Kiev 35A
Arsenal · Fixed lens · 24×36mm on 35mm film in standard cassettes · 1985
via machine translation — corrections welcomeAlso known as: Kiev 35A · Kiev-35A · Kiev 35 A · Kiew 35A · Kiew-35A · Kiev 35AM · Kiev-35AM · Kiev 35 AM · Kiev-35 AM · Kiev 35-AM · Киев-35А · Киев 35А · Киев-35АМ · Exxell Automatik · Exxel Automatik · Arsenal Kiev 35A · Kiev Korsar · MC Korsar · Korsar 2.8/35 · МС Корсар
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiev-35A, domestic (Cyrillic lettering) | 35mm compact | 1985–1991 | #882412 — rus-camera.ru's Issue I, black, Russian name #9009166 — sovietcams' example of the common version | No figure published; the 1200 фотоаппаратов СССР reference says the number made was not established |
| Kiev 35A, export (Latin lettering), black | 35mm compact | — | — | — |
| Kiev 35A, grey, 'Kiev-Korsar' lens | 35mm compact | — | #9400114 — sovietcams' example | — |
| Exxell Automatik | 35mm compact | 1992–1994 | #9205798 (earliest known), #9218386, #9300489, #9400802 (latest known) — sovietcams | — |
| Kiev-35AM · [object Object] | 35mm compact | 1990–1994 | #9200219 – #9200628 (eight recorded bodies), #9401451, #9401647 — sovietcams' registry | Small numbers; no figure published (sovietcams, camera-wiki) |
- No production figure has been published for any version. The 1200 фотоаппаратов СССР reference says the number made was not established for each issue, and ru.wikipedia says only that they were made in small numbers.
- The Kiev-35 of 1983: the 1200 фотоаппаратов СССР reference opens the family with a Kiev-35 of rigid construction with a plastic body, an Industar-99 lens that slides out when the front is opened, distance-scale focus, a stepless electronic shutter of 1 to 1/500 s and a removable back, and gives its frame as 21×36 mm, which may be a misprint for 24×36. English Wikipedia's unsourced photokina 1984 prototype with an Industar-99 may be the same camera. No photograph or serial of either is known.
- The same reference says one issue (1987–1991) was known on the international market under the name Minox. No photograph or serial of a Minox-named Arsenal body has been found, and the claim sits badly with the injunction collectors report against the Exxell.
- The lens is called MC Korsar on the domestic camera and Kiev-Korsar on later ones; ru.wikipedia and newsparky give its full name as МС Корсар-5 and say it is the same lens as the МС Минитар-5 2.8/35. fotoussr gives it as five elements in three groups, multicoated, f/2.8–16, 50 lines/mm in the centre and 20 at the edge; ru.wikipedia, cryptomuseum and rus-camera.ru give focus from 1 m. It is not the Minitar-1 of the LOMO LC-A, a different lens.
- submin.com's specification table for this camera (0.5 m focus, f/2, a focal-plane shutter, 145 × 87 × 98 mm) does not describe a Kiev 35A and is not used on this page.
- Prices after the fact: submin.com records US$175 asked for a new camera in September 2005, with ordinary examples under US$40, and eBay results of GBP 17.12 (8 August 2004) and US$27.50 (12 August 2004), both boxed. Leski Auctions estimated a pair, one black and one grey, at AUD 100–200. Paul Lovell reported paying US$10 in a 2016 post.
- cryptomuseum says the accessories of the Kiev 35A and the Minox 35 EL are fully interchangeable.
