C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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rangefinder-35mm
The Kiev 3A (1956) is a refined version of the Kiev 3, produced by the Arsenal factory in Kiev, Ukraine. It retains the Kiev 3's key feature — the **uncoupled selenium exposure meter** mounted on the front face — and adds a **PC flash sync port** operating at approximately 1/25s. This makes the 3A the most fully equipped body in the pre-Kiev-4 lineage, combining the meter of the 3 with the sync capability introduced on the 2A.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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About this camera
The metered Kiev rangefinder — finally with flash sync. The Kiev 3A combines the selenium meter of the Kiev 3 with a PC sync port, making it the most complete of the pre-Kiev-4 bodies.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Contax/Kiev (Contax rangefinder bayonet) |
| Years | 1956–~1958 |
| Shutter | 1/2s – 1/1250s + B, mechanical vertical metal curtain |
| Flash sync | ~1/25s (PC port) |
| Meter | Selenium uncoupled (no battery required) |
| Modes | Manual |
| Weight | ~ |
| Battery | None |
The Kiev 3A appeared in 1956 alongside the Kiev 2A, representing Arsenal's effort to update both the metered and unmetered branches of the Kiev II/III family before the launch of the Kiev 4 series in 1957. The Kiev 3 (1952–1957) had added the selenium meter to the Kiev 2 chassis but omitted flash synchronisation — a significant practical limitation by the mid-1950s.
The 3A addressed that gap. However, production was brief. The Kiev 4 (1957) consolidated the sync port, an improved meter, and other refinements into a new body, effectively replacing both the 2A and 3A simultaneously. The 3A is consequently rarer than the Kiev 3 or Kiev 4.
The 3A corresponds loosely to the Contax IIIa (1950), which similarly added sync and meter refinements to the Contax III, although the correspondence is not exact — Arsenal's update schedule did not track Zeiss Ikon's precisely.
For users of the Kiev/Contax system who prefer not to carry a hand meter, the Kiev 3A is the most practical of the early bodies: it offers both flash capability and a usable (if uncoupled) meter in one package. The selenium meter is passive and battery-free — a practical advantage for long-term reliability, provided the cell has retained sensitivity.
The 3A is slightly more collectible than the Kiev 3 due to lower production volume, and it sits at a crossroads in the Kiev family tree where the metered and sync-enabled branches merged before both were superseded by the Kiev 4. Cameras in good condition command a modest premium over Kiev 3 prices.
Contax/Kiev bayonet mount: Jupiter-3 50/1.5 (Sonnar copy), Jupiter-8 50/2 (Sonnar copy), Jupiter-12 35/2.8 (Biogon copy), Jupiter-9 85/2 (Sonnar copy). Genuine Zeiss Contax lenses (pre- and post-war) are fully compatible. LTM adapters for Leica-thread lenses available but require manual parallax correction in the finder.
C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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