Kiev 5 (1968–1980)
The Kiev 5 is a Soviet-era 35mm rangefinder camera built by the Arsenal factory in Kyiv. It is essentially a re-engineered Contax IIa. It was aimed at professional and advanced amateur photographers, and it replaced the Kiev 4 in the Kiev rangefinder line. The body is large, heavy and all metal, roughly 800g. The combined viewfinder/rangefinder runs at 0.65x magnification. The shutter is a vertical-travel metal-blade focal-plane type, 1/2 to 1/1000 sec plus B, with X-sync at 1/60. The standard lens is a 50mm f/2 Jupiter-8 on the Contax/Kiev bayonet. There is no built-in light meter, so exposure is fully manual.
What sets the Kiev 5 apart from other rangefinders is its film advance knob rather than a lever. A 35mmc review called the knob awkward - it takes two fingers to grip properly, and its position makes it slow to operate. The same review found the rangefinder patch dim in low light. A photo.net forum post adds that the shutter speed dial is easy to knock out of position, with small marked positions on a dial that turns too freely. The same poster called the camera "a great user camera if you don't mind the size," and found the Jupiter-8 surprisingly sharp stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8.
There is no self-timer, and the film advance is a knob. That is one of several points where the record is thin and somewhat contradictory. Sources disagree on the production end date (1979 vs 1980), the weight (approx. 800g vs 850g), and even the advance mechanism. One forum thread claims a lever, though the more detailed reviews and the photo.net thread both describe a knob. No original price, dimensions, serial ranges, or production quantities have been documented. Two problems are well attested. The metal shutter blades can develop pinholes from corrosion if stored in humid environments. The film counter mechanism is known to jam when the camera sits unused, because the grease hardens.
Known specs:
- Lens mount: Contax/Kiev bayonet
- Standard lens: 50mm f/2 Jupiter-8
- Shutter: vertical-travel metal-blade focal-plane, 1/2–1/1000 sec + B
- Flash sync: X-sync at 1/60 sec
- Viewfinder: combined rangefinder, 0.65x magnification
- Film advance: knob (per 35mmc and photo.net)
- Frame counter: auto-resetting
- Meter: none
On the used market, prices are modest: roughly US$120–US$180 for a user-grade body, or US$200–US$300 for a mint example. Servicing the shutter is often recommended, as original lubricants dry out and can cause capping at high speeds. High Fidelity (May 1963, p.12) carried a reader letter about a Kiev–San Diego exchange, which suggests even by the early 1960s these cameras were reaching Western hands through informal channels — a small hint of how the Kiev line circulated outside the USSR before the 5 ever appeared.
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