Mir-20 20mm f/3.5

Arsenal · Kiev Automat + Nikon F + M42 + Other · 1973

Also known as: Mir-20 · Mir 20 · MIR-20 20mm · Mir-20 20mm f3.5 · Mir 20mm f3.5 · Mir 20mm 3.5 · Mir-20N · Mir-20H · Mir 20N · Mir 20H · MC Mir-20N · MC Mir-20H · MIR-20H MC · Mir-20M · Mir 20M · MC Mir-20M · MC Mir 20M · Zenit MC Mir-20M · Mir-20K · MC Mir-20K · Mir-20 Automat · Mir 20 Automat · Arsat H 3.5/20 · Arsat H MC 3.5/20 · Arsat H 3,5/20 · Arsat H MC 3,5/20 · Arsat 20mm f3.5 · Мир-20 · Мир-20Н · Мир-20М · МС Мир-20Н · МС Мир-20М · Мир-20-автомат

Variants & identification

Variant	Mount	Years	Serial ranges	Production
Mir-20 Automat (Мир-20-автомат), Arsenal	Kiev Automat (Arsenal bayonet of the Kiev-10 and Kiev-15)	—	—	No figure published
MC Mir-20N (МС Мир-20Н), Arsenal	Nikon F (Arsenal 'Н' bayonet of the Kiev-17/19/20)	1983	—	No figure published
Mir-20M (Мир-20М), KMZ	M42	1973–1989	—	Series production (серийное), by KMZ's description; no figure published
MC Mir-20M (МС Мир-20М), KMZ	M42	1989	—	No figure published
MC Mir-20K (МС Мир-20К), KMZ	Pentax K bayonet	1992–1992	—	A small batch (небольшая партия) in 1992, by zenitcamera and Abramov

The design is dated 1968 at the State Optical Institute (GOI) by zenitcamera and Abramov, with development work completed in 1971–72 (zenitcamera). The page uses 1973, the first year of KMZ's Mir-20M production, as the family's first year. No end date is published for the Arsenal lenses; the MC Mir-20N was listed as discontinued by December 2005.
The two main sources disagree on where the design came from. Zenitcamera says the Flektogon 2.8/20 of VEB Carl Zeiss Jena was taken as the basis of the optical scheme, and allphotolenses repeats this with the note that the scheme was changed. Abramov's entry says the Mir-20 has an original optical scheme. Both are given here.
The dimensions and weights are not interchangeable between versions. KMZ, via zenitcamera: Mir-20M 68 mm long with caps, 92 mm across, 470 g; MC Mir-20M 63 mm, 78 mm, 390 g; MC Mir-20K 490 g. Christopher Osborne weighed his Mir-20 Automat at 374 g, and Kamerastore gives 380 g for an MC Mir-20N. KMZ's specified resolution is 50 lines/mm at the centre and 20 at the edge; GOI's tests of the prototypes gave 50/35/30 lines/mm at 0, 10 and 20 mm from the centre on film resolving about 120–130 lines/mm (Volosov). Geometric vignetting is given as 40%.
The 240 and 325 roubles are Soviet state retail list prices for 1985, from Abramov. There is no structured price field because the site does not index roubles. The US$200 and ¥40,000 for the MC Mir-20N in 2005 are second-hand market prices reported by Digital Camera Watch.
Zenitcamera pictures a Mir-20 made at GOI, taking the photograph from Abramov's work. It is presumably one of the experimental lenses whose test results Volosov gives, not a production version. Abramov also records the ARS-1 Automat 3.5/20, a variant of the Mir-20 planned with ARS-1 Automat 2/50, 2/85 and 4/135 lenses for the Kiev-11 and meant to be shown at Photokina in 1972. That showing did not take place, and a pre-production batch of no more than about ten lenses was made in 1972; it was never made in series. Neither has a variant row.
An owner on the MFLenses forum in 2013 posted a Nikon-mount ARSAT H MC 3,5/20, made in 1996 by its serial. Another member said it was the MIR 20N under Arsenal's later Arsat name. No Arsenal document confirms this, and Digital Camera Watch's 2005 list of current Arsat lenses has only an Arsat-N 2.8/20 among its 20mm lenses, the lens this site files as the Mir-73. The 3.5/20 is noted here without a variant row until a second example or a factory source turns up.
Digital Camera Watch warns that Arsenal's 'Н' bayonet is close to Nikon AI but not fully compatible, and that Soviet-era Arsenal lenses are prone to sticking, so that they cannot be taken off, on film bodies with instantaneous stop-down metering such as the Nikon FA, F-301 and F4. Arsenal's lenses of 2005 and KMZ's, he says, approximate AI-S and avoid the problem.
Zenitcamera and Abramov give an aperture range of f/3.5–16. Allphotolenses says the Arsenal lenses stop down to f/16 'and not f/22', which implies f/22 on the KMZ lenses; no other source here says so, and the page keeps f/16.
Lenses sold as 'cine mod', with geared rings and mirrorless mounts such as Sony E, are later conversions, not factory versions.

