Week 45 - Kiev 15 TEE

Kiev 15, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

The Kiev 15 was made in the soviet union in the 1970s, this one dates from 1977. They were not made for export, and are quite unusual outside the Eastern Bloc. This one came with five lenses, including the 20mm Mir-20 pictured, the others are 37mm, 53mm, 85mm and 135mm. The lenses use a bayonet mount peculiar to this and the previous Kiev 10 model, later models, eg the Kiev 17 went on to use the Nikon mount for greater compatibility.
The aperture is set with a dial on the camera body, and there is no way to set the diaphragm directly on the lens, so even if adaptors were available, these lenses would be of very limited use to someone without the correct camera. That probably accounts for the relatively low price of these systems. The metal focal plane shutter has an unusual fan arrangement, which I have not seen on any other cameras. This is a heavy camera, and feels solid, but with fairly basic engineering standards, changing the lenses for example involves quite a lot of gentle persuasion!
I've loaded it with a roll of Rollei Retro black and white film.