How to tell them apart
- A fold-down front cover that carries the lens out with it, as on the Minox 35
- Red shutter release on the Kiev-35A, like the Minox 35 EL's (cryptomuseum)
- Lens marked MC Korsar or Kiev-Korsar, 35mm f/2.8; no rangefinder
- CdS cell window on the front of the lens surround
- No self-timer on the 35A; the 35AM has one
Kiev-35A, domestic (Cyrillic lettering):
- Model name in Cyrillic, 'Киев-35А', and the lens ring lettered 'МС КОРСАР 2,8/35'
- Black finish according to sovietcams, rus-camera.ru and Leski; submin.com and the Broken Camera Club describe a dark greenish-brown textured covering, which may be the same finish described differently
- The 1200 фотоаппаратов СССР reference splits it into Issue 1 (1985–86), with a differently shaped top housing and 'Kiev' above the lens, and Issue 2, with the model name on the front cover
Kiev 35A, export (Latin lettering), black:
- 'KIEV 35A' and 'MC KORSAR' in Latin letters on a black body (rus-camera.ru's Issue Ia)
Kiev 35A, grey, 'Kiev-Korsar' lens:
- Grey body with the name in Latin letters (rus-camera.ru's Issue Iб)
- 'KIEV - KORSAR' on the lens faceplate instead of 'MC KORSAR'
Exxell Automatik:
- 'Exxell Automatik' on the front; 'Kiev-Korsar' lens
- Early examples lettered in Latin, late ones in Cyrillic again (sovietcams)
- Sold as a set with a Kiev-35A box, a soft case, a German Kiev-35A manual and an Exxell passport (sovietcams)
Kiev-35AM:
- 'Киев-35АМ' on the front and a different top cover
- An LED shows the shutter speed in the finder, in place of the needle
- Electronic self-timer with an LED
- No hot shoe: flash is taken from two contacts on the upper left side of the body
- Kiev-35A, domestic (Cyrillic lettering): The ordinary camera, sold in the Soviet Union at 85 roubles. sovietcams also records a pre-series version with Cyrillic 'Kiev' on the front plate, known only from manuals and advertising booklets; its author has never seen one, so it is not a variant here.
- Kiev 35A, export (Latin lettering), black: sovietcams lists an export version with its markings in Roman characters. The 1200 фотоаппаратов СССР reference describes it as its Issue 3, made for export with the model and lens names in Latin letters and a lens marked 'Korsar', and gives it the same 1985–1991 span as the domestic camera.
- Kiev 35A, grey, 'Kiev-Korsar' lens: sovietcams says the grey camera is otherwise no different. Its one recorded serial begins 94, which on Arsenal's year-prefix rule is a 1994 body, three years after the date most sources give for the end of production. Leski Auctions sold one, described as dark grey with a Kiev-Korsar lens, in a pair with a black MC Korsar camera.
- Exxell Automatik: An export name for the German market. sovietcams gives 1992–1994, "supposedly", in a limited series, and the serials it records agree; the 1200 фотоаппаратов СССР reference dates it to 1991. submin.com says it was sold briefly in Germany in 1993. Both collector sites report that Minox obtained a court injunction that stopped its sale in Germany; neither names a court or a date, and no court record has been found.
- Kiev-35AM: The successor, and in fotoussr's view Arsenal's own design, since it found no Minox counterpart. sovietcams says it was announced in 1987 as a concept camera, promised for mass production in 1988 and again in 1989, and only ever made in small numbers. A note in the same catalogue entry says its contributor was told by Arsenal's director that the camera was made at a satellite factory in Uman, with faulty materials and many production problems. Adds exposure compensation; film speeds 22–700 GOST. fotoussr says the LED replaced the 35A's needle indicator, which it calls the most fragile part and a frequent cause of failure. Its years and its back are both disputed: see below.
Serial-range notes
- the first two digits
- Arsenal's rule, stated by submin.com for the Kiev 35A: the first two digits are the year of manufacture. #9009166 is 1990 and #9400114 is 1994. rus-camera.ru's #882412 is a six-digit number of 1988 by the same reading.
- 92xxxxx, 93xxxxx and 94xxxxx
- Kiev 35A, Exxell and 35AM bodies all carry serials from 1992 to 1994 (sovietcams; a dealer listing titled 'Arsenal Kiev 35A Sucherkamera 9403519', from FK Secondhand). They are the reason this page runs to 1994 when most sources stop the Kiev-35A in 1991. Either assembly carried on in independent Ukraine or the prefix stopped meaning the year; no source says which.
- #214 04 92
- An odd 35AM number in sovietcams' registry that does not follow the pattern of the others, with the 92 at the end. Recorded, not explained.