How to tell them apart (expand)

A 20mm f/3.5 with a 96° field, nine elements in eight groups and a closest focus of 0.18 m; zenitcamera gives an aperture range of f/3.5–16 for every version
Tell the versions apart by the letter after the number and the rear of the lens: М (M) is KMZ's M42 thread, Н (sellers' N or H) the Nikon-type bayonet of the Kiev-17, 19 and 20, K the Pentax K bayonet, and 'автомат' or Automat the Kiev-10/15 bayonet with no aperture ring
KMZ's lenses take filters at the rear (M28 × 0.75) and have no front thread; Arsenal's take them at the front (M95 × 1), by zenitcamera
Not the Mir-73N 20mm f/2.8 or the Mir-47 20mm f/2.5, the faster Soviet 20mm lenses

Mir-20 Automat (Мир-20-автомат), Arsenal:

Arsenal's Automat bayonet at the rear, the mount of the Kiev-10 and Kiev-15 and of nothing else
No aperture ring: the Kiev-10 and Kiev-15 set the aperture from the body, so a Mir-20 with a focusing ring alone is this version
A bulbous front element and no rear filter thread. Osborne found that filters fit only through an adapter taking 95 mm filters; zenitcamera gives Arsenal's lenses a front M95 × 1 filter mount
Sold in a clear plastic bubble case whose base serves as the rear cap; Osborne found no separate rear caps were made for the Automat lenses, so a lens with its case is more complete

MC Mir-20N (МС Мир-20Н), Arsenal:

Named МС МИР-20Н. The last letter is the Cyrillic Н (Latin N) for the 'Н' bayonet, so sellers write Mir-20N, Mir-20H or both; it is the same lens
Nikon-type bayonet with an aperture ring at the rear. Kamerastore describes its example as having the AI ridge but no 'bunny ear' meter prong and no AI-S notch
A front filter thread, which the M42 lenses lack: an owner on the MFLenses forum notes that the MC Mir-20H has filter threads and the MC Mir-20M does not

Mir-20M (Мир-20М), KMZ:

M42 × 1 thread at the rear and a rear filter thread inside it; no filter thread at the front
The bigger of the two KMZ barrels: 92 mm across, 68 mm long with caps and 470 g, by KMZ's figures
No MC before the name. Like the MC Mir-20M it has an automatic diaphragm that can be disengaged, which zenitcamera notes for the threaded versions, so it also works stopped down on M42 bodies without a pin

MC Mir-20M (МС Мир-20М), KMZ:

MC before the name, with the M42 thread and the rear filter thread of the single-coated lens
A slimmer barrel than the Mir-20M: 78 mm across, 63 mm long with caps and 390 g (KMZ)

MC Mir-20K (МС Мир-20К), KMZ:

Pentax K bayonet at the rear and a K after the number; zenitcamera's pictured example is no. 920012, which reads as 1992 by the Soviet year prefix

