of World War II in 1945, Germany had to pay war reparations according to the peace agreement. Among many well known German products, the Russians demanded the famous Zeiss Contax II and Contax III cameras as war reparations. Before the war, Contax cameras were made by Zeiss Ikon AG in Dresden, the capital of the German camera industry - now in the Russian zone of the occupied Germany.
Paying reparation of war is of cause not a voluntarily act - but it is perfectly legal. The Russians wanted everything, but the name - and they got everything, but the name.
Because of the destruction in Dresden in the famous mass allied bombing attack of February 1945, Zeiss Ikon had little capability in carrying through any camera project at the war's end. The Soviet armed forces dismantled the company of all functioning Contax production equipment and spare parts soon after occupying the city of Dresden.
1947 "Spare Parts" Kiev with script re-engraved front plate
Contax production facilities and parts were shipped to the Soviet Union, but were partially destroyed during the transport. These were later used in a training project in 1947-48, which resulted in a few hundred Kiev cameras built out of the spare parts stock, and fitted with a special script logo on re-engraved front plates as shown above. The Kiev script name is on the front, however the 1st Contax engraving is still visible on the back side.
In September 1945 the Soviet authorities went back to Zeiss to ask for competent help in the production of the planed camera project. As a result of this, and under very hard and difficult circumstances, a pilot production was set up at the Carl Zeiss factory in Jena, Germany in 1946. The pressure was very hard on Zeiss, as the company was classed as a first class war industry, and thereby exposed to the threat of total dismantling according to the Yalta agreement signed by the Allies.
In 1947 approx. 2000 Contax cameras were built in this project at the Zeiss factory in Jena. Contax II were produced, as well as some Contax III and some cameras wearing the new name; KIEV in heavy Cyrillic block letters. During this project, the Russian sent a group of highly educated technicians to Zeiss Jena for training in the ongoing project, and to establish professional contacts.
Post war Zeiss Contax II produced at Jena, with factory flash sync
In October 1947, Zeiss delivered three completed newly built Contax production lines, as war reparation to the Soviet Union. The transmission of the Contax production facilities from Germany to the Soviet Union was closed by a written contract. However, after the delivery of the three Contax production lines to the Soviet Union, limited quantities of the Contax cameras were still built by Carl Zeiss Jena, well into the early 1950’s. In 1949, the official production of the Russian replica of the Contax camera finally began at Zavod Arsenal in Kiev, Ukraine.
1947 Contax II produced at Jena engraved "Na pamjat" (to remember). It was probably a gift to some high ranked Soviet technician
Zavod Arsenal
The governmental owned Arsenal-works at the garrison of Kiev was founded in 1764 in order to manufacture artillery pieces. After 1917, agricultural machines, instruments, and domestic products are in the offering. In 1945-46, the company was completely restored after the events of the war, and from 1949, Zavod Arsenal was manufacturing cameras, as well as photographic lenses from the middle of the 1950´s.
The
Ultimate Replica
1947 Kiev II, made at the Zeiss Jena factory in Germany.
1949 Kiev III
Similarly named to Contax II and Contax III, the first Kiev models were named Kiev II and Kiev III (in late serials they were designated as Kiev 2 and Kiev 3). These cameras are true replicas in all details of the Contax camera. It is obvious that the level of ambitions was very high at Zavod Arsenal in the early stage of the production. Both the choice of materials, and the construction of the mechanics, as well as the look of the camera, is practically identical to Contax. If you place a shutter- and film transport mechanism from an early Kiev besides one from the Contax - it will take a skilled specialist a close study in order to separate them. Therefore, parts from early Kiev and Contax cameras, are perfectly interchangeable in most cases.
Yet it is possible to detect one functional difference between the Zeiss Contax II/III and the Kiev copies: Zavod Arsenal apparently decided not to meet the same high level of Zeiss accuracy in regards to the lens back focus, the distance between the lens and the film plane. Kiev cameras practically always have a slightly longer back focus than original Contax specifications (if you chose a lower accuracy this will be the best way - as the depth of field is larger behind the motive, than in front of it). This phenomena, and others similar to come, will follow the Kiev camera the entire production period - and this leads us right on to the basic problem in this production.
Incompatible Goals
When the SMAD (Soviet military administration of Germany) first confronted Zeiss Ikon AG to the Russian plans of Contax production in September 1945, the Soviet plan was to assemble 5000 cameras a month in a suitable location in the Soviet Union. This is approx. five times as many as the production at Zeiss Ikon AG in the period 1936 - 1943. At the same time, the order was to achieve a replica that was as good as the Contax. It is obvious that such circumstances must end up in a conflict of goals - as the camera to a great extend is build by hand, and though this type of quality production in those days, implicit a long row of time-consuming manual control points and back-checking procedures, by the assembling of the camera.