Specifications
- Format
- 24×36mm on 35mm film in standard cassettes
- Finder
- Optical viewfinder, no rangefinder · no rangefinder image
- Shutter
- electronically timed leaf (central) shutter, stepless, aperture-priority automatic · 1/500 s at the fast end. The slow end is 4 s in Ryshkov's 1993 catalogue, on camera-wiki, cryptomuseum and sovietcams; 2 s on fotoussr and ru.wikipedia; 8 s on rus-camera.ru. fotoussr says there is no B setting; ru.wikipedia lists one. cryptomuseum's text claims 1/1000 s, which its own specification table contradicts. · flash sync Hot shoe with centre contact; X sync at 1/30 s (cryptomuseum, en.wikipedia) or 1/60 s (ru.wikipedia) · no self-timer
- Film advance
- trigger-style advance lever, which also cocks the shutter (newsparky, ru.wikipedia); fotoussr says it takes two strokes
- Back
- removable on the Kiev-35A, released by a latch on the base (fotoussr); the 35AM's is disputed
- Meter
- CdS photoresistor behind a window on the front of the lens surround, driving aperture-priority automatic exposure. ISO 25–800, with GOST and DIN scales on the dial. Powered by four SC-32 (СЦ-32) cells, 6 V in all.
- Weight
- 200 g
- Dimensions
- 104 × 62 × 33 (ru.wikipedia, newsparky); other sources give 101.5–103 × 64–65 × 32.5–33 — see disputed mm
- Country
- Ukraine
- Original price
- 85 roubles, the Soviet list price: sovietcams gives it for 1986 and the 1989 instruction book prints the same figure (newsparky). 80 roubles is given for 1985 by monetnik.ru and is the figure newsparky's family remembers.
A needle moves along a shutter-speed scale from 1/500 to 1/30 s. Below 1/30 the camera still fires and fotoussr advises a tripod; above 1/500 there is no warning, which Camera Go Camera found led to overexposed negatives. The automation works only with the shutter cocked and, on a tired camera, only with the front door pulled fully open.
Where sources disagree
- Which Minox was copied
- the Minox 35 EL: 'a copy' (camera-wiki), 'a near exact copy' (cryptomuseum), submin.com, Broken Camera Club
- the Minox 35 GT (Kamerastore; Leski Auctions, 'Well-known Soviet copies of the Minox 35GT'; Kameramuseum Tauber)
- the Minox 35 GL: the 1200 фотоаппаратов СССР reference calls the family's first model, the 1983 Kiev-35, in many respects an analogue of it
- based on the Minox 35 but not a full copy, since the optics and the automation differ (fotoussr)
Better supported: The EL
The 35A has the EL's red release and, like the EL and GL, no self-timer, which the GT has. No source describes a licence; sovietcams calls it an illegally copied camera.
- Speeds (slow end)
- 4 s (Ryshkov 1993; camera-wiki; cryptomuseum; sovietcams)
- 2 s (fotoussr; ru.wikipedia)
- 8 s (rus-camera.ru)
Better supported: 4 s, from the period catalogue
- Flash sync
- 1/30 s (cryptomuseum; en.wikipedia)
- 1/60 s (ru.wikipedia)
- Battery equivalent
- 4 × LR43/AG12 (cryptomuseum; ru.wikipedia)
- 4 × LR44/AG13 (newsparky)
- a 5.6 V PX27 originally, replaced with 4 × LR44 (Camera Go Camera)
Better supported: Four SC-32 cells, as every Soviet source says; the PX27 is the Minox 35's battery
- Weight (grams) / dimensions (mm)
- 104 × 62 × 33 mm, 0.2 kg (ru.wikipedia; newsparky; fotoussr weighs its own at 200 g)
- 102 × 64 × 33 mm, 180 g (cryptomuseum)
- 101.5 × 64 × 32.5 mm, 180 g (en.wikipedia)
- 103 × 65 × 33 mm, no more than 210 g (rus-camera.ru)
Better supported: No source cites the instruction book for any of these; the page uses the ru.wikipedia figures
- Last
- 1991 (camera-wiki, cryptomuseum, sovietcams, fotoussr, ru.wikipedia)
- 1994, on serials of the 35A, Exxell and 35AM beginning 92, 93 and 94 (sovietcams' registry)
1991 is likely the end of the domestic Kiev-35A; bodies continued under other names or finishes after it.
