Kiev - III ..... 35 mm Contax copy / coupled rangefinder with uncoupled selenium light meter
factory : Arsenal - V.I. Lenin / Kiev, Ukraine, USSR .... production: 1949 -1955 approx. 40,000
year : 1950 ..... body serial # : 50232 ....... lens : Zorki / rigid ZK 50 mm f.2 ........ lens serial # : 504487
(very few made in 1949 & 1950 ... probably only several hundred each year.)

notes : with original leather case. This is one of the first Kiev-IIIs made and has a very low serial number. It also has a rare version of the ZK 50 mm lens which has rigid construction rather than collapsible. Many of the parts, especially those on the top plate and light meter, are undoubtedly Contax parts that were brought back to the Soviet Union after World War II. The overall quality of the finish and the mechanics is very high compared to later examples of this model. Film speed marked in DIN.

A small celluloid calculator chart (see photos), made for the Kiev, was found in the back pocket of the case.