Kiev's late metered Contax copy — 35mm rangefinder, Contax RF bayonet, selenium meter, revised styling, 1976.
The Kiev 4m is a Soviet 35mm rangefinder from the Arsenal plant in Kiev, a late metered model in the Kiev line and a continuation of the Contax copies built from Zeiss tooling transferred to the USSR after the Second World War. It reached production around 1976 with updated styling over the earlier metered bodies. It retains the Contax bayonet mount and the Contax-derived mechanical design.
This is a 35mm coupled-rangefinder camera on the Contax RF bayonet, using the Contax inner-and-outer mount system. It has a vertical-travel metal focal-plane shutter of the Contax type and a combined rangefinder and viewfinder window, focusing via the coupled rangefinder. The 4m carries an uncoupled selenium exposure meter with revised top-plate styling; exposure is set manually from the meter reading.
The Kiev 4m suits users who want a later Contax-type rangefinder with a built-in meter and the Contax lens range for Soviet Jupiter and period Zeiss optics. The selenium meter is self-powered and the body is fully mechanical, so it fires without batteries. It keeps the Contax focusing-wheel handling with the cosmetic updates of the late production run.
On the used market the Kiev 4m is common, inexpensive and offers strong value, though the sample-to-sample quality-control variance typical of former-Soviet-Union bodies and late Arsenal production means each unit should be checked. Inspect the rangefinder patch for contrast and vertical alignment, examine the metal focal-plane shutter for capping and pinholes, and confirm slow speeds. The aged selenium meter is often weak, so verify it rather than trusting it.