Mir-69 45mm f/3.5

Arsenal · Pentacon Six + Kiev 88 · 1989

Also known as: Mir-69 · Mir 69 · MIR-69 45mm · Mir 69 45mm · Mir-69 3.5/45 · Mir-69 45mm f/3.5 · Mir-69 45mm f3.5 · MC Mir-69 · MC Mir 69 · Mir-69B · Mir 69B · Mir-69V · Mir 69V · MC Mir-69B · MC Mir-69V · Arsenal Mir-69 · Мир-69 · МИР-69 · Мир-69Б · Мир-69В

Variants & identification

Variant	Mount	Years	Serial ranges	Production
MC Mir-69B (МС МИР-69Б), Kiev-60 / Pentacon Six mount	Pentacon Six	1989–1992	890001: acceptance certificate of an MC Mir-69B, handwritten date November 1992 (photographed on photohistory.ru) 890009: engraved МС МИР-69Б, Arsenal logo (photographed on photohistory.ru)	Small lots; TRA reports 'according to some sources, probably less than 20' made of the lens in all
MC Mir-69V (МС МИР-69В), Salyut / Kiev-88 mount	Kiev 88	1991	910012: engraved МС МИР-69В, Arsenal logo (photographed on photohistory.ru)	Small lots (allphotolenses); no figure
MC Mir-69 (МС МИР-69), Kiev-90 version	Pentacon Six (Kiev-90 version)	—	—	—

Specifications by source. TRA's table: 45 mm f/3.5, 83°, 0.5 m, M67 × 0.75, 76 × 61 mm, 450 g, preview lever. Abramov: 83°, 0.5 m, M67 × 0.75, 76 × 61, 0.45 kg. Allphotolenses: f/3.5–22, 0.5 m, 67 mm filter, 0.45 kg and a length of 76 mm. TRA's column is headed 'diameter × length', so the header takes 76 mm across and 61 mm long; allphotolenses' 76 mm length disagrees. TRA notes that most of his table comes from published data rather than his own measurements. The f/22 minimum is also engraved on the photographed lenses. No source gives the number of blades.
Resolution: TRA cites 'one report' of 55 lp/mm in the centre and 21 lp/mm in the corners, against 45 and 16 for the Mir-26. TRA does not name the report.
Dates and quantity: TRA writes that it was 'apparently produced in tiny quantities between 1989 and 1991' and that 'according to some sources, probably less than 20' were made; Abramov gives 1989–1992 and says it was not produced in series; allphotolenses says it never went into series production and was made in small lots for the B and V mounts. The November 1992 certificate supports Abramov's later end date. The leaflet's specification number, TU 3-3.2235-90, carries the suffix -90, which in Soviet practice usually gives the year the specification was approved.
Maker: Abramov credits the Arsenal plant. The leaflet's cover names the Arsenal production association and its Uman Vega plant, and its certificate gives the Vega plant at Uman as the address for complaints, so at least some lenses were finished at Uman. Every photographed lens carries the Arsenal logo.
Not linked to the original Salyut (1957–72). Matt's Classic Cameras writes that the earlier Salyuts and their lenses had a different aperture coupling from the Salyut-S and that the lenses do not interchange unless the coupling is removed; Sovietcams, after commiecameras.com, says only the last Salyuts, exported as the Zenit 80, had a slightly modified mount that accepts and works the later lenses. The leaflet names only the Kiev 88 and Kiev 88 TTL for the V. Russian Wikipedia says all Kiev-88 accessories fit the Salyut.

How to tell them apart (expand)

Engraved 'МС МИР-69' with a letter after the number: Б (B) for the Pentacon Six breech-lock of the Kiev-60, В (V) for the Salyut / Kiev-88 thread. The letter is Cyrillic and Western sellers often write 'B' for both, so check the mount: three narrow tabs and a locking ring for the B, a wide coarse thread for the V
Not to be confused with the common Mir-26 of the same focal length and aperture, which it was meant to replace. The Mir-69 is far smaller: a 67 mm filter thread against the Mir-26's 82 mm, about 450 g against 650 g (TRA). The name ring reads МИР-69, not МИР-26, and the lens is red-'MC' multi-coated
Rubber-studded focusing and aperture rings, with the aperture ring at the back next to the mount (TRA)
A diaphragm with a preset mechanism that leaves it open for viewing and focusing (the leaflet); allphotolenses calls it an instant-return diaphragm

