Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Kaleinar-5 100mm f/2.8

Arsenal · Nikon F · 1981

Also known as: Kaleinar-5 · Kaleinar 5 · Kaleinar-5N · Kaleinar 5N · Kaleinar-5H · Kaleinar 5H · Kaleinar-5 N · Kaleinar-5 H · MC Kaleinar-5N · MC Kaleinar 5N · MC Kaleinar-5H · MC Kaleinar 5H · Kaleinar 100mm · Kaleinar 100mm f/2.8 · Kaleinar 100mm f2.8 · Kaleinar 2.8/100 · Kaleinar 2,8/100 · Kaleinar 100/2.8 · Kalejnar-5H · Calejnar-5H · Arsat H 100mm · Arsat H 100 · Arsat N 100mm · Калейнар-5 · Калейнар-5Н · Калейнар 5Н · МС Калейнар-5Н

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
MC Kaleinar-5N (МС Калейнар-5Н), Cyrillic lettering Nikon F (Arsenal 'Н' bayonet of the Kiev-17/19/20), with a screw-on M42 mount part supplied 1981–1992 92xxxx — an MFLenses member's copy sold in 2010 with the Nikon mount fitted; he offered to swap it to M42 from another copy
a 1992 lens by its serial — Manuell fokus's copy, tested in M42 		No figure published
MC Kalejnar-5H / MC Calejnar-5H, Latin lettering Nikon F (Arsenal 'Н' bayonet of the Kiev-17/19/20) — — No figure published
  1. Dates. Abramov gives 1981–1992?, with the question mark on the end. Manuell fokus gives 1983 as the year. The page uses Abramov's 1981 as the first year and keeps his 1992 as the last, question mark included. Digital Camera Watch lists the lens as discontinued by December 2005.
  2. Groups and weight. LensTip gives five elements in five groups and Kamerastore five in four. Only the element count is carried above. Abramov and LensTip both give 380 g, but Kamerastore gives 292 g. Radozhiva says it weighs 'over 300 grams'. Abramov and LensTip give the size as 63 × 62 mm and Kamerastore as 62 × 63 mm, without saying which figure is the length.
  3. Abramov's other figures: 24.5° field, resolution of 50 lines/mm at the centre and 30 at the edge, light transmission 0.9, an M52 × 0.75 filter thread. The 120 roubles is the 1985 state retail list price. It has no structured price field because the site does not index roubles.
  4. Arsat H 100mm. Radozhiva calls the 'ARSAT H 100 F2.8' a twin of the Kaleinar-5N, the same lens under the brand Arsenal used after the Soviet Union ended. A Norwegian seller lists a Kaleinar-5N 'aka Arsat H 100 F2.8' and links Radozhiva's review. Neither shows a lens engraved ARSAT H 100. Digital Camera Watch's 2005 list of current Arsenal Nikon-mount lenses has no 100mm, only the discontinued Kaleinar-5N. Without a photographed example there is no variant row, but the name is kept as an alias because sellers use it.
  5. A rangefinder lens. Abramov illustrates a 'rangefinder version of the lens for the Leica (M-type bayonet)', in a photograph credited to Ivan Zotikov. He does not say who made it, when, or how many. Without that it may be a conversion, so it has no variant row.
  6. Not a copy of the Nikon Series E 100mm f/2.8. Some forum posts say it is, but Radozhiva says the optical designs differ, and aoleg, an MFLenses member who owns both lenses, points to the different element count.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • A 100mm f/2.8 with a 52 mm filter, six aperture blades, 0.8 m closest focus and an f/22 minimum, made for the Kiev-17, 19, 19M and 20 and mounting on Nikon F bodies without an adapter
  • Not the Kaleinar-3, the 150mm f/2.8 Arsenal made for the Kiev-6S, Kiev-60 and Kiev-88. A dealer URL that calls the 100mm a Pentacon Six lens is wrong. The 100mm is a 35mm lens
  • In M42 form it is the same lens with the other rear part fitted. Manuell fokus warns that its M42 diaphragm pin is pushed in, not pressed down, so it will not screw fully into adapters with a pressure ring for the pin

MC Kaleinar-5N (МС Калейнар-5Н), Cyrillic lettering:

  • Name in Cyrillic letters, ending in Н, the Cyrillic N for the 'Н' bayonet. Sellers write it Kaleinar-5N, Kaleinar-5H or both, and it is the same lens
  • Nikon-type bayonet at the rear with an aperture ring and an AI ridge but no metering prong, by Kamerastore's description. A lens listed in M42 should still read 5N: the rear mount unscrews and an M42 part was supplied with the lens
  • Metal barrel with a rubberised focusing ring and a built-in hood that pulls out (Manuell fokus); the barrel extends about 2 cm while focusing (Radozhiva)