Mir-20 Automat (Мир-20-автомат), Arsenal: Zenitcamera and Abramov both name the Mir-20-автомат among Arsenal's versions without dates. Christopher Osborne weighed his at 374 g and found it came with two 95 mm filters, a yellow-green and a clear one. Peter Schafer gives his Automat as made in 1979 and his Kiev-10 as made in 1972. On his lens the body's aperture coupling did not work, and he found he could open and close the diaphragm by turning the front of the lens; he says he does not know whether that holds for every example. He also found Automat lenses selling for much less than the M42 lens, because without an aperture ring they are hard to use on other bodies.
MC Mir-20N (МС Мир-20Н), Arsenal: Abramov dates the start of MC Mir-20N production to 1983 and gives its 1985 retail price as 325 roubles, against 240 for KMZ's Mir-20M. Maruhashi Kaoru's December 2005 survey of Arsenal and KMZ Nikon-mount lenses for Digital Camera Watch lists it as discontinued, at about US$200 in Ukraine and about ¥40,000 in Japan. Those are the prices he found on the second-hand market, not list prices. Kamerastore gives 380 g for the example it sold. An owner writing on the MFLenses forum in 2010 found the Arsenal lens less well built than the MC Mir-20M but optically the same.
Mir-20M (Мир-20М), KMZ: Zenitcamera gives KMZ production as 1973–1989, a light transmission of 0.75 and a colour-rendering index of 11-0-2. An owner on the MFLenses forum in 2010 described the single-coated lens as having the bigger front element and flaring worse than the MC version.
MC Mir-20M (МС Мир-20М), KMZ: Zenitcamera dates the MC Mir-20M from 1989, citing KMZ director's order no. 128 of 4 April 1989 on its release; Abramov puts it at the beginning of the 1990s. KMZ gives a light transmission of 0.90 and a colour-rendering index of 11-0-0. Henri Toivonen used his on a Pentax Spotmatic and found the build smooth and solid and the multicoating good against the sun.
MC Mir-20K (МС Мир-20К), KMZ: KMZ gives 490 g for this version, heavier than either M42 lens. Zenitcamera took its photograph from an auction listing on Molotok.ru. This site has no Pentax K system, so the variant is filed under Other.

Serial-range notes

810428, 820070 (Mir-20 Automat); 920012 (MC Mir-20K): The usual Soviet rule, that the first two digits are the year, is the one an MFLenses forum member gives for Arsenal's lenses, and it fits the one serial with an independent date: zenitcamera's MC Mir-20K, a 1992 version, is no. 920012. Mir-20 Automat lenses have been offered on eBay as nos. 810428 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/376737238151) and 820070 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/167577121800), which by the same rule are 1981 and 1982.

Specifications

Formula: Nine elements in eight groups, calculated at GOI; zenitcamera says the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.8/20 was taken as the basis of the scheme, Abramov calls the scheme original
Designed by: Volosov D. S. — calculation at GOI (Волосов Д.С.) · Khmelnikova N. — calculation at GOI (Хмельникова Н.) · Shamanina T. — calculation at GOI (Шаманина Т.)
Construction: 9 elements / 8 groups
Aperture range: f/3.5–f/16
Min. focus: 0.18 m
Filter: 95 mm, M95 × 1 at the front, by zenitcamera; Osborne needed an adapter to fit 95 mm filters (Mir-20 Automat (Мир-20-автомат), Arsenal) · 95 mm, M95 × 1 at the front, by zenitcamera; Kamerastore's listing gives a 72 mm filter size, which no other source repeats (MC Mir-20N (МС Мир-20Н), Arsenal) · 28 mm (0.75 mm pitch), M28 × 0.75 at the rear; UV-1x, Zh-2x (yellow) and O-2.8x (orange) filters came with the lens (Mir-20M (Мир-20М), KMZ, MC Mir-20M (МС Мир-20М), KMZ)
Years manufactured: 1973
Country: Russia (Mir-20M, MC Mir-20M and MC Mir-20K, KMZ, Krasnogorsk); Ukraine (Mir-20 Automat and MC Mir-20N, Arsenal, Kyiv)
Coating: Single-coated (Mir-20M); multicoated on the versions marked MC
Original price: 240 roubles for the Mir-20M and 325 roubles for the MC Mir-20N, Soviet state retail list prices in 1985 (Abramov)

