[Leica] Universal viewfinder turret Russian Contax copy

[msmall at infionline.net (Marc James Small)]

At 09:34 PM 8/23/05 +0200, Philippe Orlent wrote:
>Does anybody uses it? And is happy with it?
>I recently acquired ridiculously cheap a Kiev 4AM with a Jupiter 50 and 35,
>so I need something cheap but useable to put on top of it :-)
>I could go for a Sea&Sea or Nikonos VF with a smaller range, too, but those
>will look monstruous on it.
>(I also know the Cosina alternatives, but they cost about 3 times the price
>of the camera, so I do not consider that an option)

Well, for starters, the Soviet/Post-Soviet multiple-frame VF's are from the
Ukraine and not from Russia, though a Russian plant at Great Rostov did
make both 35mm and 85mm individual-frame VF units.

The Prewar Zeiss Ikon 436 viewfinder was cloned by the Soviets at the
Arenal works in two forms, one for the LTM FED and Zorki Cameras which
bends to the right as viewed from the rear, and the other, bending to the
left as viewed from the rear, for the Contax and Kiev RF cameras.  The idea
was to keep the optical axis of the auxiliary VF over the optical axis of
the lens.

Zeiss Ikon made these VF in a range of variations both before and after the
War but the ones the Soviets decided to copy afforded 28mm, 35mm, 50mm,
85mm, and 135mm.  

The views are clear and clean, the cost is low, and the utility is most
high.  As others have pointed out, the Leitz IMARECT is a weak
second-string player compared to this gem.  (And the Postwar West German
Zeiss Ikon VF is even better, but the Soviets never chose to clone that
design.)

I have a number of these both from Zeiss Ikon and from the Arsenal Works in
the Ukraine and all are of the first water.

Look for FEDKA's auctions on eBay, as he generally has some of these for
sale, and tell Yuri I said hello!  (He is both a vendor and a scholar, by
the way.)

Best,

Marc

msmall@aya.yale.edu 
Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!

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