In a production of this delicate nature, you will not double the production by doubling the manpower. There will also be certain limits in the total amount of persons possible to involve in a functional way in such a system. If that limit is already reached - the only way to increase the production, will be to simplify the process.
The
First Production Period
In
the first half of the 1950´s, it seems that Kiev production was limited to
approximately the same as by pre-war Zeiss Ikon AG. The camera that went on to the
market, was a product of high quality, obtainable just by special persons in the
Soviet Union, and used as status-increasing export. Today this fact has been
discovered by many collectors - good Kiev II and Kiev III cameras are reaching
about the same price levels as Contax cameras.
In 1954, Zavod Arsenal introduced a small pre-production serial of a flash synchronized Kiev 2, and in the middle of 1956, the official introduction of the flash synchronization take place. The new cameras are designated Kiev 2 A, and Kiev 3 A.
1956 Kiev 3A commemorating the 1956 Congress of the Communist Party
In this period, the pressure of increasing production gets visible in small details: The arrow on the rewind knob is losing its feathers, and the part surrounding the releasing knob, is not longer polished before the chromium plating. At the end of the 1950´s - still at a very high quality level in about 90% of the production, Zavod Arsenal is reaching a production result of approx. 3500 cameras a month.
Keeping
up with the West German Jones's
In the 1950´s the Contax IIa and the Contax IIIa made by Zeiss Ikon AG in Stuttgart were of highest status at the camera market. Zavod Arsenal were influenced by the look of their West German competitors. In 1957-58 Zavod Arsenal designed some new Kiev prototype cameras, besides the ordinarily production Kiev 2 A and Kiev 3 A.
The new camera has an exposure meter in outer appearance equal to the one of the Contax IIIa. The inner function however, is like the old meter. As a matter of fact, it is a simplified miniature variant of the Kiev 3 A meter - that made it possible to speed up the production further. The new camera back is, both in appearance and construction, like the Contax IIa and the Contax IIIa. This was not a very clever move, as the result will be a use of the back of the Contax IIa/IIIa on the film plane of the Contax II/III. It caused film flatness problems, especially since they abandoned the extra vertical spring at the film pressure plate (as in later Contax IIa/IIIa) a few years after production started. The official production starts in 1960, and the name of the new cameras are Kiev 4 and Kiev 4 A. From now on, the “A” stands for the camera without exposure meter.
A "No Name" Kiev 4A was also produced in 1963 which is often incorrectly called the "No Name Contax." They can be identified by the serial number starting with 63, and the flash sync on the left front body. SEE Separate No Name Page
During the 1960´s more serious quality problems occurred in the form of careless assembling and use of parts that should have been rejected. Despite this, up to 80 % of the production is still very Contax like. The process of simplifying continued. In 1964 the gravure of the distance scale on the side of the bayonet drum was abandoned. From about 1966 the two lenses of the rangefinder ocular is no longer adjustable. This will later on cause sharpness problems in the split image in the range finder.
Failed
Modernization Project
In 1968-69, Zavod Arsenal released a kind of test balloon beside the ordinarily production, a camera that in the appearance diverged a lot from previous Contax-style cameras. The camera was the Kiev 5. It offered a large and bright finder, and a frameline for the standard 50mm lens. In the camera body there is an integrated light meter, and the film is advanced by a lever. Unfortunately, the camera was heavy and clumsy, and was not accepted, even by the hard supply controlled, and for the consumer limited, market in the communistic Soviet Union. In use the Kiev 5 turned out to be a rather complicated camera which was often impossible to get in working condition under Soviet production circumstances. The Kiev 5 project was gradually ended during the 1970’s. The Kiev 5 dispensed with the time honored Contax style focusing wheel and infinity lock. The 50 mm lenses used the outer bayonet mount, but would not fit other Kiev or Contax cameras. The advance lever tended to be un-reliable, but was more dependable if the film was advanced by the knob, rather than the lever.
The Kiev 5 with prototype Record 4 52/.9 lens from 1971. If produced, it would have been the fastest production full frame rangefinder normal lens
Huge
Quality Drop
Instead of the Kiev 5, Zavod Arsenal turned back to new models of the previous Kiev cameras. This models have no specific model designations, but could be called Kiev 4 model 2, and Kiev 4 A model 2.
Now the body covering previously made of genuine leather is abandoned in favor of synthetic materials. The front plate has a new shape, that will cover the little “bulb” that covered part of the main wheel in the mechanism (to the left of the front plate). By this change the rather stiff synthetic clothing became easier to install. The highest shutter speed 1/1250 was replaced by 1/1000 - as this saved a lot of adjustment time in the assembling process.
