Why this is one of the most important camera reviews I’ve written.

For a while now, I’ve been planning on writing an article around the question, “who is still making new film cameras?”. That question was also going to be the title of the article, and I planned to review a few niche companies that are still producing film cameras in 2022, such as Dora Goodman, Mint Cameras, & Reto. The camera company I was most excited to review, however, is one called ARAX.

ARAX is a Ukrainian camera company based in Kyiv, and in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, I’ve decided to solely highlight ARAX for this article. This is both to support ARAX and its creator, Gevorg Vartanyan, but also to encourage readers to support Ukrainians that are living through this invasion. Many citizens, including those working at ARAX, have lost 100% of their income as a result of the war. ARAX has set up a donation link that can be found here and updates directly from Gevorg can be found on ARAX’s Facebook page. At the time of writing, ARAX’s production facilities and workshops have not been damaged in Kyiv, and the company hopes to return to building cameras when there is peace in Ukraine.

ARAX is distinct in that it’s the only remaining camera manufacturer in Ukraine. Likewise, Gevorg Vartanyan is one of the last remaining craftsmen in the world still building custom medium format cameras such as the ARAX 60. Again, please consider donating to help support Gevorg and the ARAX team.

Additionally, please consider supporting the citizens of Ukraine through a donation to one or more of the organizations listed on this page, thank you.

Since around 2002, ARAX has produced upgraded versions of older Ukrainian cameras. Specifically the Kiev-Arsenal 60 and Kiev-Arsenal 88 CM designs. Both these cameras share a lens mount with one of my favorite medium format camera systems, the Pentacon Six.

The Pentacon Six is a camera with a fascinating history and was one of the very first medium format cameras I purchased. The only problem with the Pentacon Six cameras is that due to their age, they need to either be handled rather specifically or serviced by a technician to prevent the film from incorrectly winding and overlapping, a problem I’ve personally experienced with a few Pentacon camera bodies.

ARAX offers a solution to this problem by selling a new/upgraded camera that uses the P6 (Pentacon Six) lens mount, making it the most reliable of cameras in this system. This has always been extremely appealing to me, so for years, I’ve wanted to purchase one. At the beginning of 2022, I emailed ARAX to purchase a custom-built camera.

The camera I went with was the ARAX-60 MLU/SE. The SE version is ARAX’s made-to-order kit, from which you can choose a variety of options to make the camera uniquely yours. I chose to have a black metal finish with crocodile leather, a 6x6 film frame, and split image focus screen, as well as custom engraving on the back. The order was placed on the 17th of January, and by January 26th, the camera had been built. Gevorg sent a video to me showcasing the camera and proceeded to ship it off to me the same day.

First Impressions

The camera comes carefully packaged, with individual pieces wrapped and protected inside of an ARAX branded padded camera bag that is included. Taking out each piece, and assembling them, I was struck by how clean this camera was.

Having purchased plenty of used film cameras, I had grown accustomed to having to clean up parts of the camera after I purchase them. The ARAX however, arrived in perfect condition, and with one of the cleanest viewfinders I have ever seen on a film camera. Additionally, all the chrome detailing and black paint on the body looks shiny and fresh.

That’s not to say there aren’t signs of craftsmanship present on the camera. Looking closely, you can see some marks by certain screws where the technician worked, or look carefully at the engraving on the back to notice that it was done entirely by hand. These small details, to me, are admirable.

Among everything packed was also a postcard from Kyiv, filters for black and white shooting, and some hard candies, a very cute touch.

Handling

The camera's build is rather heavy, but handling it is extremely familiar as the body style is essentially an oversized 35mm camera / a riff on the Pentacon Six. I like the film wind lever on this camera. There isn’t much resistance to wind the film, and the lever only takes one swift crank to advance the film to the next shot. This is a major improvement over the Pentacon Six, where winding the camera can be a bit tricky and, if done incorrectly, can lead to film overlap.

The shutter has a hefty and satisfying clunk sound each time the shutter is pressed. Built into the right side of the body is a small metal button, which is the MLU (Mirror Lock-Up). This simple button lets you raise the mirror before taking a shot, reducing the amount of shake the camera produces. This can be extremely helpful when shooting on a tripod with slower shutter speeds.

The only thing on the camera that’s a bit cumbersome is using the built-in TTL meter. A switch on the side of the prism turns it on, but only momentarily before shutting back off automatically. To get your exposure, you flick the switch and quickly turn the knob back and forth until you see two dots appear in the viewfinder. Most of the time it takes a few tries to get it right, so metering with a handheld meter or hotshot meter would be preferable in most cases. That said, the TTL meter serves as a good backup should you forget your light meter at home.

What’s all been upgraded?

When compared to its sister cameras, the Pentacon Six, the Kiev-60, and the Exakta 66, the ARAX has been upgraded with several advantages.

Flocked interior to reduce flaring in photos
Brighter, very clean focusing screen with interchangeable inserts
Upgraded film advance and shutter mechanisms
Addition of the MLU (Mirror Lock-Up) Feature.

All of these features help improve the ARAX over its predecessors and make it a reliable and modern medium format camera.

Any critques?

Unfortunately, yes. Along with the aforementioned difficult-to-use light meter, there are two other things I feel need to be noted. The first is the black paint used on the camera's body. While aesthetically beautiful, it can chip somewhat easily. I’ve already managed to rub a small chip off where a ring on my hand meets the grip of the camera.

The second isn’t all that bad, as it can be easily addressed. It is a design flaw of the included ARAX 80mm 2.8 lens, which itself is a refurbished and rebadged Kiev-Arsenal Volna-3 lens. There is an opening on the side of the lens between the external and internal lens housing that holds the DOF (Depth of Field) lever. This gap isn’t sealed so light can enter on the edges into the lens barrel in bright conditions. In my testing, I found that this was only an issue when the lens is focused between the range of 0.9 meters and 0.6 meters. Outside of that, this issue shouldn’t occur. The suggested fix from ARAX is to cover the lever with black adhesive tape or to shield the hole when making a picture in bright conditions.

I’ve sealed up this small gap with black tape, and can happily report that this does solve the issue. Even though this issue is specific to the ARAX lens, I still believe it has a slight advantage over a similar Pentacon lens, at least in terms of focus range. This is because the Pentacon 80mm 2.8 can only focus to 1 meter, while the ARAX 80mm 2.8 can focus much closer at 0.6 meters. The sharpness and rendering of the ARAX lens also feels on par, and at times exceeding, that of similar P6 mount lenses.

All said, I was quite impressed by how capable and sharp the ARAX 80mm 2.8 lens is; check out the test images below to see what I mean. These images were taken at the Watt Munisotaram, Normandale Japanese Garden, and my Studio.

Special Thanks

Thank you to ARAX and Gevorg Vartanyan for the amazing custom camera.

Interested in purchasing your own custom ARAX camera? Once the ARAX workshop reopens you can purchase one here: https://araxfoto.com/cameras/

These images were taken and processed within 24 hours of receiving the camera. Special thanks to Fast Foto Film Lab for the extremely quick turnaround time. Additional thanks to Eliora Vespera for assisting while I took these test images.

Donation Links

Support ARAX: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=88EQEMYZ4P97L

Support Ukraine: https://www.thecut.com/2022/03/russia-invades-ukraine-how-to-help-the-people-of-ukraine.html

Editor's Note: Some lenses in this article are referenced using their historical brand name "Kiev-Arsenal". However, "Kyiv" is the preferred transliteration of the Ukrainian people.