The Fed 1 was a direct copy of the Leica II, the Fed 2 is its own thing. The Fed 1 was made from the mid 1930s to the mid 1950s. In the 1930s those orphans at the FED institute also made a copy of the Black and Decker electric drill.
Really good overview. I had purchased a FED 2 earlier in the week. I must say that it is a solidly built Leica ii copy. The viewfinder is off a hair, but livable. The one that I purchased came with a newer black Jupiter 8 50mm lens. Most of the reason why I purchased the camera was for the lens itself. Overall it appears to be a well-made camera by Soviet standards, but still need to take a fewer more photos and develop them to in fact make that determination.
Feds were my favorite cameras since 1989. I shoot a lot with Fed 5B. And couple years ago I bought Fed 2 as well. It has dioptric adjustment on that ring on the viewfinder lens, so you don't need to use glasses when you're shooting.
Nice review Aly, keep them coming. I am also traditionally a left-eye shooter. Not that I can't use my left eye with a rangefinder, or that I can't use my right eye at all; but just have to take the time to get used to it as you mentioned.
I like hearing your thoughts on vintage gear. I think the Gear channels are a real challenge for the creators. The videos get a lot of engagement, but it must be a grind to pump out videos every week on a lens or a camera, etc. I learned how to replace a mirror bumper from one of your videos. I like how you do your thing. Good luck with everything. Thank you for sharing your creative work.
Nice review and pictures. I'm collecting a lot of camera's from behind the former iron curtain. So also FED's, Zorki's, Kiev's, Zenit etc. I like them very much. But I haven't yet the FED2.
Thanks for the review, I've got couple of Russian RF, first the Zorki 4K, then the Fed 2, then the Leningrad, then the Kiev 4 and recently the Fed 5. Both the Zorki and the Fed 5 shutter curtain broke after short use, despite they are more recently made models they are not as reliable as the Fed 2. Like you said I love the shutter sound of the Fed 2, it is louder than the Lecia but very solid and satisfied, I enjoy simply holding it on my hands playing with the shutter w/o film, and I paired it with the 'radioactive' Industar 61 that produce sharp and crisp photos !
Great review. I have the Fed 3, which is a great camera, but the viewfinder is really small and hard to compose. And it scratches my glasses like crazy. The Industar lens that it came with was pretty good too, though it had some pretty nasty flaring issues in the sunlight. The Jupiter family of lenses (e.g. Jupiter 8) for this mount are supposed to be much much better since their based on the Zeiss design (using the same equipment actually). I'd love to try one of those some day.
That’s what I’m shooting with at the moment on a Kiev 4A. It’s a Jupiter lens made during the time that the factory was outfitted with all the Zeiss parts. Should be posting that video this weekend :)
Nice shot of Frankie. This is another camera I'd like. I have a FED 3a the slow speeds are broken and sometimes the shutter is a little lazy. I still enjoy the feel and the quirks make interesting shots sometimes. Nice video thanks.
Great video. I've had terrible luck with the Russian cameras. All were listed as "tested/fully functional", 3 arrived as bricks (Fed 3, Fed 4, Zenit) & my Fed 2 was a brick in a month. They looked amazing & beautiful but all had the well known shutter issue. They look great on a shelf.
Thank you! Yes I have heard these can be a bit spotty when it comes to quality control especially the newer soviet cameras. I have also heard that these cameras often need an overhaul but there are people out there that do it. I am a little nervous to buy the FED-2 but I think it'll be worth it.
Enjoyable video. I don’t have a Fed but I do have a Zorki 4K. There is a discussion that the Zorki is the better of the two “leica Russian cameras”. I need to get a FED after your review and do that test. The Zorki was my first camera purchased by my dad and given to me in the late 1970’s. 40 plus years later it’s still working perfectly. I saw a previous comment on another viewer saying he had had poor results from all his Russian camera purchases. That’s sad but for any viewers thinking that’s a standard for Russian cameras i would argue that it’s not. I love the pictures using the Ilford film. Re the glasses issue in the viewing area. The Zorki has a switch to change the eyepiece viewing eyesight. Not sure if the FED has one. If not. A reason to buy the Zorki perhaps.
I’ve been wanting to try a Zorki. I have heard that a lot of the Russian cameras are hit or Miss quality wise because quality control waned at the end. Thank you for watching!
Wow, this is cooler than you probably know, especially for those of us who grew up during the Cold War period. There were probably a lot of cameras built in the Soviet Union. Some of that was a matter of Soviet national pride: Communist governments at the time were always trying to show that their countries could, at very least, produce everything their people needed without outside help, and often tried to show that their products were better than anyone else's. But some of it was also because there were very obtrusive trade barriers that limited commerce between Soviet-bloc countries and the rest of the world, so it was hard for a Soviet photographer to obtain an imported camera. I don't know how many Nikons, Canons, Leicas, etc. were allowed into the Soviet Union, but it's a pretty good bet that those that were allowed in were not affordable to most Soviet citizens. I do know that we didn't see a lot of Soviet-made cameras sold in the United States. Those that we did see mostly fell into two categories: 1) built like tanks and practically indestructible; and 2) shoddily built, unreliable and still heavy. Nearly all in both categories had quirky controls (case in point: don't change the shutter speed before winding the film), subpar feature sets and optics that didn't measure up to the German and Japanese cameras. So, it's a real eye-opener for me to see you review a Soviet-era camera that's a joy to use and takes great pictures. Sure, it's got quirks, but once you've learned to work with them, they simply become part of the camera's personality. Were it not for you, I, for one, would never have known that such a thing existed. Keep up the great work!
Cool. Thanks. I’m glad to hear that I have shown you something you’ve never seen. I don’t get that a lot LOL I have heard that the quality control on a lot of Soviet cameras was pretty bad. I wonder at what point the Soviet cameras started coming into the US? Maybe the 80s?
@@AlysVintageCameraAlley, I confess that since I, like most Americans during the 1980s, did not hold Soviet products in high esteem (unless one was talking about Kalashnikov rifles or Vodka, but I've never been much of a drinker and the only thing I care to shoot with is a camera), and therefore did not aspire to owning a Russian camera of any kind, I wasn't paying attention to when they became more available in the US. I'll hazard a guess that they began trickling in after 1986, as the Soviet government began implementing Premier Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (reform), and we started seeing many more, along with a lot of other Russian products, after the Soviet government fell apart in 1989. Before 1986, the easiest ways to get a Russian camera were to either visit the Soviet Union or trade with the occasional Soviet visitor. The latter was a feat most easily accomplished if you had connections with a UN ambassador or with someone involved in international sports championships.
Nice video Aly.. I have 2 Zorky 4s a Zenit EM and Zenit "11" Have been looking at FED 2.. really a lot of variations in the models Will buy one in 2022.....is now Dec 2021...thanks a lot....hope your fiance likes cameras......
I have several Soviet cameras,but have had mostly bad luck with them. A few of them still work,but most have broken. I guess I'll have to adapt the lenses to my mirrorless cameras.
Sorry to hear that. Which ones have you tried? I’m still fairly new to Soviet cameras. This was only my second one. But I have heard that a lot that Soviet cameras are hit and miss depending on when they were made. Quality control started to slip later on.
@@AlysVintageCameraAlley I have a Zorki 6 and a Fed 4b that quit working. Also a Zenit E and a Crystall that never worked. My Zenit 12 CD still works fine.
