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

Zodiak-8 30mm f/3.5 fisheye

Arsenal · Pentacon Six + Kiev 88 · 1978

Also known as: Zodiak-8 · Zodiak 8 · Zodiak-8 30mm · Zodiak 30mm f/3.5 · Zodiak 3.5/30 · Zodiak-8B · Zodiak 8B · Zodiak-8V · Zodiak 8V · Zodiac-8 · Zodiac 8 · Zodiac-8B · Arsenal Zodiak · Зодиак-8 · Зодиак 8 · Зодиак-8Б · Зодиак-8В · Arsat 30mm f/3.5 · Arsat 30mm f3.5 · Arsat 30mm · Arsat 30 mm f/3.5 · Arsat 30 mm · Arsat 3.5/30 · Arsat 30/3.5 · Arsat 30mm fisheye · Arsat fisheye · MC Arsat 30mm · MC Arsat 3.5/30 · Hartblei MC 3.5/30

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Zodiak-8B (Зодиак-8Б), Kiev-6S / Kiev-60 / Pentacon Six mount Pentacon Six — — —
Zodiak-8V (Зодиак-8В), Salyut / Kiev-88 mount Kiev 88 — — —
Arsat 30mm f/3.5 (single-coated, early 1990s rebadge) Pentacon Six — — —
MC Arsat 30mm f/3.5 (multi-coated) Pentacon Six — — —
  1. Specifications: 180° diagonal and 115° horizontal angle of view, 52/15 lines/mm centre/edge, 0.3 m, f/22, M38×0.5 rear filters and 1 kg from Abramov. TRA's data summary gives 180°, 0.3 m, rear M38×0.5, 110 × 97 mm and 1000 g for the Zodiak-8B. araxfoto gives 10/6, 60/14 lines/mm and 1.1 kg; Kamerastore 1000 g for a Pentacon Six lens and 1044 g for a Salyut-mount one. The six-blade diaphragm is from Kamerastore, not from an Arsenal document.
  2. Dates: Abramov says the lens was computed at GOI, which made a small batch in 1978, and that Arsenal made it from 1981(?) to 1994; the 1981 start is his own query. The 1978 in the header is the GOI batch. Russian Wikipedia's Salyut article says most of the interchangeable Kiev-88 lenses only went into production from 1978 onwards. The MC Arsat was still sold new in the 2000s, so 1994 is not the end of the lens; no final year is documented.
  3. TRA's lens-data summary reports a Hartblei MC 3.5/30, a modified Arsenal lens 'in variations', in Pentacon Six and other mounts. He describes no example of it, so it has no variant row.
  4. Arsat-engraved lenses in the Kiev-88 mount are offered by dealers, and Russian Wikipedia illustrates an Arsat 3,5/30 beside a Kiev-88 TTL without naming its mount; no source here describes one, so the two Arsat rows are given in the Pentacon Six mount that TRA documents.
  5. Coating: TRA calls the Zodiak-8B and the early Arsat single-coated and only the last MC Arsat multi-coated. Russian Wikipedia's family article says the lenses had multi-layer coating. araxfoto says in general that all its listed lenses were multi-coated, but marks the Zodiak-8 as made both ways. TRA's account, based on lenses he owns, is followed here.
  6. Kiev-90: TRA photographs his Kiev-90 with "a special version of the 30mm Zodiak lens", carrying the tab that passes the aperture value to the camera's meter. Its maximum aperture has been re-engraved as 4 and the lens will not open wider than f/4, which TRA puts down to a slight incompatibility between the lens's aperture ring and the camera's metering ring: at f/3.5 the tab could not reach its proper position against the body's (pentaconsix.com/k90.htm). He describes only his own example, so it has no variant row.
  7. 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. Russian Wikipedia says all Kiev-88 accessories fit the Salyut. Try the lens on the camera before buying it for a Salyut.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • One optical design under three names: ЗОДИАК-8 (Zodiak-8), ARSAT, and MC ARSAT. The letter after Zodiak-8 gives the mount: Б (B) for the Kiev-6S / Kiev-60 / Pentacon Six breech-lock, В (V) for the Salyut / Kiev-88 thread. Western sellers write 'B' for both, so check the mount itself: three lugs for B, a coarse helical thread for V
  • Huge bulbous front element inside a fixed petal hood; the front cap fits over the hood. No front filter thread
  • Four rear filters (orange, green, blue, UV) in M38×0.5; one must always be fitted, because the lens is computed with it in place (Russian Wikipedia says it will not focus to infinity without one). Check that a filter is in the rear of the lens and the other three are in the case lid
  • Fully automatic diaphragm pin at the rear and no depth-of-field preview lever. TRA warns that the older rear caps press on the aperture pin

