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With Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, threatening the global order like the good ol’ Soviet Union used to do, how timely is it to write some words about a classic Soviet-era camera, the FED-2? Please don’t interpret my good feelings toward the solid (both in performance and weight) little camera as an endorsement of current Russian foreign policy. For that, you’ll have to go to Tucker Carlson and the other right-wing nutters who like to fellate authoritarians.
According to a few different websites, the FED camera exists because of the Leica II, Leica’s first rangefinder camera introduced in 1932 that quickly led to that company’s status as the premier 35mm camera manufacturer on the planet. That year, the Soviet Union stopped importing cameras and began its attempts to clone Leicas. The first camera from the FED factory was the 1a in 1934. The factory began production of the Fed 2 in 1955.
The modifications from the 1 to the 2 were good ones: combined viewfinder and rangefinder window, and a diopter adjustment to focus the viewing window (common sense to us 21st century snappers, but a technological achievement back then). Also, there’s a self-timer for those photographers that want to dash into the frame for a group shot.
I was left to figure out if this was a FED 2a, 2b, 2c, etc.
Does the camera in my possession have a flash synch? Yep. It’s at least a 2b
Is that flash synch port at the top deck of the camera (instead of the body) and have a mushroom-shaped film-advance knob? Yep (top far left in the photo). It’s at least a 2c.
Does it have a new set of shutter speeds (shown on the third-from-left knob in the photo), 1/30 to 1/500? The older set was 1/25 to 1/500. Yep. It’s at least a 2d.
Is it a 2L? No. That’s the only one, according to Wikipedia, that was stamped as such. All others simply, “FED-2”. The lens with the camera looks to be the Industar-26, used in the earlier models (and, from various comments online, a really good lens).
So. I’ve got a 2d. Which is desirable, if the camera works. From what I’ve read from the interwebs, the FED-2d, manufactured between 1958 and 1963, is actually a decent rip-off of a similar-era Leica. Leicas, of course, are beaucoup bucks, which I don’t have, and, frankly, with a Rollei 3.5 and Hasselblads 500c and EL/M in my possession, I just don’t care much for chasing down a pricey 35mm. But I’ll try one if it’s cheap—or free. And a rangefinder model. (A well-calibrated rangefinder is a wonderful thing, such as the Kalart on my 1948 Pacemaker Speed Graphic 4×5, which enables me to use it as a startlingly sharp handheld camera.) Check both boxes for this one. I had been intrigued with Kodak Retina rangefinders, but, alas, not so much with the price on one that is in good shape. Enter the FED-2, very randomly. A US-based seller listed one for $25, I may or may not have been inebriated, and, voila, I owned the FED-2.
Problems with this FED-2: The curtain shutter at the top end (1/500) does not work properly. Otherwise, it to my ear, it fires normally (1/250, 1/125, 1/50, 1/25, B (open)). Another was the eyepiece on the rangefinder/viewfinder. You’ve got to pretty much bang your eyeball against it to see the full frame of the viewfinder. Fortunately, it’s easy enough to adjust the images of the coupled rangefinder—it’s plenty bright. Here’s the thing: I wear glasses. One day I noticed some odd scratches at the top of my right lens of my glasses. I didn’t think anything of it, figuring I dropped them, or my kid knocked them from somewhere and wouldn’t fess up. I switched pairs, planning to get my lens replaced. Then I noticed the same thing, about a week later, on by backup pair.
What. The. Hell. These little marks. What had I been doing differently of late? Oh. Shooting the goddam FED-2. Sure enough, I rubbed my finger at the edge of the tiny eyepiece and found the issue: the ridges on that tiny little thing were sharp enough to make the scratches in my glasses. Ergonomics was not a “thing” in Soviet-era cameras, apparently.
I solved the problem by painting the edges with several coats of an acrylic paint used for painting designs on clothing and other items where a smooth, flexible and durable surface paint is needed.
The first two rolls (I used some 13-year-old expired Ilford HP5) got chewed up pretty good. See, the take-up spool in these cameras slips on to the winding post that is basically a spring, and its the friction of that springed (a word?) post that turns that take-up spool. But, there’s a gear synched to that winding knob, and that’s what advances the film. If that winding post isn’t spring-y enough to provide the friction to turn that take up reel, you get a pile of film mashed into the right side of the camera that gums up the works.
When I figured that out, I took a flat-head screwdriver and pried the two halves of that winding post apart a little bit, so that take-up spool is on there good and tight. (I managed to salvage a good chunk of the chewed rolls by unloading in the bag, and feeling my way to the end of the mangled bit and cutting that off with scissors.)
Another ”problem” really isn’t a problem—it’s caused by not doing research. Fortunately for me, I already knew about setting the (curtain) shutter speed, courtesy of a friend gifting me his father’s Practika, an East German camera produced with Soviet tendencies—one of which is: to change the shutter speed, you wind it the camera first, then set the speed on that dial at the top. If you do that in reverse, it’s highly likely problems of the permanent kind follow.
I’ve come to like the camera, despite the occasional hinkiness of the shutter mechanism, which then produces some odd exposure values on the right side of the image. This is undoubtedly due to curtain drag induced by the aging and subsequent hardening of lubrication, which can be fixed with a bit of CLA.
I prefer my medium and large format cameras for just about everything film-related these days, but, this camera has been great to just grab if I’m in a hurry out the door to have something with me. The FED is just so simple and compact, and, now that I’ve gotten used to using the rangefinder (note: estimate your distance and adjust before bringing it to your eye for a fine tune), an extremely quick shot, and the Industar lens delivers some surprising sharpness.
Since using this camera, I’ve picked up another 2d body for parts, and an earlier version with a collapsible 3.5 lens (labeled FED but I think manufactured by Industar) That I could conceivably shove in a shirt pocket. For a grab-and-go film camera, I’m in.
Oh, actual photos from the cameras? Coming soon on this here website.
Can’t wait? Really? I am flattered. Find me on Flickr or Instagram at Darkroom Detritus.