These models, introduced in 1973, represent the most dramatic drop in the quality of the Kiev cameras during their entire production history. This is not at first a result of changes in the construction and the choice of materials - but rather the result of careless assembling, and a high acceptance of parts that should have been rejected. Also the simplifying of parts went on - e.g. the distance scale part is not polished before the chromium plating any longer, and the gravure is clumsy. This gives the entire camera an unpleasant look. It is also interesting to note, that in those days, the technicians who got there education at Carl Zeiss Jena, in 1946-47 went in retirement.
By this drop in the assembling quality, the most fantastic phenomena of the Kiev camera become visible: Despite all careless assembling, and defective parts - most cameras still functioned within reasonable tolerances. The basic concept of the mechanism was so well designed from the very beginning, that its tolerance of assembling mistakes seams to be endless. This is a great credit to the constructors at Zeiss, back in the 1930´s: Dr Heinz Küppenbender, Professor Emanuel Goldberg, and the Zeiss Ikon construction department under Mr. Hubert Nerwin.
the 1,000,000th Kiev, a 1975 Kiev 4 model 2. Far more Kievs were produced than the original German Contax.
Late
Production
In the same way as in the 1960´s, new models of the Kiev camera are at the construction table in the middle of the 1970´s. A pre-production serial occurred in 1976, besides the ordinarily production of the Kiev 4 and the Kiev 4 A model 2. Curiously enough, this test serial has a front plate in chromium, but the top is in black painting - the camera could be addressed as; Kiev, Black & White. Functional news in this models, is a black film transport knob of expanded diameter, a flash hot shoe, a non-removable taking up film spool, a rewind crank, and an automatic releasing of the film transport wheel by one of the fasting cranks on the camera back. The new models are designated as Kiev 4 M and Kiev 4 AM, and the official production started in 1979.
1976 Kiev Black & White Prototype
This is the period of the lowest workmanship at Zavod Arsenal. A certain amount of these cameras did not work at all when leaving the factory. Unverified rumors from the east, claim that in 1981 a delegation from the central authorities in Moscow suddenly arrived at Zavod Arsenal in Kiev. The production from the last two months was rejected, destroyed, and sent directly to the city dump.
From 1982 onward Zavod Arsenal managed to increase quality a little bit. They also fulfilled the original plan of 5000 cameras a month - but the Contax quality was gone. The final serials of the Kiev 4 M and Kiev 4 AM cameras left the factory in 1986.
Considering the fact that this camera first entered the market in 1936 as the Contax II, principally the same construction was built half a century - a neat record.
Peter
Hennig is a well known Contax/Kiev expert, photographer, and repairman. His
works include articles published in the Journal of the Zeiss Historica Society. He
writes: "The
information in this article are from
my own long experience in using
and repairing Contax and Kiev cameras. The facts concerning the transmission
process of the Contax production facilities from Germany to the Soviet Union,
are founded on sources from the archive of Carl Zeiss Jena, and on a written
statement from Mr. Werner Widder, who worked in the Carl Zeiss Jena-project in
1946-1947.
Editor's Note: While I am not much of a fan of the Leica screw mount Soviet made Zorki cameras and lenses due to very inconsistent quality control, the Contax Kiev copies are much better made and are generally considered the best quality mechanical 35mm cameras produced in the Soviet Union. The earlier, better quality Kiev bodies and lenses can provide quality low cost 2nd bodies or lenses for your Zeiss Contax or Voigtlander Bessa R2C. For Americans used to seeing the later not so great Kievs, seeing a Kiev from the '60s or earlier whose exterior seems to so closely match the pre-war fit and finish of the Zeiss Contax is a real eye opener.
The first two digits of the Kiev body or lens serial number indicate the year of manufacture. Contrary to many seller's claims to the contrary, Peter tells me that he knows of NO Kiev Multi-coated lenses. True, Zavod Arsenal did start producing multi-coated lenses in the '80s, but NOT in the Contax/Kiev mount.
Soviet Kiev production lens choices are relatively few in number, but they can often surprise in terms of quality. These are the more commonly encountered Kiev lenses. All were coated but none are believed multi-coated despite -- some sellers claims to the contrary. The first two digits of the serial number indicate the year of production.
28/6 Orion, not RF coupled, hard to find
35/2.8 Jupiter 12, copy of pre-war Zeiss 35/2.8 Biogon, will not fit Contax IIa and IIIa, earlier versions may mount on the Voigtlander R2S/C while later versions generally will not, but both versions block the metering cell.
50/1.5 Jupiter 3, copy of pre-war Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar
50/2 collapsible Zorki, copy of pre-war Zeiss 50/2 Sonnar
50/2 rigid Jupiter 8
53/1.8 Helios
85/2 Chrome copy of pre-war Zeiss 85/2 Sonnar
85/2 Jupiter 9, black barrel
135/4 Jupiter 11
All text and pictures on this page are Copyrighted. All rights reserved. This means you may NOT copy and re-use the text or the pictures in ANY other internet or printed publication of ANY kind. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.