A group test and comparison of seven Russian Rangefinders - Fed 1, Fed 2, Zorki 3, Zorki 4K, Kiev 3A, Kiev 4 and Fed 4. Which will come out on top? You can support this channel at / zenography
I have Fed 2 and I like it. This camera I got from my father. He bought it 1960, when he was en military service in the north of USSR. On the time of the military vacation for few days, my father returned in Kaunas and on the bridge through the river Nemunas he photographed a young girl. Thanks to this camera my parents got to know. I protect him as a family relic.
About ten years ago I taught a teenager how to take photographs, Despite his owning a digital camera I taught him as if it was a manual film camera, the discipline of light measurement and choosing aperture and shutter speed. Recently he expressed an interest in film photography, would I recommend a camera. I lent him a Zorki 4, he fell in love with it and uses it in preference to his whizz bang bridge camera when he wants to be really creative. (And yes, I gave him the Zorki and he bought me lunch)
Wow! I just found this video looking for a little information on the refurbished FED-3 I picked up this week. Wonderful video and wonderful history on these marvelous machines. Fantastic!
Your description of the Zorki 3 as resembling a battleship so intrigued me that I have just sought one out. It is gorgeous, the rangefinder window is almost as brilliant as that of a Leica M3 (patch is a little worse but that's nitpicking) and it feels lovely. Mine has a couple of pinholes in the shutter curtain, which is a slight pain, but I have to say - what a beautiful thing, thank you! My first FSU rangefinder, and my second camera after the Zenit E I had as a teenager!
Just to add, the slow speeds weren't working properly and there were probably about 60+ holes in the curtain. So my ownership of a Zorki 3 has been rather short, but there are plenty of other fish in the sea, I shall look out for a better one!
Ah, enjoy that Zorki, they're a lovely camera and a unique piece of design. One of the best made of the Soviet rangefinders too. Not quite up to Leica standards, but they're from companies with very different philosophies and aims. Still, the Z3 is a wonderful camera, there's nothing else quite like it!
I started taking photos with my fathers Zorki from fifties. We still proudly own it. I have always had a heart on russian modest cameras. Thank you for this review!
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it - and that your Zorki is still alive and well! They're under-rated cameras, but they make great images and have stood the test of time!
Great video! I agree with a clumsy mount on Kiev, mounting jupiter 35/2.8 is a real hassle. Zorki 3 is nice cause of the combined finder but for me the most fun to shoot has to be Zorki 1 + Jupiter 50/2 lens
your videos about classical and former soviet camera have inspired me to buy a Kiev 2 and zorki 4. I like the zorki a little more because of the diopter settings. Zorki shutter sounds like a gun. The Kiev is much quieter as you mention in your video. So Thanks and I looking forward to your next video. /Patrik
Moskva 4 camera and Zorki 4K I have and love them both. I mostly use my Kiev 6c with the Vega 90mm 2.8 lens. But the two rangefinders are wonderful looking and I would be reluctant to let them go. I would miss seeing them on my display shelves.
Thanks for the great video! I totally agree about FED-1/Leica/Zorki-1, it's really comfortable to carry and use, and is pretty much my favorite camera. Although, one correction: Zorki-4K must have a Time setting, because I have a Zorki-4 and it has it, but it is a bit tricky. To engage it, you have to set the shutter speed to B, then push the button, and while pushing it you have to turn the wheel around the button very slightly counter-clockwise. After that the button will stay in place until you twist the same wheel (again, very slightly, almost no movement at all) clockwise, then the shutter will close.
I agree with your choice...I have a Zorki 1 and it is great. Love the size of it. And I actually like the two finders...because it seems like the rangefinder is clearer and easier to use than the single one on my Leica iiif. I also really like the size and simplicity of it. I also have a Fed 2, a Zorki 4 and 4k, and a Kiev 4a. I also like the Kiev 4a...that would be my second favorite of all these Russian cameras. It is very well built...and it gives that Contax feel for a lot less $$. The lenses for it are also wonderful. Great video...and fantastic channel....keep up the great work!
Kiev 4a is the model without lightmeter, while on the other hand the Kiev 4 has meter. So yours is actually Kiev 4a. BTW, this is a very very fantastic video. I never saw any video showing most of the major Soviet rangefinder cameras. I love this video so much! Good job man!
Thanks for a fascinating and helpful video. I was pleased you chose the Zorki I as the best as I also think it's a great little camera, very affordable but with a very nice build quality (and of course with all due respect to the Leica design on which it is based). I also very much agree with your praise of the Zorki 3, with its fantastic big and bright viewfinder -- a Leica M3 type experience. Thanks to you and some other youtube video producers, I've discovered the joys of these very affordable and well made Russian cameras and lenses.