Zodiak-8B (Зодиак-8Б), Kiev-6S / Kiev-60 / Pentacon Six mount:

  • Sold as the Zodiak-8B (Cyrillic Б, Latin B); single coating. The front ring of GevArt's Commons example reads only ЗОДИАК-8 3.5/30, so the letter may not be on the front: go by the mount
  • Pentacon Six mount: three lugs at the rear of the lens (the breech-lock ring is on the camera). Russian Wikipedia lists it for the Kiev-6S, Kiev-60 and Kiev-88CM; TRA used his on a Pentacon Six and an Exakta 66
  • Supplied in a hard case whose lid holds the three spare filters (TRA). GevArt's Commons photograph of the outfit shows the lens in its round hard case, three filters in the lid and a strap

Zodiak-8V (Зодиак-8В), Salyut / Kiev-88 mount:

  • Cyrillic В after the name, which is the Latin V. Because the В looks like a Latin B, sellers often list this version as 'Zodiak-8B': Kamerastore has sold a Salyut-mount lens under that name. Go by the mount in the photographs
  • Salyut thread-and-bayonet: the lens screws in on a coarse triple-start thread instead of three lugs (82.1 mm register, per Russian Wikipedia). TRA adds that some lenses were engraved in Latin script for export, so the markings alone can mislead
  • Russian Wikipedia lists it for the Zenit-80, Salyut, Salyut-S and Kiev-88

Arsat 30mm f/3.5 (single-coated, early 1990s rebadge):

  • ARSAT name in place of ЗОДИАК-8; otherwise almost identical to the Zodiak, with the same hard case and the same single coating
  • Small cosmetic changes, such as the pattern of the focusing-ring surface (TRA)

MC Arsat 30mm f/3.5 (multi-coated):

  • 'MC ARSAT' on the barrel; visibly different multi-coating reflections (TRA photographs the two side by side)
  • Soft nylon case in place of the hard case, polystyrene packaging, and a larger rear cap of an improved design that does not press on the aperture pin

Specifications

Formula
Diagonal fisheye, 10 elements in 6 groups, computed at GOI (Abramov). TRA compares Arsenal's diagram with the Zeiss 30mm Distagon for Hasselblad and finds the two designs different
Construction
10 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/3.5–f/22
Diaphragm blades
6
Min. focus
0.3 m
Dimensions
110 × 97 mm
Weight
1000 g
Filter
38 mm (0.5 mm pitch), M38×0.5 rear filters; one must always be fitted
Years manufactured
1978
Country
Soviet Union (designed at GOI, Leningrad; made by Arsenal, Kiev, Ukrainian SSR); Ukraine after 1991
Coating
Single-coated on the Zodiak-8 and the first Arsat lenses (TRA); multi-coated on the last MC Arsat. Russian Wikipedia, which lists Vorobei (1993) as its literature, says the lenses were multi-coated; araxfoto says the Zodiak-8 was made both single- and multi-coated
Original price
520 roubles, Soviet retail price in 1985 (Abramov). TRA gives about US$200 as the new retail price of the MC Arsat in the 2000s, against a reported US$6,000 for the Zeiss 30mm Distagon for Hasselblad

What reviewers say

Optical formula — Diagonal fisheye, 10 elements in 6 groups, computed at GOI (Abramov). TRA compares Arsenal's diagram with the Zeiss 30mm Distagon for Hasselblad and finds the two designs different

History

The Zodiak-8 is the fisheye of the Soviet 6×6 SLR systems, a 30mm f/3.5 that fills the whole square frame and covers 180 degrees across its diagonal. TRA calls it the widest lens available for full-frame 6×6, and compares it to a 16mm on 35mm. According to Abramov, it was computed at the State Optical Institute (GOI), which made a small batch in 1978. Arsenal in Kiev then made it from about 1981 to 1994, with a query on the first of those years. Abramov gives a retail price of 520 roubles in 1985. It has 10 elements in 6 groups, focuses to 0.3 m, stops down to f/22 and weighs about a kilogram. His entry is illustrated from Sovetskoe Foto no. 12 of 1981. Its outline resembles the Zeiss 30mm Distagon for Hasselblad. TRA compared the two lens diagrams and concludes that Arsenal did not simply copy the Zeiss design.

