You
think it looks like a Contax IIIa made by Zeiss Ikon ? You are right ! The Kiev
4 is just its twin brother as it has been manufactured by the soviets
from the Contax machinery picked up in Germany and moved in Kiev in
Ukraine. The good manufacturing quality of this camera and its level of
sophistication, are at the origin of its success with amateurs and
professional photographers.
As soon as you have it in hands, the heavy design of the
Kiev 4 and the strong grip required to arm its shutter, let you think
that it is a clumsy and noisy camera. False ! the (relative) quiet noise
of its shutter curtain will be surprizing. Well... don't be fooled by
appearances.
Kiev 4 (with a lens 1:2 f=50 mm Jupiter 8)
The
Kiev 4 is an evolution of the former Kiev IIIA. The improvements are
relying on the quality of the photo-electric exposure meter which has
been downsized but improved in sensibility.
The camera is equipped with a rangefinder. Unfortunately, the soviet
engineers of the Kiev Arsenal did not fix the conception mistake made by
their German colleagues from Zeiss. These ones had located the
rangefinder window set back from the focusing wheel. The finger rotating
this wheel is inevitably closing up the rangefinder window.
The metallic curtain of the shutter is operating at different speeds
from
1/1250s to 2s and B.
Regarding its optical characteristics, this camera can use several
types of bayonet lens from Kiev Arsenal :
Kiev 1:6 f=28 mm Orion
Kiev 1:2,8 f=35 mm Jupiter 12
Kiev 1:2 f=50 mm Jupiter 8
Kiev 1:2 f=85 mm Jupiter 9
Kiev 1:4 f=135 mm Jupiter 11
The 50 mm
Jupiter 8 lens can be avantajously replaced with another soviet lens :
the Helios 103 pouvait être avantageusement remplacé par un autre objectif
soviétique : le Helios 103. This lens provides better image quality especially
with color films. The
Helios lenses are based on the Zeiss Biotar concept.
The common roots of the Kiev 4 with pre-WW2 Zeiss cameras,
allows it also to use Contax lenses.
Four versions of this camera have been produced : the Kiev
4 and the Kiev 4M with a small-size selenium photo-electric exposure
meter, and the Kiev 4A and the Kiev 4AM without this exposure meter.
The Kiev camera numbering process is simple : the two first digits of
the camera serial number give its manufacturing year. Thus, the camera
of my collection has been produced in 1973.
You
think it looks like a Contax IIIa made by Zeiss Ikon ? You are right ! The Kiev
4 is just its twin brother as it has been manufactured by the soviets
from the Contax machinery picked up in Germany and moved in Kiev in
Ukraine. The good manufacturing quality of this camera and its level of
sophistication, are at the origin of its success with amateurs and
professional photographers. 
