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

Tair-33 300mm f/4.5

Arsenal · Kiev 88 + Pentacon Six · 1964

Also known as: Tair-33 · Tair 33 · Tair33 · Tair-33B · Tair 33B · Tair-33 B · Tair-33V · Tair 33V · Tair-33 V · Tayir-33 · Tayir 33 · TAIR-33 4.5/300 · Tair-33 300mm · Tair 33 300mm · Tair-33 300mm f/4.5 · Tair-33 4,5/300 · Arsenal Tair-33 · Таир-33 · Таир 33 · Таир-33Б · Таир-33В

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Tair-33V (Таир-33В), Salyut / Kiev-88 thread Kiev 88 — — —
Tair-33B (Таир-33Б), Kiev-6S / Kiev-60 / Pentacon Six breech-lock Pentacon Six — — —
  1. Specifications: 302.6 mm exact focal length, 15° field, f/4.5–22, closest focus 3 m, filter M88×0.75, resolution at least 25/18 lines/mm centre/edge and light transmission at least 0.85 (Abramov, photohistory.ru; ru Wikipedia's Tair article gives the same 302.6 mm and 15°). Four elements in three groups in the araxfoto table, which TRA reproduces, in Kevin Kalsbeek's kievaholic table and at allphotolenses; Abramov calls it a four-lens objective. The 99 × 242 mm dimensions are TRA's (kievaholic: 98 × 240 mm). allphotolenses gives 320 mm long and 16 diaphragm blades; no other source gives a blade count, and the header leaves it out.
  2. Weight is not settled, so the header leaves it out: 1.7 kg (Abramov; allphotolenses 1700 g), 1.73 kg (kievaholic), 1.75 kg (araxfoto) and 1879 g (TRA's table, which he says is mostly from published data rather than his own scale). Every figure is about 1.7 to 1.9 kg.
  3. Dates: Abramov gives 1964(?)–1975(?), both question marks his, and allphotolenses repeats 1964–1975. The header uses them as he gives them. TRA writes that the makers received a 'Grand Prix' for this lens at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair and cited it in their publicity for decades, which would put the lens six years earlier. No other source consulted says so, and an MFLenses moderator calls his 35mm-format Tair-3A the 'Brussels Grand Prix 1958' (3 m closest focus, 70 mm filter, 1.295 kg), so the award may belong to the Tair-3 rather than to the Tair-33.
  4. Abramov records that the lens was also supplied, at f/5.6, with the special-purpose Kiev-S-SKD camera, part of that output being called Tair-33-S, and that by some reports there was a 5.6/300 Tair-33 for the Kiev-S-SKD for unmanned photography with no focusing ring. No example or second source was found, so neither has a variant row.
  5. TRA reports export lenses with the name ring in Latin letters reading 'TAYIR', which he takes as meant to show that the name has two syllables; he notes that the Photosniper's Tair-3S was lettered 'TAIR'. Kevin Kalsbeek's kievaholic table also spells the lens 'Tayir-33'. The page lists both spellings as aliases.
  6. No period retail price for the lens was found. allphotolenses gives an average second-hand price of $67 from its users' reports; this is not a period price.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • A 300mm f/4.5 for the Arsenal 6×6 SLRs, about 1.7 to 1.9 kg, with an 88 mm filter thread and an extremely shallow built-in retractable hood (TRA); the cap is a screw-in metal one (TRA)
  • Manual preset diaphragm: one ring pre-selects the aperture, and a second ring or lever opens the lens fully for focusing and closes it to the pre-set value without looking at the scale. There is no aperture pin and no automatic diaphragm on either version (TRA)
  • Name ring in Cyrillic, ТАИР-33, or on some export lenses in Latin as TAYIR (TRA). Not the Tair-3, Tair-3A or Tair-3S: those are 300mm f/4.5 lenses for 35mm cameras and the Photosniper, in M39 or M42 (English Wikipedia), and smaller (TRA): an MFLenses owner's Tair-3A weighs 1.295 kg and takes a 70 mm filter
  • Two mounts with the same optics. В (V), the Salyut / Kiev-88 thread, is the common one; Б (B), the Pentacon Six breech-lock, is rare. Western sellers write 'B' for both, because the Cyrillic В looks like a Latin B, so look at the rear of the lens: a wide coarse thread for the V, three tabs and a locking ring for the B

Tair-33V (Таир-33В), Salyut / Kiev-88 thread:

  • The Salyut / Kiev-88 thread-and-bayonet at the rear: the lens screws in on a wide, coarse thread, with no locking ring and no narrow tabs
  • Cyrillic В after the number in ru Wikipedia's Salyut lens table, which is the Latin V. In Latin type the В reads as a B, so a lens sold as 'Tair-33B' may well be this one. Go by the mount in the photographs, not the letter in the title
  • No aperture-coupling pin: a manual preset lens (TRA), so it needs nothing from the body's diaphragm drive and fits the first Salyut, the Salyut-S, the Kiev-80 and the Kiev-88 alike
  • Listings for this mount are titled with the camera, 'Kiev 88 mount', 'Salut, Salut S' or 'for Kiev-88 cameras'