Thanks for your review of these attractive cameras. I would probably put that Zorki 3 at the top of my list of preference: it's handsome and, from your description, very functional.
I have tried most of them except for the Kiev, including a German Leica 111g, two windows made it very fiddly to use. I sold it. Zorki 4K with a black Jupiter 8 50mm f2 lens is my favourite rangefinder cameras. However, I had a Leica M2 with a 50mm 2.8 collapsible Elmar which was absolutely amazing. The parralax corrected viewfinder with frame lines for 35mm and 90mm lenses which made it very versatile. The prices are through the roof, and decent ones are very difficult to find. Have you done a video on the Zenith C which was my first camera in 1959 when I was 14. I still have the camera which was made in 1958 according to the serial number. Not a rewind lever, a wind on lever on the 4k. But we knew what you meant.
Thank you for another great video and excellent knowledge and presentation on these soviet rangefinder and lenses. My favourite you covered is also the Zorki 3 or 3M for its good looking design, great Jupiter lens, large selection of shutter speeds, and most important the brightest, largest combined viewfinder/rangefinder window. The viewfinder helps makes the composition brighter, slightly magnified on my 3M and is by far the easiest and nicest to use of any of the other soviet rangefinders I own.
I have had my FED 2 for a little while now... I read someone said yeh use your focussing bright spot by all means...but when composing your frame...block your bright spot out with a finger... Good idea I think.... I also got 2 Zeniths and 2 Zorki 4s Great video again... well done Nigel.....
Great video. Agree with what you say about selenium meters, never had a problem with them, they seem to last forever. Have had more failures with CDS meters.
I love that old Leica for its small size and simplicity - it might be my favourite camera of all! The Russian Fed and Zorki copies give much the same experience though, for a fraction of the price...
Great video, I'm interested in what you think of the Zorki-5/Zorki-6, essentially the wide rangefinder of the FED II/Kiev, the somewhat bright viewfinder of the Zorki-3/4, and the clean flat-top design and lever wind of the later FEDs
The Zorki 5/6 is a nice camera, although it lacks slow speeds. It has a wide rangefinder base, as do the Kievs, which is in theory more accurate, although I've never had problems with the shorter length. Zorkis 3 and 4 are very nice cameras, especially the Z3, which I particularly like. The lever wind of the later Feds is very useful - it features on the Zorki 4 too!
The Kievs are a little more complex for sure, and the early ones in particular are of very good quality. Having said that, the Fed 2 is a really nice machine, of a quality that, in my opinion, compares well to the Barnack Leicas. Thanks for watching.
Great video. I'm thinking about getting a Kiev. Are you going to get your hands on the zorki 6? I'd love to hear your thoughts on them. I think it's a wonderful little camera.
I've had a Zorki 6 in the past, but only briefly, think I shot maybe a couple of rolls with it, but as you say, it was a very nice machine. If another one comes my way it will doubtless find its way into a video! Thanks for watching.
I love the Zorki 4k. My first camera which I bought on 1975 (ish?). I recently put new light seals into it and with little difficulty added strap lugs. I agree with you on the nylon covering. My only criticism.... The shutter speeds are painted on.... and are disappearing with every use. Great review. 👍🏻👍🏻
I am researching old USSR rangefinders. I actually bought one on eBay on Wednesday from the Ukraine and by Friday, they had a lot of uninvited Russian visitors and shipping was shut down. So that gives me more time to do research. Incidentally, you mention going into a camera store in Stockport in the 70’s. I knew your accent was slightly familiar sounding. I moved away from the Cheadle area a few years prior to that when my family moved to the US.
The Kiev-4 has always been a beautiful camera to look at and handle, but I've never had luck finding one that actually works reliably. I also love the look and feel of the Zorki-C (S), but for actual use my favorite is definitely the Fed-2. A few years ago I misplaced my Fed-2 after an overseas move, and recently when I was unable to find it I just got another off eBay for under 40 dollars. Of course, shortly after I "replaced" the missing Fed-2 I found the box it was shipped in, so now I have 2x Fed-2's. At least they're cheap, and it's my favorite of the bunch.
Just found your channel. I love it!! I just bought a Kiev 4A as per recommendation. A 53mm f2.0 lens that came with the camera instead of the 50mm f2.0. Is one better than the other. Also the ad showed a 1974 camera, I received a 1979 version, is there a different?
