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- Produced 1993 Zavod Arsenal, Kiev, Ukraine
- Mount Kiev 88 (also available in P6 mount)
- Focal length 45mm
- Aperture range f3.5-22
- Focal range .5m to infinity
- Filter thread 82mm (!)
- Weight
- Aperture blades 6
- MC
Overview
Very nice wide angle lens for Pentacon 6 or Kiev 88 mount MF cameras. Mine is the Kiev 88 screw mount version but I use it with a (highly recommended) Arax adapter on my Kiev 60. The lens is available in both mounts though. It’s the medium format equivalent of about a 28mm lens in 35mm format and feels like it’s approaching an ultrawide rectilinear, if you’ve used one you know what I mean. I’ve heard that the Flektogon is better but this is pretty darn nice!
Repairs
None (yet), it’s smooth, sharp and clean.
Special Notes
Different sources say different things about this lens, the opinions range from ‘terrible’ to excellent. But among those who know lenses there is a consensus that it’s not the optical quality but the assembly quality of these lenses that can be problematic. Either poorly assembled or poorly shimmed inside, resulting in inconsistent edge focus for one thing. I guess I got lucky to get a good one, I have nothing but good things to say about it. If you’ve got ahold of a questionable sample, check Kievgurl’s great page on correcting what is probably a common fault. The aperture opening mechanism is one of the strangest and possibly weakest I’ve seen, I have to say. See Stephen’s link below to see how it’s put together.
Related Links
- brilliant! How to fix a sticky Mir-26B iris by Stephen Castello