Arsenal made it in both of its medium-format mounts. The Zodiak-8B (Cyrillic Б) has the breech-lock of the Kiev-6S, Kiev-60 and Kiev-88CM, which is also the Pentacon Six mount. TRA used his on a Pentacon Six and an Exakta 66. The Zodiak-8V (Cyrillic В) screws into the Salyut, Salyut-S and Kiev-88. In Latin type the В reads as a B, so “Zodiak-8B” in a listing title does not settle the mount. Kamerastore has sold a Salyut-mount lens under that name. Check the photographs. The B has three lugs, and the V has a coarse triple-start thread. After the Soviet Union broke up, Arsenal renamed its lenses Arsat. TRA describes the first Arsat as the Zodiak with a new name, the same hard case and single coating, and small cosmetic changes such as the focusing-ring pattern. The last version, the MC Arsat, is multi-coated and comes in a soft nylon case with a better rear cap. TRA gives its new price in 2008 as about US$200, against a reported US$6,000 for the Zeiss lens. Kievaholic quotes the same $200 and calls the lens a bargain; in a passage quoted on the MFLenses forum the same site put the Distagon at about $5,000. Sources disagree on the coating of the early lenses. Russian Wikipedia says the family was multi-coated and araxfoto says it was made both ways. TRA, who owns a Zodiak-8B and an MC Arsat, says only the last version is multi-coated.

On the camera, the lens has a fully automatic diaphragm and no depth-of-field preview lever. TRA says it does not need one, because hyperfocal focusing gets almost everything sharp. A petal hood is built around the bulbous front element, so there is no front filter thread. Instead it takes four M38×0.5 filters at the rear: orange, green, blue and UV. One of them must always be fitted, because the optics are computed with it in place. Summing up side-by-side tests made by others, TRA calls it an amazingly sharp lens and one of Arsenal’s best, with coverage right into the corners, though the Zeiss lens sometimes shows a little more contrast. In one of his own interiors, shot wide open, he notes slight vignetting in the top corners. On the MFLenses forum one owner found it surprisingly sharp for a fisheye and only worth having on a Kiev or Pentacon body; another pointed out that adapted to a smaller digital sensor it loses some of its fisheye effect.

When buying, check the mount against the body first. Then check that a filter is screwed into the rear of the lens and that the other three are in the case lid. Russian Wikipedia says that without the rear filter the lens will not focus to infinity. The diaphragm should close smartly on release and open fully again. TRA warns that the older rear caps supplied with Ukrainian lenses slightly depress the aperture pin, which he thinks cannot be good for the aperture spring. The front element is exposed and large, so look for scratches and cleaning marks on it, and for haze in a lens this complex. Dealers give weights from 1000 g to 1044 g and araxfoto gives 1.1 kg, so a weight in a listing does not identify the version. TRA’s Hartblei list also reports a Hartblei MC 3.5/30, a modified Arsenal lens, but he describes no example.

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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

Sample photo taken with the Zodiak-8 30mm f/3.5 fisheye
Zodiak-8B 3.5/30 with front and rear caps — GevArt, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sample photo taken with the Zodiak-8 30mm f/3.5 fisheye
Zodiak-8B outfit: the round hard case, three spare filters in the lid, and the strap — GevArt, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sample photo taken with the Zodiak-8 30mm f/3.5 fisheye
Arsat 30mm fisheye on a Kiev-60 modified for 6×4.5 with mirror lock-up — Richard Carpenter (RichardCCarpenter at English Wikipedia), via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

More sample photos elsewhere

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

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Zodiak-8 30mm f/3.5 fisheye? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $390 across 20 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $350–$410). First day tracked.

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

Show 14 more listings

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

Sources (14)

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.