Unless you particularly want a Kiev, I'd go for the Zorki. There are far more lenses available in L39 screwmount, the mechanism is simpler in engineering terms and can be serviced by anyone who knows their way around a film Leica; servicing a Kiev would probably present more difficulties. And I think the Zorki is better looking too.
The Kiev 4 is with light meter. The Kiev 4A is without light meter. The Kiev 4M and 4AM is "modified" (improved) version, better knobs and fixed take-up spool.
I've always had a soft spot for the Kiev. I've had a few kiev cameras. Two 4AMs, the first one died after someone spilled cake on it, and the second is just as good as it was when it was new.
I've always liked the Kiev. Before dad bought me my first camera in the late 70s I remember a salesman in Dixons showing us first a Fed 4, then a much cooler looking Zorki 4K, then finally the magnificent Kiev 4 (the one without the light meter). It was an incredible looking thing to my eye, just beautiful! I ended up with the Fed 4, which I still have to this day!
I have a fed 1 with the Russian elmar copy I haven't used it for years. As you know you have to cut a 4" leader. I don't like the lens so could I use the Jupiter 8 black version on it without problems.
I have 5 Kiev's including the Kiev 5! And the Fed 2, the Fed 1 disguised as the Leica IID boy did that camera had turn heads when I was in Japan in 2005.
Good video. It must be said that the Kiev R/F cameras have THE most complicated shutter mechanism known to man. Well, OK maybe not that extreme but it is renowned for being really complex and difficult to calibrate. Compared to cloth FP shutters found in almost all other Russian cameras, this metal one really is one to be aware of if you are buying one.
Hello - I have learned a lot from your channel and have a question for the Top Zenographer... I have a Jupiter 8M [serial #7329045] that is exactly like the one seen in this video when looking straight at the lens; BUT it appears to be in an Industar 61 body [zebra version, M39 mount]. I didn't know this was unusual when I bought it via ebay. Have you ever encountered such a thing? Is it common for Jupiter 8Ms to be re-housed like this or is it an oddball Frankenstein lens? It's functionally great and in terrific condition with clean glass plus smooth aperture and focus. Any info or insight is greatly appreciated - Thanks :D
congratulations on the great job you do on your channel. I have a doubt. Which of the two cameras is better? the zorki 4 or the Fed 2? I love the design of the fed 2 but not if it performs better than the zorki 4. I thank you for your reply.
I think the Fed 2 is probably a better camera. The rangefinder base is longer, so it's theoretically more accurate, the quality is rather better, and I think it's styled better too. Also, the wind knob on the Zorki 4 can be quite difficult to turn comfortably because of how it's positioned. No contest really!
Nice video. Just a comment: From what I understand, the "a" in the Kiev IIa and IIIa refer to the addition of the flash port, not the meter. Just like the Contax II and III, the Kiev III was basically the same Kiev II camera with the added uncoupled light meter on top.
Great Video and Info I think you missed out by not showing casing the FED 3 A which looks like a FED 2 but with more amenities as compared to the FED 3 B which has more of a Leica M look
Excellent video as always. If you had say £100 to spend which of the rangefinders would you buy? Looking into getting something and find the Zorki1 really interesting just worried with the film cutting
Cutting the film to load a Zorki/Fed 1 is very easy and nothing to be afraid of - you'll get used to it very quickly. The camera itself is a beautiful little thing, though a little slower to use than rangefinders with a combined rf/vf window. With £100 to spend I'd get a Fed 4 (cheapest camera and has a light meter), then as many lenses as I could - a Jupiter 11 135 f4, and if possible a Jupiter 12 35 f2.8. Or, I'd find a nice Zorki 4K with a Jupiter 8, use only that lens, and spend the rest on film. There are lots of possibilities here!
@@zenography7923 thank you very much for the reply. I was reading somewhere that the zorki 4k has wildly varied consistency in terms.of reliability with more recent models lacking it. Is there a cut off year?
Just got curious with Russian made cameras at first then found myself falling in love with it. Thank you for this video. I've been eyeing on Fed 4 or 5b recently.
I'd go for the Fed 4 - it's better finished than the 5, but if you decide to go for a 5 then I'd advise the 5c. The 5c has framelines in the viewfinder for different focal length lenses whereas the 5 doesn't, and the 5b has no framelines - and no light meter either!
@@zenography7923 thank you for your helpful advice! I am fairly new in this so scouring for USSR made cameras is an unknown territory for me. Fed 4 it is then!