What reviewers say

Sergei Borodin (allphotolenses) (blog) — Sharp in the centre from f/3.5 and very sharp from f/5.6, with a marked drop at the edges; virtually no distortion and warm, saturated colour. The single-coated lenses handle side and back light poorly, the MC ones well, so he advises choosing an MC lens.
Henri Toivonen (Toivonen photography) (blog) — An MC Mir-20M on a Pentax Spotmatic: better built than he expected of a Soviet lens and unusual for focusing to 18 cm. Sharp in the middle at f/8–11 with visible falloff at the edges, and good multicoating against the sun. He recommends it as an M42 ultra-wide at a reasonable price.
Peter Schafer (35mmc) (blog) — A 1979 Mir-20 Automat on a 1972 Kiev-10, used for a street series: massive to carry, but rectilinear enough to anchor a composition on a vertical line. The body's aperture control would not work with his lens, and he found he could set the aperture by turning its front instead; he notes that Automat lenses sell for much less than the M42 ones. single source, unconfirmed

Optical Ratings

Aggregated from the reviews above — follow the links for the full picture.

Distortion: Virtually none

Optical formula — Nine elements in eight groups, calculated at GOI; zenitcamera says the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.8/20 was taken as the basis of the scheme, Abramov calls the scheme original

Optical diagram and cross-section of the Mir-20 on zenitcamera (nine elements in eight groups)

History

The Mir-20 is the Soviet ultra-wide of the 1970s and 1980s: a 20mm f/3.5 covering 96°, nine elements in eight groups, focusing to 0.18 m. D. S. Volosov, N. Khmelnikova and T. Shamanina calculated it at the State Optical Institute (GOI) in Leningrad in 1968, and the development work was finished in 1971–72. Its origin is disputed. Zenitcamera, working from KMZ’s archive, says the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.8/20 was taken as the basis of the scheme. Abramov calls the scheme original. Two factories built it. KMZ at Krasnogorsk made the Mir-20M for M42 bodies from 1973 to 1989, then the slimmer multicoated MC Mir-20M, and a small batch of MC Mir-20K lenses in the Pentax K bayonet in 1992. The Arsenal works in Kyiv made it for its own reflexes, as the Mir-20 Automat for the Kiev-10 and Kiev-15 and as the MC Mir-20N for the Nikon-type bayonet of the Kiev-17, 19 and 20.

The two factories’ lenses look different. KMZ’s lenses have no front filter thread: the large front element is left bare, and filters screw in at the rear. The lens came with three filters, a UV, a yellow and an orange. Arsenal’s lenses have a front ring that takes M95 × 1 filters, by zenitcamera. Osborne, with an Automat, describes fitting 95 mm filters through an adapter. The KMZ barrels changed too. The single-coated Mir-20M is 92 mm across and 470 g, and the MC Mir-20M 78 mm and 390 g. In 1985 the Mir-20M cost 240 roubles and the MC Mir-20N 325, by Abramov’s retail list. Arsenal also planned a version, the ARS-1 Automat 3.5/20, for the Kiev-11, and made a pre-production batch of about ten in 1972; it never went into series production. A forum member says that an owner’s ARSAT H MC 3,5/20 of 1996 is the Mir-20N under Arsenal’s later name, though no factory source confirms it.

