Pre-Owned - 1979 SOVIET USSR "KIEV-4A" rangefinder camera (BODY ONLY)

The Soviet "Kiev-4A" is a classic 35mm film rangefinder camera manufactured at the legendary Arsenal Factory in Kyiv, Ukraine, between 1956 and 1980. It is widely celebrated as an authentic, high-quality clone of the German Zeiss Ikon Contax II camera. Following World War II, the Soviet Union relocated the complete German tooling, machinery, and remaining parts from the Zeiss factory to Kiev as war reparations, allowing them to recreate this sophisticated camera design.

Key Specifications & Features:

No Light Meter (The "A" Designation): Unlike the standard Kiev-4, the "A" version lacks a built-in selenium light meter. This makes the camera lighter, smaller, and highly favored by purists who prefer external light meters or manual shooting.

Massive Rangefinder Base: It possesses a massive 9 cm rangefinder focusing base. This extraordinarily wide base allows for incredibly precise manual focusing, easily separating tight subjects from backgrounds.

Contax Bayonet Mount: It features a dual internal/external Contax-type bayonet lens mount.

Standard Lens: It typically shipped with the famous Jupiter-8 50mm f/2 or Jupiter-8M lens, prized for its soft, pleasing vintage bokeh and sharpness.

Advanced Shutter: It runs an all-mechanical vertical-travel metal slatted focal-plane shutter, capable of speeds from 1 second up to 1/1000s or 1/1250s (plus Bulb mode), requiring no electrical battery power to run.