Best FSU camera

[arothaus]

The Iskra-2 is my favourite FSU camera, it's a great camera! For 35mm I would vote for a Kiev-2.

And the FED-5 ist the wost FSU ;-)

Regards,
Andreas

 

[wlewisiii]

Kiev 5 in 35mm, Iskra in 6x6 & Moskva 5 in 6x9.

William

 

[reagan]

My blog says the 3M is "my favorite shooter so far." My recently acquired Zorki 3 is a very close second. However, I have TWO Zorki 1s 😉 ... As I was starting to write this, it occurred to me that one or both have film in them at all times, and even when I'm shooting with something else, one of them is usually in my coat pocket. Maybe actions speak louder than words.

 

[captainslack]

And the FED-5 ist the wost FSU ;-)

Definitely the ugliest....

 

[popitz]

Early Kiev-4a with a J-8 of the same age.

 

[varjag]

Another vote for Kiev-4A (or Kiev-2) in good condition.

Regarding the Kiev/Conax vs Leica-type shutters, it ain't less reliable. It could be harder to repair, but not less reliable in practice. And it actually works in the cold, if this is a factor 🙂

 

[hugivza]

What kind of "drougs" are you guys on anyway?!! For me the Kiev 4a with either the J-3 or J-8 is the best, although I enjoy my Fed's and Zorki's. Perhaps my bias is based on the fact that my first "real" rangefinder was a Contax.

 

[ErnestoJL]

My vote is for the Kiev 4 or 4a . It was back in 1982 when I bought my first FSU camera, at a relly bargain price of USD 30 aprox.
I´ve been looking for some years for a ZI Contax, but none was for sale at reasonable prices, so the Kiev came to save the day. For the first time I didn´t regard of it as being a fine camera, also the seller said, "oh, that´s just a russian copy of a good old camera, but nothing to deserve so much attention, it´s a very old style and not comfortable to use" ( it was made in ´66).
I was damn wrong as it performed really well over the years and the lens (a J8) was as good as an old Sonnar 2-50, also "user comfort" wasn´t an issue. I bought my first Contax on june 2005 and compared both cameras. Since then, I´m looking for either another Contax II or a Kiev 4 or 4a and lenses for both.

Ernesto.

 

[rbiemer]

My favorite FSU camera is the Zorki 3m. Second place goes to the Kiev 4a.
BEST camera is a whole other issue and I'm not qualified to judge.
Rob

 

[Solinar]

I guess the criteria are: Compactness, quality of lens, viewfinder, ease of use ... I'm a beginer at FSU and would like to understand which one are best to own ..

I'm with Rob with regards to favorite versus best, as after a year and half of use. I still reach for my FED 2e rather than my Zorki 3m. Both have a shutter release button where "I" am used to, which is at the rear of the camera and a good bit lower than most modern cameras.

With regards to best, I'd lean towards an older Kiev 2 or 4a, as mentioned above. Build is one reason and the chances of getting a Jupiter 9 in working order on the first try seems to be better. Kiev's have that high finger hold, by the way.

 

[jlw]

I'll put a vote in for the Leningrad. It's loud, large, and can be a bit cantankerous, but it is an original design, has a nice bright viewfinder, and the spring wound advance makes for fast shooting. Probably not the FSU for everyone, but certainly an interesting camera.

One warning about the Leningrad is that your lens selection will be very limited. It takes LTM lenses, all right, but there's a "shoulder" over the lens mount that restricts the diameter of lenses that can be screwed in. Wide-aperture and/or tele optics are likely to be a problem -- annoying, since as far as I know the Leningrad is the only FSU camera with finder frames for 50 through 135mm lenses (and an outer unframed finder that's a pretty good match for 35mm lenses.) Frustrating when you've got fields for all those lenses, but can't physically mount them on the camera!

 

[AlexC]

D'oh, forgot to mention this problem with the Leningrad. The "shoulder" prevents lenses with a diameter of around that of the CV 28/1.9 or bigger from being mounted.

 

[hugivza]

Currently away from home, I picked the Zorki 1 and the Zorki 4 to take with me (plus J8, 9, 11, 12,). For convenience and ease of use the 4 is the best for me - rewind is much easier, but the Zorki 4 is larger - the Zorki 1 is a true miniature.

 

[DaveP]

They are all good, but the Fed 3a sure stands out above the crowd for me.....

 

[Mister_Hat]

My vote is for the Kiev, with the Zorki 3M a close second

 

[FrankS]

Same here. I've got one.

 

[ray_g]

Same here. I've got one.

The only FSU I have left (aside from an Iskra II). Rover's old kit bought from Fedka.

 

[zhang]

Kiev 5 in 35mm, Iskra in 6x6 & Moskva 5 in 6x9.

William

And I would add Horizon for panorama. 😀

Zhang