Arax 645
A Ukrainian-modified medium format workhorse that reshaped Soviet-era engineering into something more reliable—and customizable down to the leatherette.
Overview
If you’ve ever held a Kiev 60 and felt that unsettling rattle—like something inside was one drop away from disintegration—you’ll understand why the Arax 645 exists. It’s not a clean-sheet design. It’s a rescue mission. Born from the chaos of post-Soviet manufacturing, the Arax 645 is a modified Pentacon Six-based camera, originally rooted in the Kiev 60 platform, reworked by a Ukrainian company that decided to do the quality control the factory never did. Starting around 2002, Arax in Kiev began offering upgraded versions of these medium format SLRs, targeting photographers who wanted the rugged 6x6 potential of the Pentacon system but couldn’t trust the inconsistent output from the Arsenal factory. The Arax 645 is one of those reworks—a camera that doesn’t pretend to be fancy, but aims to be functional, consistent, and surprisingly personalized.
This isn’t just a repainted Kiev. Arax didn’t just slap on a new label and mark up the price. They dug into the mechanics, modifying the film advance mechanism, adjusting the film counter, and reshaping the film gate and pressure plate to support a 6x4.5 cm format—16 vertical frames per roll of 120 film. That’s a big deal for shooters who want more shots per roll without sacrificing too much negative area. And they didn’t stop there: the viewfinder mask was also modified to match the new aspect ratio, so you’re not guessing at composition. It’s a full-system tweak, not a gimmick. And if you wanted to reduce vibration during long exposures, Arax offered an optional mirror pre-release—what we’d call Mirror Lock Up (MLU)—a thoughtful addition for a camera lineage not exactly known for refinement.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Arax (a company in Kiev) |
| Product type | modified version of the Kiev 60 medium format SLR camera |
| Film format | 16 vertical frames with a nominal format of 4.5 × 6 cm |
| Format | 6x4.5 cm |
| Modifications from base camera | The spacing mechanism and the film counter have been changed |
Key Features
Rooted in the Pentacon Six, Refined by Necessity
The Arax 645 traces its DNA back to the Pentacon Six system—a East German design that lived a long, complicated life through Soviet rebranding as the Kiev 60. That lineage means it inherits a robust, modular body with a rotating back and a huge range of compatible lenses. But it also inherits Arsenal’s infamous quality control (or lack thereof). Arax didn’t just resell these cameras—they rebuilt them. The modifications went beyond simply changing the film gate; they reengineered the spacing mechanism and film advance to reliably produce 6x4.5 frames. That’s a significant mechanical overhaul, especially when you consider the crude tooling still in use at the time. It’s not digital precision, but it’s consistency in a world where two Kiev 60s off the same line could behave like different cameras.
Customization Where You Least Expect It
For a camera born from Soviet industrial remnants, the Arax 645 offers a surprisingly personal touch: choice of covering. Arax would supply the camera with leatherette in a range of colors, or even other textiles and textures. That might sound trivial, but in a market where most medium format SLRs came in one shade of black (if you were lucky), being able to order a deep red or tan body was a small luxury. It’s a reminder that Arax wasn’t just fixing cameras—they were building relationships with users who cared about how their gear looked and felt in the field.
Mirror Lock-Up: A Quiet Upgrade
Vibration was always a concern with these big, clunky SLRs. The mirror slap on a Kiev 60 could blur a long exposure even on a tripod. Arax addressed this with an optional mirror pre-release—essentially Mirror Lock Up (MLU). Engage it, and the mirror flips up first; press the shutter again, and the exposure begins. It’s a simple two-step, but it makes a real difference for sharpness. That Arax offered this as a mod shows they were listening to working photographers, not just churning out rebranded relics.
Historical Context
Arax stepped into a vacuum. The Arsenal factory in Ukraine, which produced the Kiev 60, had the machinery and the design but, according to Arax, showed little interest in quality control. That left photographers with expensive, temperamental cameras that might not advance film correctly or seal properly. Around 2002, Arax began selling upgraded and modified versions of these Kiev-based SLRs, positioning themselves as the fixers. The Arax 645 was one result—a Pentacon Six-derived camera modified in Ukraine to deliver a consistent 6x4.5 format with improved reliability. They didn’t invent the platform, but they made it usable for a new generation of film shooters who didn’t want to spend half their time repairing gear.
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