My local camera shop has a FED 5C for sale. Would you recommend this for an entry rangefinder? I have mainly used TLRs. I was also wondering if the 5c has a diopter as my vision is quite poor. Love your channel!
I'd say definitely get the 5c if you're looking for a starter RF camera. It won't win many beauty pageants, but it's a goof solid machine, with a lightmeter and the only Russian RF with framelines in the viewfinder. Go for it!
I own a fed 2 and a fed 4 and a zorki 4k. The most easy to use is the Fed 4 but I like the Zorki 4k. I always wanted to buy a Kiev 4 but never came across a good example. Servicing a camera like these is a tricky and expensive job.
The Kievs are a bit more complex, and the design is far less widespread than the Leica derived one used in Feds and Zorkis - any camera technician worth their salt will know their way around it!
When I was looking to get into film, I was convinced I need a lever film advance. Now I have a Zorki 5 and 6 as well as a FED Mikron 2, but after using an Argus C3, I've fallen in love with the knob advance. Guess I'll have to buy a FED 2 or something.
I have a similar operating Ferrania Condor I from 1948, with a fixed lens (Officine Galileo Iscus) which is very similar to this industar collapsible lens. Unfortunately the silvering on the telemeter prism get weary with time and now I can barely distinguish the right yellow image from the left blue one except in very bright light. Does this happens to other vintage range finders like this the Russian copies?
All rangefinders are prone to this fault; curiously enough I've found the Russian rangefinder silvering lasts much better than the Barnack Leicas in this regard...
The Industar lenses on Soviet rangefinders are actually Carl Zeiss Tessar designs. One could argue that Leitz Elmar is a Tessar design too, but there are some differences in design and build.
Every single Industar lens I've personally used was Tessar, actually. And I've used quite a lot of those. Jupiter lenses seem to be Sonnar designs. Helios lenses are... complicated. The Helios 44 series are double gauss (Biotar) designs, but I've seen Sonnars and there might have been a Tessar or two, but can't be sure about the last one.
Found out today (FED 2)where some photographers may find it hard to bring image together on rangefinder there is a larger screw guess it could be the one under the word FED in Cycrllic and there is an adjustment for mirror in rangefinder... (I have never done this) and I could be wrong Nigel.....
Rangefinders can easily get knocked out of alignment, both vertically and horizontally, but they're fairly easy to adjust using the screws you mention. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks, Im getting into film and your videos have been very helpful. I was wondering, How possible/easy/safe is to do in-camera double exposure with it?
@@zenography7923 Thank you, good to know before I fuck it up! Have you done any videos about good cheap second hand cameras for in-camera double exposure? Otherwise maybe an idea for your next video. Would be great to know your opinion about it. Cheers
In your selection my vote goes to Fed2: small, simple, elegant, with a big range rangefinder base, but my personal winner is Kiev II (yes, the grandmother of Kiev IV): I love the "bzzzz" of the slow speeds, the look, the stunning rangefinder and the smoothness of every command, much more refined than the Kiev IV: it's really a Contax II made in Kiev (my camera was made in 1955)
Yes it will! You can mount any LTM (otherwise known as L39) rangefinder lens to your Zorki, from Leica, Reid, Canon, Fed, to name just four - there are many others out there too! What you can't do however is mount M39 lenses, originally made for early Zenit SLRs as they won't focus. Stay with L39 and the world is your oyster!
Thank you so much for this and the other yours very in very informative videos. Hope to see something from you about catadioptric objectives. I like and collect mirror lenses so for me it would be very interesting to hear something from you about mirror lenses.
Doesn't Zorki 4K have time setting? For Zorki 4, I can keep the shutter opened by rotating the shutter button slightly anticlockwise while firing with B.
Hey I have a Zorki 1 and noticed that there is no place for a strap without the case. I was wanting to see if someone could help be figure out aways to do this. I have a case but the leather is so old that its breaking. I was looking to get a new case but had not luck. I would appreciate it if anyone has a solution. Thanks.
The separate rangefinder in Barnacks was actually for a good reason. There are two ways to make a rangefinder accurate. Put a slight tele lens in front of it, or make it long base. Leitz did the former at first because is can be more compact and because is can also mean a brighter larger patch. The former won out because it was simpler and faster. Personally I like Leitz first choice better. If you are in a hurry you prefocus, stop down and have learned your distance. If you want really sharp and well composed, you have the extra seconds.
I too love those little Barnack Leicas -beautiful little things, but I have a soft spot for the former soviet cameras, partly because I learned photography on a Fed 4, which I still have!