Tair-33B (Таир-33Б), Kiev-6S / Kiev-60 / Pentacon Six breech-lock:

  • The Praktisix / Pentacon Six breech-lock at the rear: three narrow tabs and a separate locking ring, as on the Zeiss Jena and Meyer 300mm lenses for the same cameras
  • Cyrillic Б, which is the Latin B. ru Wikipedia names this version Таир-33Б; no source consulted shows whether the letter is engraved on the lens, and the 'B' in a Western title is as likely to be the Kiev-88 lens's В, so check the mount
  • Still a manual preset lens with no aperture pin. On a Pentacon Six the body's own aperture-pin lever stays idle, and TRA notes that it can be folded back when this lens is used on extension tubes

Specifications

Formula
Tair — the long-focus scheme of David Volosov (1943); 4 elements in 3 groups
Designed by
Volosov David — Devised the Tair optical scheme in 1943, for long-range aerial reconnaissance in poor light (ru Wikipedia); no source consulted names who calculated the Tair-33 itself
Construction
4 elements / 3 groups
Aperture range
f/4.5–f/22
Min. focus
3 m
Dimensions
99 × 242 mm
Filter
88 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
Years manufactured
1964–1975
Country
Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR: Arsenal, Kiev)
Coating
Single-coated (allphotolenses). araxfoto says the Kiev medium-format lenses were multi-coated, but its table marks the Tair-33 among the lenses produced in several types of coating, multi-coated or single-coated

What reviewers say

History

The Tair-33 is the 300mm f/4.5 telephoto that Arsenal in Kiev made for its 6×6 single-lens reflexes. It belongs to the Tair family of long-focus lenses, whose optical scheme ru Wikipedia credits to David Volosov in 1943, and is the medium-format member of a line better known for the Tair-3 of the Photosniper. Abramov gives a four-lens design, four elements in three groups in every table that counts them, with an exact focal length of 302.6 mm, a 15° field, f/4.5 to f/22, a closest focus of 3 m and an 88 mm filter thread. It is heavy: the published weights run from 1.7 kg (Abramov) to 1879 g (TRA’s table). Abramov dates it 1964 to 1975, with a question mark against both years. TRA writes that Arsenal won a Grand Prix for the lens at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair and cited the award for decades. That would make it six years older, but no other source consulted repeats it, and the “Brussels Grand Prix 1958” lens that collectors talk about is the 35mm-format Tair-3A.

It mattered because for most of the Salyut’s life there was almost nothing else. ru Wikipedia’s Salyut article says that most of the system’s interchangeable lenses came only from 1978 onward, and that before then the Mir-3V wide-angle and the Tair-33V were the only ones available. The same article adds that specialists and professional photographers considered both of them unsuccessful. Owners who have used the Tair-33 tend to disagree. TRA calls it good but extremely heavy, and in his macro tests on a Pentacon Six an otherwise excellent lens. An MFLenses member who adapted one to a digital body in 2011 got pictures the forum admired but found it too heavy to keep.

The lens is entirely manual. There is no aperture pin and no automatic diaphragm. A preset ring lets the lens be opened fully for focusing and then closed to the chosen aperture without looking at the scale. TRA notes that an automatic diaphragm was a very new idea when the lens was designed. Because it takes nothing from the body’s diaphragm drive, the Kiev-88-mount lens works the same on the first Salyut, the Salyut-S, the Kiev-80 and the Kiev-88. The built-in hood retracts and is, in TRA’s words, so shallow that it gives little shade. The cap screws on.

There are two versions with the same optics. The Tair-33V, Cyrillic В, has the Salyut / Kiev-88 thread and is the one normally found; araxfoto says it was the only one made. The Tair-33B, Cyrillic Б, has the Praktisix / Pentacon Six breech-lock of the Kiev-6S and Kiev-60. It is rare, but it exists. TRA photographs his own example beside a Tair-3S and alongside the Zeiss Jena and Meyer 300mm lenses for the Pentacon Six, and ru Wikipedia’s Kiev-60 article lists it. Because the Cyrillic В looks like a Latin B, Western listings call both lenses “Tair-33B”, and no source consulted shows whether the mount letter is engraved at all. Judge by the rear of the lens: a wide, coarse thread for the V, three narrow tabs and a locking ring for the B. Some export lenses carry the name in Latin letters as TAYIR (TRA). Abramov also records an f/5.6 version, part of it named Tair-33-S, for the special-purpose Kiev-S-SKD camera. No example of it has been found.

When buying, first make sure the listing is a Tair-33 and not a Tair-3 or Tair-3S. Those are 300mm f/4.5 lenses for 35mm cameras in M39 or M42, and smaller: an MFLenses owner’s Tair-3A weighs 1.295 kg and takes a 70 mm filter. Then check the mount against the body. Work the preset ring and the aperture ring through their full travel and turn the focusing ring from 3 m to infinity. The MFLenses owner’s lens had a few rust spots towards the front and on the cap. No period retail price was found, and second-hand prices are modest: allphotolenses’ users put the average at about $67.

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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

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Sample photo wanted — shot with a Tair-33 300mm f/4.5? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $160 across 9 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $150–$180). First day tracked.

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

Listings updated 2026-11-10. 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.