MC Mir-69B (МС МИР-69Б), Kiev-60 / Pentacon Six mount:

Name ring engraved 'МС МИР-69Б 3,5/45' with the serial and the Arsenal logo: Cyrillic Б, the Latin B
The Pentacon Six breech-lock at the rear, with a locking ring. The leaflet lists this version for the Kiev-60 TTL; it also fits the Kiev-6S, Kiev-88CM, Pentacon Six, Praktisix and Exakta 66
A depth-of-field preview (stop-down) lever on the barrel, which TRA's example has and his data table records

MC Mir-69V (МС МИР-69В), Salyut / Kiev-88 mount:

Name ring engraved 'МС МИР-69В 3,5/45': Cyrillic В, which is the Latin V. In Latin type the В looks like a B, so a Kiev-88 lens can be listed as a 'Mir-69B'. Go by the mount in the photographs
The Salyut / Kiev-88 thread-and-bayonet mount: the lens screws in on a wide, coarse thread, with no locking ring and no breech-lock tabs. The leaflet lists this version for the Kiev 88 and Kiev 88 TTL; it does not fit the Kiev-60, Pentacon Six or Kiev-88CM without an adapter

MC Mir-69 (МС МИР-69), Kiev-90 version:

Per the leaflet, the name without a mount letter, 'МС МИР-69', is the version for the Kiev-90. No photograph of one has been published, so its engraving and mount are not confirmed here

MC Mir-69B (МС МИР-69Б), Kiev-60 / Pentacon Six mount: The only version with a published owner's account. TRA bought his lens from Gevorg Vartanyan of Araxfoto and used it on a Pentacon Six. He found it virtually identical in size to the Vega-28B 120mm, so the front of the Pentacon Six case will not quite close over it, but massively smaller than the Mir-26B, on 67 mm filters instead of 82 mm and at a little over two-thirds of the weight. His example has rubber-studded grips on the focusing and aperture rings; the aperture ring is stiff but the diaphragm snaps shut fast. The aperture ring sits next to the body and the focusing ring in front of it, the other way round from the Mir-26B. The acceptance certificate for no. 890001 names TU 3-3.2235-90 as the specification and gives the Vega plant in Uman as the address for complaints, with its quality-control stamp.
MC Mir-69V (МС МИР-69В), Salyut / Kiev-88 mount: Known here from one photographed lens and from the leaflet, which gives the MC Mir-69V for the Kiev 88 and Kiev 88 TTL. Allphotolenses also says small lots were made for both the B and the V mounts. No owner's account of this version has been published.
MC Mir-69 (МС МИР-69), Kiev-90 version: Listed in the Arsenal / Uman Vega leaflet as the MC Mir-69 for the Kiev-90, alongside the B and V versions. No example of a Kiev-90 lens is shown in the sources, and no other source mentions it. The Kiev-90 has a Pentacon Six-type breech-lock with an extra tab that takes the aperture value from a matching finger on its own versions of the lenses (TRA, pentaconsix.com), so this version is filed under the Pentacon Six mount, like the Kiev-90 versions of the Volna-3 and Vega-28.

Serial-range notes

890001, 890009, 910012: Read the usual way for Arsenal lenses, with the year in the first two digits, these would be lenses of 1989 and 1991, which fits the 1989–1991 TRA gives and the 1989–1992 in Abramov. But the acceptance certificate for no. 890001 carries a handwritten date of November 1992. A serial of 89 on a lens passed in 1992 suggests that the number was not a dependable date for this lens; the reading is the convention sellers use, not something an Arsenal document states.

