Kiev (brand) - Lenses

Lenses

One of the reasons for the lasting demand for these cameras is the price of the lenses that can be used on them. Among them are the Arsat MC 1:3.5/30 mm fisheye lens, previously known as the "Zodiak 8" in a single-coated version. This lens is reputedly quite good and generally available for under US$250, which is stunning since one would have to spend many thousands of dollars to get a non-Ukrainian equivalent lens of this type. The standard of finish varies widely, as they are obviously made in different factories. Generally, the major fault lies in the unreliable iris linkage. Fortunately, these lenses are large, often crudely designed mechanically (if not optically) and therefore easy to fix.

Medium format lenses produced by Arsenal for Kiev cameras:

• 1:3.5/30 mm Arsat fisheye lens (formerly called Zodiak 8)
• 1:3.5/45 mm Arsat (formerly called Mir-26)
• 1:4.5/55 mm Arsat shift lens
• 1:3.5/65 mm Mir-38
• 1:3.5/65 mm Mir-3 (discontinued - was much larger than the later Mir-38)
• 1:2.8/80 mm Arsat (formerly called Volna)
• 1:2.8/90 mm Vega-12
• 1:2.8/120 mm Vega-28
• 1:2.8/150 mm Kaleinar-3
• 1:4.5/80-200 mm ARSAT-M Zoom
• 1:3.5/250 mm Arsat (formerly called Jupiter-36)
• 1:5.6/250 mm Arsat (formerly called Telear-5)
• 1:4.5/300 mm Tair-33 (discontinued)
• 1:8.0/600 mm Arsat (formerly called ZM-3)

The 1:5.6 and 1:8.0/500 mm Rubinar Catadioptric (mirror) lenses are sometimes adapted to fit on Kiev medium format cameras. Shift and Tilt-Shift lenses based on the 45 mm and 65 mm optics are also available. These lenses allow photographers to take advantage of the Scheimpflug principle for achieving greater apparent depth of field without adjusting the aperture, and gain other controls similar to those found on view cameras.