The letter after the number tells the mount. М is the M42 thread. Н is the Nikon-type bayonet, written N or H by sellers. K is Pentax K. The Automat has no letter, but it has no aperture ring either, because the Kiev-10 and 15 set the aperture from the body. That makes it the hardest version to use on anything else, and Peter Schafer found it selling for much less than the M42 lens for that reason. Check the Automat’s coupling on the body you mean to use. On Schafer’s Kiev-10 the body would not stop his lens down. Osborne found that no rear caps were made for the Automat lenses, so the clear plastic case they came in is worth having. Mount an MC Mir-20N gently on a Nikon. Digital Camera Watch warns that Arsenal’s bayonet is close to Nikon AI but not identical, and that Soviet-era Arsenal lenses can stick on bodies such as the FA, F-301 and F4 and refuse to come off.

Reviewers agree on the rendering. Borodin and Toivonen both find the centre sharp and the edges noticeably softer, and Borodin found virtually no distortion. The single-coated lenses flare badly and the MC versions handle back light much better, so Borodin and an MFLenses owner both advise buying an MC lens. The bulging front element stands proud of the barrel and is the first thing to check for scratches. Some lenses on the market have been converted for video with geared rings and other mounts. Those conversions are later work, not factory versions.

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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 Mir-20 20mm f/3.5? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $500 across 26 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $450–$690). First day tracked.

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

2022-23 RAFA MIR 20/35 PANINI SELECT LALIGA SANTANDER FIELD LEVEL TIE-DYE — $10.88 · eBay
Mir-20M MC 20mm F3.5 Weitwinkel M42 Objektiv KMZ — €150.00 · eBay · likely mir-20M NEW
MIR-20 Automat lens 20 мм f3.5 wide angle bracing KIEV -10 KIEV-15 USSR 810428 — $250.00 · eBay · likely automat
Soviet MIR-20 AUTOMAT 20mm/3.5 , lens with KIEV-10/-15 mount . — $295.00 · eBay · likely automat
KMZ Mir-20M 3.5/20 M42 READ READ — €300.00 · eBay · likely mir-20M
Soviet MIR-20H MC 3.5/20mm Nikon F Mount Lens *READ* — €309.12 · eBay · likely MC-mir-20N
MIR-20H MC 3.5/20mm f/3.5 20mm mount Nikon F No.860241 Wide Angle — $399.00 · eBay · likely MC-mir-20N
Lens Russi MIR-20 automat 3.5/20mm for Kiev 10 15 Mint- Box — $399.00 · eBay · likely automat
[N MINT] Zenit MC MIR-20M 20mm f/3.5 Wide Angle MF Lens For M42 Mount JAPAN 7962 — $399.99 · eBay
Mir-20M MC 20 mm f 3.5, m42 mount, tappi — €390.00 · eBay · likely mir-20M
UDSSR MIR-20 Abtomat 3,5/20 mm Weitwinkel mit Bajonett für die Kiev 10 und 15 — €398.00 · eBay
MC MIR-20M 20mm f/3.5 M42 Weitwinkelobjektiv Wide Angle Lens USSR KMZ — €399.00 · eBay NEW
Lens USSR MIR-20 automat 3.5/20mm Wide Angle Mount Kiev-automat for Kiev 10/15 — €400.00 · eBay · likely automat
M42 Mount [MINT w/ Cap] Zenit MC MIR 20M 20mm f3.5 Wide Angle MF Lens From JAPAN — $449.99 · eBay
MC MIR-20H 3,5/20 мм lens adapted M42 the USSR — $450.00 · eBay · likely MC-mir-20N
Soviet MIR-20 Avtomat 20mm f/3.5 Ultra Wide Angle Lens Kiev-10 Kiev-15 — $450.00 · eBay · likely automat
Lens USSR Mir 20 3.5/20 №820070 mount Kiev full set — $459.00 · eBay
RARE! MC MIR 20 H Adapted For M 3.5/20mm Wide Angle lens M42 #851862 + Filters — $480.00 · eBay NEW
Vintage Objektiv KMZ Zenit MC MIR-20M 20mm f3.5 Russia Superweitwinkel M42 — €450.00 · eBay
KMZ Mir-20M 20mm f/3.5 SLR №870548 M42-mount — $499.00 · Uralseller (Alex) · likely mir-20M