Hello from Kansas USA. I just found your RU-vid and subscribed. Been interested in Eastern block/Russian cameras. Will watch more of your videos to make a decision.
Nigel have only just realised how many variants and sub models there are to the FED 2 different vulcanite colours Delayed action or not... flash sync or not... I really prefer the later simplified FED 2 logo...also the keys to open the camera base they differ with a recess having a more pointed pattern I want to purchase o one in the new year 2022 so I will have to have a hit list of what to look for etc.... Thanks for your videos they are very calming and form part of my me time.. Its true... A big thank you anyways....
Very tricky indeed, unfortunately. The Kiev/Contax mount J8M has no focussing helix - it's in the camera body. If you want to use an 8M, best thing is to buy a Kiev!
I have two Selenium metres, a handheld Weston Master III from about 1959 and a Nikon clip-on model 3 from about 1962. Both work, and are reasonably accurate, while most later CDS ones seem to have failed. Even those that do still work often have the mercury battery problem. I now have four Soviet cameras, three Zorki, two 4 and one 4K, and a Kiev 4A. On all of them the self timer has failed. The Zorki ones run but do not trip the shutter and the Kiev one does not run. Is this a common problem? I’m not to worried about it, it,# not a feature that I use. On all four of these cameras the shutter speeds seem to have remained surprisingly accurate. Could you explain the main differences between the 3 and 4 generations of the Zorki, Fed and Kiev cameras? Best wishes.
It's a curious thing, selenium meters are said to fail with age, but I've never actually seen one that has suffered in this way! I'm sure it can happen, but I don't think it's as common an event as some suggest...
Self-timer for Soviet cameras, apparently, is a fairly common problem, I have about 15 cameras and it works, maybe 5 of them. either I don't know how to use it, or it's not very reliable.
@@zenography7923 I had 4 zeniths E and 1 ET with a selenium exposure meter, and I also have Fed 5 and Zorkiy 10, everywhere it works quite accurately and correctly. Only at one zenith E was it defective. There is also a Leningrad 4 selenium photometer, everything is fine with it too.
Excellent video, very calmly and clearly presented, almost understated yet very authoritative. Superb. Thankyou. However regarding old selenium light meters, I have had several (metrophot, weston II ..) that all died despite nit being abused, so even if you have been lucky with russian meters, there does seem to be some truth in the common comments, at least for western units.
I was using FED-4 for quite a long time many (really many) years ago. It was OK, but the rewind wheel was almost entirely hidden inside bulky body, except for the tiny segment armed with sharp teeth that would cut skin on your thumb to sheds. Also soviet film cassettes were the wost ever produced. To rewind film, I had to roll that barely protruding segment against the door frame to keep my fingers from bleeding cuts. The door frame was suffering from ugly scars left by that "rewind" shredding tool. Soviets loved causing pain, no matter what subject.. FED or Gulag. Screaming coming from Soviet dental "clinics" still haunts me even after more than 30 years since I left Soviets..
Both sold I'm afraid, to fund other camera purchases! I have a couple of Barnack leicas, a 2 and a 3, so two more of essentially the same thing seemed a bit like overkill...
Hi Nigel thanks for all you do... A guy from Dorset reviewed a FED 2 and took mono pics with.. they were nice and sharp one clever comment noticed that the shutter curtains exposed not quite equally eg. The right hand side of pics always darker... You hear ppl go on about lube on the curtains.. so far not seen a vid on you tube about it... Could you do one pls.. Regards Phil
Hmm, lube on the curtains is probably not a good idea - I don't think they were assembled with lube as such, though I may be wrong. I've heard of graphite being used and I even tried it once - with no success! I'm afraid that there's no substitute for a full cla!
It's a genuine Leica, however as I didn't have a Fed/Zorki 1 at the time I used the Leica to stand in their place as they're essentially the same camera.
Hi. Interesting video. Sorry, but I was born in mid September...The Industar-22 looks like an Elmar, but it's actually a Tessar (4 elements, 3 groups) - same as Industar-26M. The Elmar's 50/3,5 optical scheme is slightly different from a Tessar (maybe not that much: this could explain why Leitz applied for a patent for the Elmar only in 1927, when the Zeiss' patent for the Tessar expired). If you choose a FED-3 instead of a FED-2, shutter speed will range from 1s to 1/500 (+bulb)
If you only have one camera, yes the slower speeds might be important but for slow speeds I prefer medium format. Besides, film cameras are so cheap one can afford many of these cameras and a few Japanese models too. To me it is a mute point. The range finders are best for candid or street shooting anyway.