MC Kalejnar-5H / MC Calejnar-5H, Latin lettering:

  • Name ring in Latin letters, spelt Kalejnar or Calejnar, with 5H rather than the Cyrillic 5Н. Radozhiva says it is otherwise indistinguishable from the Cyrillic lens

Serial-range notes

92xxxx, and a 1992 copy
Radozhiva reads the year from the first two digits of the serial, the usual Soviet rule. The two serials reported here fit it: an MFLenses member's 92xxxx and Manuell fokus's 1992 lens. No Arsenal or Progress numbering table has been published, so a number is a likely year, not proof of one.

Specifications

Formula
Five elements. LensTip gives five elements in five groups; Kamerastore and Manuell fokus give five in four. Abramov gives no count. Not the Nikon Series E 100mm f/2.8, whose design and element count are different
Construction
5 elements
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Diaphragm blades
6
Min. focus
0.8 m
Weight
380 g
Filter
52 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
Years manufactured
1981–1992
Country
Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR: Arsenal, Kiev, and the Progress plant, Nizhyn); Ukraine after 1991
Coating
Multicoated (MC on the name ring)
Original price
120 roubles, Soviet state retail list price in 1985 (Abramov)

What reviewers say

History

The Kaleinar-5 is the portrait lens of Arsenal’s Nikon-mount reflex line. It is a 100mm f/2.8 made for the ‘Н’ bayonet of the Kiev-17, 19, 19M and 20, and the lens fits Nikon F bodies directly. Abramov lists it for Arsenal in Kiev and the Progress plant at Nizhyn from 1981, with production running to about 1992. The question mark on the end year is his. It is a multicoated five-element lens with an automatic diaphragm, six blades, a 52 mm filter thread and 0.8 m closest focus. In 1985 it cost 120 roubles at Soviet state retail, by Abramov’s figure. It is a 35mm lens. The Kaleinar-3, a 150mm for the Kiev-6S, Kiev-60 and Kiev-88, shares only the name.

It was sold with two rear mounts. Abramov says it came with an adapter for M42 Zenit bodies. Owners describe a second mount part that replaces the bayonet, held by three screws. A Kaleinar-5N offered in M42 is therefore usually the same lens with the other part fitted, not a separate version, and a complete lens has both parts. The name ring ends in a Cyrillic Н, which sellers write as N or H, so Kaleinar-5N and Kaleinar-5H are the same lens. Radozhiva has photographed a Latin-lettered copy spelt ‘MC Calejnar-5H’ and notes that an export spelling ‘Kalejnar-5H’ appears in the literature. Radozhiva and a Norwegian seller also call it the Arsat H 100mm f/2.8, under the ARSAT brand Arsenal’s lenses took after the Soviet Union ended, but neither shows a lens engraved that way. Abramov also photographs a version in Leica M bayonet and gives no maker or date for it.

Its reputation is better than its finish. Radozhiva, Manuell fokus and the MFLenses owners praise its sharpness from full aperture, its colour and its rendering of portraits. Kosmo Foto’s article on the Kiev-19M says it has a fantastic reputation, and not only among admirers of Soviet lenses. Owners are less kind about how it was built. One MFLenses member, who has had three copies and also owns a Nikon Series E 100mm f/2.8, found loose tolerances, rough focusing and dirt inside even a new lens. He says it is prone to internal haze, and that many copies have been taken apart and left with cleaning marks worse than the haze. Despite a common claim, it is not a copy of the Series E lens: Radozhiva says the optical designs differ, and the MFLenses owner who has both points to the different number of elements. Sources do not agree on the weight: Abramov and LensTip give 380 g, Kamerastore 292 g.

When buying, check the inside of the lens with a torch for haze and cleaning marks. Ask whether the M42 part comes with it, and see which mount is fitted. Kamerastore describes an AI ridge with no metering prong, and an MFLenses seller reports metering on a Nikon D200. Digital Camera Watch warns that Arsenal’s bayonet is close to Nikon AI but not identical, and that Soviet-era Arsenal lenses can jam on bodies with instant stop-down metering such as the Nikon FA, F-301 and F4, so do not force one onto a camera. In M42 form, Manuell fokus warns that the diaphragm pin is pushed rather than pressed down, so the lens will not screw fully into adapters with a pressure ring.

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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

More sample photos elsewhere

These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Kaleinar-5 100mm f/2.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $150 across 11 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-09 (middle half $150–$160). First day tracked.

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-11-09. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Sources (12)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.