Show 26 more listings

MC MIR-20H 20mm f3.5 Nikon AI Wide Angle Lens Soviet USSR + Case — $499.00 · eBay · likely MC-mir-20N
[Mint] Zenit MC MIR-20M 20mm f3.5 Wide Angle MF Lens From JAPAN — $499.99 · eBay
MIR-20M 20 mm 3,5/20 Wide Angle Vintage Soviet Lens — $510.00 · eBay · likely mir-20M
MC Mir-20H Objektiv 20 mm f/3,5 UdSSR für Kiew, Nikon. Nikon F Halterung. Mir 20 — €468.00 · eBay · likely MC-mir-20N
KMZ Mir-20M 20mm f/3.5 SLR №870548 M42-mount — €474.05 · eBay · likely mir-20M
[MINT] Zenit MC MIR-20M 20mm f3.5 Wide Angle MF Lens For M42 Mount From JAPAN — $529.90 · eBay
KMZ MIR-20M 20mm f/3,5 M42 — €490.00 · eBay · likely mir-20M
KMZ Zenit MC Mir-20M 3.5/20mm Weitwinkelobjektiv mit M42 Gewinde — €498.00 · eBay
MC MIR 20 H 3.5 20mm Nikon F — €500.00 · eBay
RARE! MC MIR 20 H Adapted For M 3.5/20mm Wide Angle lens M42 #851862 + Filters — A$857.00 · eBay NEW
MIR-20M 20mm f/3,5 excellent Wide Angle M42 lens USSR — $560.00 · eBay · likely mir-20M
[Near MINT] Zenit Wide angle MC MIR 20 M 20mm f3.5 Lens for M42 Mount from JAPAN — $580.99 · eBay NEW
RAR! MC MIR 20 H angepasst für M 3,5/20mm Weitwinkelobjektiv M42 #851862 +... — €541.12 · eBay NEW
Vintage Objektiv KMZ Zenit MC Mir-20M 3.5/20mm Lens M42 UDSSR — €550.00 · eBay
Rare Zenit KMZ MC MIR-20M 20mm F3.5 Wide Angle Lens M42 Three types of filters — $688.00 · eBay
RARE MC MIR-20H 20mm f3.5 Nikon AI Wide Angle Lens Soviet USSR — $690.00 · eBay · likely MC-mir-20N NEW
Sowjetisch Russisch CCCP USSR MC MIR-20M Objektiv 20 mm f/3,5 3,5/20 Weitwinkel Kamera m42 — £570.01 · eBay
Mir-20 20mm F3.5 Anamorphic Oval Bokeh Cine Mod M4/3 Mount Soviet Lens — $950.00 · eBay
Mir-20 20mm F3.5 Anamorphic Oval Bokeh Cine Mod Sony E Mount Soviet Lens — $950.00 · eBay
Mir MIR-20M 20mm f/3.5 Wide Angle Manual Focus M42 Lens w/ Case & Filters — $999.00 · eBay · likely mir-20M
MIR - 20M 20mm f3.5 Objektiv mit 114mm Front OD CineHousing (L Mount) — £773.50 · eBay · likely mir-20M
Zenit MC MIR-20M 20mm f3.5 wide angle lens for Minolta - TOP Zustand! — €1,000.00 · eBay
Soviet lens MC Mir-20N 3,5/20 Vintage Lens + M42 adapted for Сanon — $1,200.00 · eBay · likely MC-mir-20N
ARRI PL Mir 20 20mm T3.6 Rehouse Cine Lens PL Mount Soviet Lens Cinema Look — $1,319.99 · eBay
ANAMORPHIC AMBER BOKEH & Flare Mir 20m 3.5/20mm Cinemod Canon EF Vintage lens — $1,500.00 · eBay · likely mir-20M
【ZENIT】ゼニット MC MIR-20M 20mm F3.5 ロシアレンズ — from ¥50,000 · Yahoo! Auctions Japan · auction 2026-11-11

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 2026-11-10. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.