Best FSU rangefinder for the money.

[BillBingham2]

Well, I would say that is not the point of buying FSU.

If you do not want a working camera, why not send me the money directly?

Some people can tinker with cameras, others can not (either skills, time, tools). Some people get lucky and find a working FSU, others do not (like me!). Some times you get your cameras CLAed and things are good, other times not so good (like me!).

If you are intrested in the Kiev, save yourself money and go buy a Nikon S or S2. Besides the 3 Kievs = 1 Nikon, let's just say 2 Kievs, postage for CLA and fix, cost of same, several rolls of film testing and retesting, the pain of missing shots that you would have gotten with a well working camera. Don't forget postage and time in the shop. Hell, my old Nikon S2 was priceless.

I sunk a ton of money in getting a Fed 2 pimped and CLAed, two Kievs getting CLAed and some lenses cleaned. What do I have to show for it, an empty wallet. If you have time to tinker and can spend the bucks for a small set of tools, give it a try, I wish I had the time. I had all three cameras done with a good guy, they came back duds.

I really liked the Fed 2 I had, but I came to find out that it just didn't work. They guy I sold it to and I went half and half on his CLA and it did not work then either.

I fell so hard for Nikons that I sold my Leica Ms and now use an S3-2000. If you want LTM, get an old IIIa and send it to Ye. If you want Kiev, go Nikon.

I buy a camera because I want it to work. I bought the FSU gear (three bodies, six lenses) because I wanted it to work. I like taking pictures.

B2 (;->

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

Tough call. As we've seen here there are a lot of different experiences with FSU cameras. If you land a good working one your in luck. If you get a lemon its a trail of tears pursuing a working one.

When people say its a gamble, it really is a gamble. I've bought a Fed2 from Fedka and a early model Kiev 4a from Oleg. While cheap they developed problems within one year of good use. Getting Eddy to repair them while still reasonably priced adds to the total amount of money spent on them. I'm hoping my two FSU's last because I don't think I'll send them back for any additional repairs.

The one thing I learned from using FSU's is that peace of mind has a price. While it may be a floating variable it does have an impact on decisions. Peace of mind may not matter much when everything works swell but when something does go wrong it can mean everything or one can simply shrug it off.

I've been using other gear since I started out with FSU camera but still come back to them occasionally. For me I don't really care what happens to them since I have others to use if one pops. They are still fun to use with their quirks.

With all that said I like to think the Fed2 is a nice camera to start with. Not a bad way to take a dip in the interchangeable rangefinder waters.

 

[Cagliostro73]

Hi, i'm new to this forum and i like the FSU RF section.
In my opinion and experience and despite of it's fame i'm a proud owner and user of a Zorki 3 since 1995.
My Z3 is now 55 years old (s/n 5438733).
I never experienced troubles except for some little holes in the cloth shutter, and i repaired them by myself.

Buona luce!
(Best of light!)

 

[Kalli]

Being in a pinch with a less-than-perfect working Zorki-4 I'm pondering just buying a "new" FSU rangefinder to replace it as I want to have a rangefinder to play with. Buying one from Oleg is cheaper than having Oleg service my wonky one and I'm going slightly grey haired looking for someone to CLA/fix my Zork here in Sweden.

I very much enjoy my Zorki-4 and I'd rather not live with a dimmer or smaller viewfinder. However, I mainly zone-focus/pre-focus/whatever of that ilk and rarely use slow speeds (wait, 1/30 is a slow speed, right?) and the lines of the Fed-2 are quite alluring.

Also, feels silly to get another Zorki when I might just be able to fix it/get it fixed at some point. I'm rather particular about getting a Zorki-4 similar to mine, which means vulcanite and strap lugs and the Fed-2 pretty much always has both.

Is there a big difference between the Zorki-4 and the Fed-2 when it comes to the size and brightness of the viewfinder? The Fed-2 has a somewhat "sunken" cold shoe and I would probably get a J-12 + a viewfinder as soon as I can. The fixed or turret viewfinders shouldn't be problems but what about something like the Voigtländer 28/35 minifinders? Would they work properly on a Fed-2?

The Zorki-6 seems to be the third option. I like the hinged back but they look a bit less elegant than the Zorki-4 and Fed-2. How do they compare in quality to the other two?

 

[ludoo]

The FED-2 vf is much more squinty and the diopter lever pretty annoying, but on the plus side the rf patch is very contrasty. A few FED-2 variations have a raised shoe, mine had the sunken one and the cheap Helios viewfinder did not fit. One of the reasons (together with the squinty vf) why I sold it. It's a very nice camera though.

