Sputnik-4 20mm prototype

[darkkavenger]

Hello, do you ever heard of this Sputnik-4 wide angle lens for Kiev-Contax ? It seems it was developed by GOI and then by KMZ....

I'll have to look more thoroughly at the russian text tonight when I get home. Meanwhile, let's see who has some valuable info about it 🙂

From the lens design, it seems that it's a KIEV/CONTAX version of the Russar MR2 ...

Cheers,
Max

 

[santino]

unfortunately I've never heard about it. sounds interesting 🙂

 

[darkkavenger]

Seems that it was a prototype... and that they instead made a Kiev-mount Russar MR2 ... more tonight!

 

[santino]

I've got something interesting too. I have a russian camera book and there is a Leningrad camera (without spring motor, brass shutter and totally different framelines). it isn't listed as prototype, just a normal camera though I don't have any information of somebody who owns one. I'm going to post the page of the book, maybe anybody can help me 🙂 😀

 

[varjag]

There are some people who used Leningrads here, it is uncommon but not really a rarity. I had an opportunity to buy one locally for $60, but it is LTM and has its drawbacks (reliability, lens compatibility), so I passed on the deal.

Sputnik-4 was apparently made in a batch of less than 200 pieces. There were no factory-made Kiev Russars to my knowledge, those appearing on ebay seem to be custom conversions from LTM.

 

[santino]

there were 70.000 Leningrads but it's NOT a normal Leningrad which you can buy on ebay, I'll post pictures.

 

[darkkavenger]

Sputnik-4 was apparently made in a batch of less than 200 pieces. There were no factory-made Kiev Russars to my knowledge, those appearing on ebay seem to be custom conversions from LTM.

That's interesting to fall on something unusual... the lens design as depicted on KMZ website (www.zenit.istra.ru) looks like the design of the Russar MR2... I think that they also say that some of the MR2s were done in Kiev mount by GOI (I wish I knew what GOI is, a prototype factory, a research lab?) 🙂

 

[varjag]

That's interesting to fall on something unusual... the lens design as depicted on KMZ website (www.zenit.istra.ru) looks like the design of the Russar MR2... I think that they also say that some of the MR2s were done in Kiev mount by GOI (I wish I knew what GOI is, a prototype factory, a research lab?) 🙂

They say that Sputnik-4 was done both in LTM and Contax/Kiev mounts, and shared the finder with Russar MR-2. The latter was available in LTM only.

GOI is the acronym for State Optical Institute (Gosudarstvennyi Opticheskyi Institut), which is now known as LOMO.

 

[kbg32]

These are rare and expensive if you can find them.

 

[darkkavenger]

Thanks both!