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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slr-35mm
The Kiev 17 is a 35mm SLR manufactured by Arsenal in Kyiv, Ukraine, introduced around 1977. It uses the M42 screw mount - the standard Soviet and Eastern European SLR lens thread - and offers aperture-priority automatic exposure alongside manual control. The shutter is electronically governed and requires batteries to operate; there is no mechanical fallback speed. The Kiev 17 occupied a mid-tier position in Arsenal's product line, above the simpler domestic Zenits but below the Nikon F-compatible Kiev 19. Build quality varies between units, consistent with Arsenal's production standards of the period.
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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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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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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Before you buy used
About this camera
Arsenal's mid-tier M42 SLR with aperture-priority automation - a Soviet attempt at competitive 1970s feature parity.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | M42 (42mm screw) |
| Years | ~1977 - ~1985 |
| Shutter | 1s - 1/1000s + B, electronic vertical metal |
| Flash sync | ~1/60s |
| Meter | Center-weighted TTL |
| Modes | Aperture-priority, manual |
| Weight | ~620 g |
| Battery | 2x AA (required - no mechanical fallback) |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism, ~92% coverage |
Arsenal produced a succession of 35mm SLRs through the 1970s and 1980s, primarily to serve the Soviet domestic market and Eastern European export channels. The Kiev 17 arrived in 1977 as the factory's attempt to offer aperture-priority automation - a feature that was becoming standard on Japanese cameras from Canon, Olympus, and Minolta at the time. The M42 mount was a logical choice: a large installed base of Soviet and East German lenses (Helios, Jupiter, Flektogon, Tessar derivatives) was already in circulation. The Kiev 17 was eventually succeeded by the Kiev 20, which refined the automatic exposure implementation. Production is believed to have ended in the early-to-mid 1980s.
The Kiev 17's aperture-priority mode distinguishes it from the simpler Zenit cameras that dominated Soviet 35mm SLR production. For collectors and users, the combination of M42 mount and automatic exposure in a Soviet body is the key draw: access to a wide range of affordable M42 glass (Helios 44, Industar, Jupiter primes) with the convenience of semi-automatic metering.
The electronic-only shutter is a practical liability. A depleted battery renders the camera completely inoperable, unlike the mechanical Zenit E or Praktica L series. Meter calibration and shutter timing consistency vary between specimens - inherent to Arsenal's quality control practices of the period.
Mount: M42 (42mm x 1mm thread). Compatible with the full M42 ecosystem, including:
Adapters: M42 to modern mirrorless mounts (Sony E, Fuji X, Micro Four Thirds) allow use of M42 glass on digital bodies.
BW
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 Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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