- Kiev-35AM years
- 1991, for one year only (fotoussr; Ryshkov 1993, 'since 1991')
- 1990–1991 (1200 фотоаппаратов СССР)
- 1990–1994, announced as a concept in 1987 (sovietcams, whose recorded serials begin 92 and 94)
- Kiev-35AM back
- hinged (fotoussr; 1200 фотоаппаратов СССР)
- removable rather than hinged (ru.wikipedia; monetnik.ru)
What reviewers say
- Peggy (Camera Go Camera) (blog) — Two bodies did not work; the second was repaired by LensFayre and she loves the results, clouds especially. She warns it breaks easily: the meter needs the door pulled hard open, nothing stops it firing over 1/500, and the battery cover failed on both cameras.
- Paul Lovell (Broken Camera Club) (blog) — Ten dollars, and it leaked light as the seller had warned. Clearly a copy of the Minox 35 EL and slightly larger, with a covering that does not wear well; a novelty, and for reliable use he says to buy a Minox.
- Newsparky (LiveJournal) (blog) — A family camera his father bought at half price at Arsenal around 1989–90. Gives the 1989 manual's 85 roubles, the lens as MC Korsar-5, the same as the MC Minitar-5, and says the design was copied one-to-one from the Minox 35. via machine translation — corrections welcome
- fotoussr.ru (blog) — Based on the Minox 35 but not a full copy, and much less reliable than its model: a fall of half a metre onto something soft can break it. Covers the 5/3 lens and the CdS meter on four SC-32 cells, and says the 35AM's LED display replaced the needle, the 35A's most fragile part. via machine translation — corrections welcome
History
The Kiev 35A is a Minox 35 made in Kiev. Fold down the front cover and a 35mm f/2.8 lens comes out with it; fold it up and the lens retracts and the shutter release locks. Arsenal, the plant that had built Contax copies under the Kiev name since 1947, put it on sale in 1985 at 85 roubles. Most sources call it a copy of the Minox 35 EL, and the red shutter release and the missing self-timer point to the EL rather than the GT or GL others name. fotoussr adds a fair qualification: the lens design and parts of the automation differ from the Minox’s, so it is not a full copy. No source mentions a licence.
The lens is a multicoated five-element 35mm f/2.8, marked MC Korsar on the first cameras and Kiev-Korsar on later ones. Focus is by scale from 1 metre, and exposure is aperture priority: a CdS cell on the front of the lens surround sets a stepless leaf shutter, and a needle in the finder shows the speed. The fast end is 1/500 s; the slow end is 4 s in the period catalogue and 2 s or 8 s elsewhere. Four SC-32 cells power it, and owners now use LR44 or LR43 stacks.
The versions are told apart by lettering, colour and name. The domestic camera says Киев-35А in Cyrillic. The export camera says KIEV 35A in Latin letters, in black or in grey, and the grey one carries Kiev-Korsar on the lens. The Exxell Automatik is the same camera sold in Germany in the early 1990s; collectors report that Minox obtained an injunction against it, though no court record has been found. The Kiev-35AM is a rarer successor with an LED in place of the needle, a self-timer, no hot shoe and a different top cover; a contributor to the sovietcams catalogue reports being told by Arsenal’s director that it was made at a satellite factory in Uman with faulty materials.
Dating needs care. Most sources end production in 1991, but Arsenal’s serials begin with the year, and Kiev 35A, Exxell and 35AM bodies numbered 92, 93 and 94 are on record. So the camera outlived the Soviet Union by a few years in one form or another.
Buy one as a working camera only after seeing it work. Owners and collectors report the same faults again and again: light leaks from the back and through the shutter, dead electronics, a meter that switches on only with the door pulled fully open, and a battery cover that breaks. Check the needle moves with the door open and the shutter cocked, fire it at a bright and a dim scene, and look for tape over the back seams, which may mean the leaks have already been met; one seller told Paul Lovell to tape the back for exactly that reason. Prices are low, which is why collectors try it anyway, and when one works the lens is good.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Example photos
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Kiev 35A? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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