Specifications

Formula: Nine elements. The Arsenal / Uman Vega instruction leaflet calls it a nine-element (девятилинзовая) wide-angle with a movable optical component for better results at close range; TRA quotes one report giving nine elements in seven groups, one element more than the Mir-26
Construction: 9 elements
Aperture range: f/3.5–f/22
Min. focus: 0.5 m
Dimensions: 76 × 61 mm
Weight: 450 g
Filter: 67 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
Years manufactured: 1989–1992
Country: Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR: the Arsenal production association, Kiev, and its Vega plant at Uman); Ukraine after 1991
Coating: Multi-coated: 'MC' engraved in red on the name ring, and the leaflet says the lenses have multilayer coating (многослойное просветление)

What reviewers say

TRA (pentaconsix.com) (blog) — His Mir-69B looks at least as good as the Mir-26B optically, probably better, with excellent resolution and chromatic aberration very well corrected, in a much smaller and lighter lens. The barrel distortion is virtually identical to the Mir-26B's.
TRA (pentaconsix.com) (blog) — In a wide-angle comparison on the Pentacon Six, the Mir-69B shows clear barrel distortion like the MC Arsat B (a multi-coated Mir-26B) and slightly less chromatic aberration; the Pentax 67 45mm beats both on distortion, colour fringing and corner illumination.

History

The Mir-69 is the 45mm f/3.5 wide-angle that Arsenal meant to put in place of the Mir-26 on its 6×6 SLRs and never put into series production. It covers 83° on 6×6, which TRA found exactly the same angle of view as the Mir-26B, but it is a far smaller lens: 67 mm filters against 82 mm, about 450 g against 650 g, 76 mm across and about 61 mm long. TRA, who owns a Mir-69B, found it virtually the size of the Vega-28B 120mm. The instruction leaflet calls it a nine-element multi-coated wide-angle with a preset diaphragm and a movable optical component that improves the image at close range; TRA quotes an unnamed report of nine elements in seven groups, one more than the Mir-26. It focuses to 0.5 m and stops down to f/22.

The dates and numbers are thin, and the sources say so. TRA writes that it was “apparently produced in tiny quantities between 1989 and 1991”, and that some sources put the total at probably fewer than 20. Abramov gives 1989–1992 and says it was not produced in series. Allphotolenses says small lots were made for both mounts. An acceptance certificate photographed on Abramov’s page passes lens no. 890001 in November 1992, which supports the later end date. The leaflet’s cover names the Arsenal production association and its Vega plant at Uman, and the certificate gives Uman as the address for complaints, although every lens photographed carries the Arsenal logo. TRA puts its failure to reach series production down to timing: it was developed in the last days of the Soviet command economy.

The leaflet lists three versions: the MC Mir-69B for the Kiev-60 TTL, the MC Mir-69V for the Kiev 88 and Kiev 88 TTL, and an MC Mir-69 with no letter for the Kiev-90. A B (no. 890009) and a V (no. 910012) are photographed on Abramov’s page; no lens for the Kiev-90 is shown. TRA, who notes that Arsenal made nearly every lens in both mounts, names the Mir-69B as a possible exception, and his account does not cover the V, so the evidence for it rests on the leaflet, the one photographed lens and allphotolenses. The letter after the number is Cyrillic, and the В of the Kiev-88 version reads as a Latin B, so a seller’s “Mir-69B” can be either. The mount settles it: the B has the Pentacon Six breech-lock with a locking ring and fits the Kiev-60, Kiev-6S, Kiev-88CM, Pentacon Six, Praktisix and Exakta 66; the V screws into the Salyut-thread Kiev-88. TRA’s B has a stop-down lever on the barrel, which he notes is useful for stop-down metering on a Pentacon Six or Kiev-88, bodies without a stop-down lever of their own.

Optically TRA rates it at least as good as the Mir-26B and probably better, with excellent resolution and chromatic aberration well corrected at normal enlargements. It did not cure the Mir-26’s barrel distortion, which he found virtually identical in both, and in a test against the Pentax 67 45mm on a Pentacon Six both Mirs (the Mir-26 represented by a multi-coated MC Arsat B) showed clear barrel distortion and some colour fringing at large sizes, the Mir-69 slightly less than the Mir-26. A buyer should start by confirming that it is a Mir-69 at all: the name ring must read МИР-69, and the lens must be the small one on 67 mm filters, not the common 82 mm Mir-26 or a multi-coated Arsat 45 built from it. Then check the mount against the letter, and work the diaphragm at every stop. TRA’s aperture ring was stiff, although the blades snapped shut quickly. With so few made, TRA notes that the price, when one turns up, reflects the scarcity; no period list price is known.

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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.

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