Kiev's post-war Contax II copy — 35mm rangefinder on the Contax RF bayonet, built from Zeiss tooling, 1947.
The Kiev II is a Soviet 35mm rangefinder built from Zeiss Contax II tooling that was moved to the Arsenal plant in Kiev, Ukraine, after the Second World War. Production began in 1947, making it one of the earliest post-war Contax copies. It carries the Contax bayonet mount and the essential mechanical design of the pre-war Zeiss camera, and it belongs to the long-running Kiev rangefinder family produced in the USSR.
This is a 35mm coupled-rangefinder camera using the Contax RF bayonet, which combines an inner mount for the standard lens with an outer mount for wide and long lenses. It uses a vertical-travel metal focal-plane shutter derived from the Contax design, with a combined rangefinder and viewfinder window. Focusing is by the coupled rangefinder and exposure is set manually; there is no built-in meter on this model.
The Kiev II suits users who want the Contax rangefinder experience and lens mount at a lower cost than a genuine Zeiss body. It handles like the pre-war Contax, with the characteristic wheel-and-focusing-mount layout, and pairs with Soviet Jupiter lenses as well as period Zeiss glass. It is a mechanical camera that works without batteries.
On the used market the Kiev II is affordable and offers strong value, but sample-to-sample quality-control variance is typical of former-Soviet-Union bodies, so inspect each example. Check the rangefinder patch for contrast and vertical alignment, look over the metal focal-plane shutter curtains for damage and capping, and confirm the slow speeds run accurately. The vertical metal shutter and the Contax bayonet ribbon can need service; a body that has been recently cleaned and adjusted is preferable.