 

[robbiechad]

Hi, I,m going to recommend a Fed 2 as I have had one for the last couple of years, It was a bit sluggish when I first got it, but a little judicious oiling and cleaning got it working reasonably well, I use a helios viewfinder which I find fits Ok , I just use the normal viewfinder for focussing. I also have a Kiev 4a which when I got it was cr**p but bit the bullet and had it CLAd by Oleg, the slow speeds by the way were still out when it came back from him so if it dies again on me I will strip it down myself ! I can balls it up just as good as Oleg can!! One thing, do not expect Japanese or German quality from a FSU camera, no way Jose, Ruski lenses have a certain feel and look but do not compete with modern lenses but having said that some of my Ruski pics (especially B & W) hard hard to distinguish from my Minolta Dynax pics and also my Yahica 1.4 Standard which is a cracker!!

 

[Shelley-Ann]

I'll be the lone voice of dissent regarding Kiev rangefinders.
I have four, and only one of them has a problem with the rangefinder out of alignment (everything else works). The rest work well. The only reason I bought 4 was because I liked them. I've had more issues with Olympus OM -1's, but I think that was more the luck of the draw then anything else.

 

[Spider67]

The 4K and the 4's I have are all decent users. All of them werein need of shutter adjustment when I bought them. The exception: A Z4 I got as a gift and which had been stowed away with cocked shutter for decades, had some oxydation on its exterioir, but still worked.
Where does this leave you? My vote: a Zorki 4K or a 4 , not to expensive and if you buy them from a reputable seller then you need not worry about them working.
Best regards
Des
PS:...And a praise for the Kiev....if it has been serviced by Spyderman!

 

[gb hill]

If you want a meter buy a Fed 5. I have one & it's fun to use. The I-61/LD lens is good & sharp. I use it on my Bessa R alot. If you wish to use sunny 16 rule or a separate l/m then a Fed 2. Don't worry about the v/f it's just part of the Fed 2s character. I don't have the best eyes & I have no problem. I also like the diopter lever on the Fed 2 vs the round eye adj. piece on back of the Fed 5. easier to adjust while looking through the v/f. I found though once adjusted you rarely need to mess with it any more. I also have found the fsu lenses are some of the best for shooting b&w film.

 

[Kalli]

For what it's worth I went for a Fed-2 after my Zorki-4 developed shutter issues and I prefer the Zorki on most accounts. I have no way of knowing what is down to sample variation and what is down to genuine differences between the two camera types.

What the Fed-2 seems to do better is the rangefinder patch and the rangefinder should be more accurate. Since I mostly scale focus in some way this is a very minor issue for me. The Zorki has a bigger viewfinder with more magnification which is a good thing if you're stuck with a 50mm-is viewfinder anyway.

My Fed-2's shutter is louder than the Zorki-4's and sounds a lot different. This surprised me a lot. The Fed-2's shutter reminds me of a weapon, very springy sound with a certain finality to it. Probably not a big difference from the noise my DSLR makes but the DSLR's shutter/mirror sound more innocent.

The Fed-2's shutter speed dial is even more fiddly than the Zorki-4's. That was a major surprise for me. I've used a Fed-5b and that was probably the only thing better on it compared to a Zorki-4. Then of course the B-30-500 shutter of the Fed-2 might be more reliable than the B-1-1000 shutter (if I recall correctly) on the Zorki-4.

The Zorki-4 also seems to be more comfortable in my hand. However, that may very well be down to me being used to it (I have small hands but it's still easy to end up with a finger covering the rangefinder's lens) and in any case that's certainly a personal issue.

The Fed-2 is slightly smaller, looks a bit more elegant than the Zorki-4 and in the case of my two cameras the Vulcanite covering on the Fed-2 is nicer with a better grip (I have an early-ish Zorki-4 – sn. starts with 61 – so it has strap lugs and Vulcanite but my Fed-2 is a later model with self-timer).

There's not a lot in between them but I really want to fix my Zorki-4 so I can get back to using it. If I can do that I might eventually sell my Fed-2 with the Industar-26 lens. Even if I rather like it. It's a pretty thing...

 

[Welsh_Italian]

Best value FSU rangefinder?

I'm going to go against the grain and say a Fed 4! One of these was my first interchangeable RF camera and the picture quality outweighs anything else I have (including some nice Pentax gear; though I haven't tried Leica or the top-end Zeiss stuff). Seriously - the image quality blew me away and surprised other photographers who honestly thought the pics were taken by a medium format camera or a very high end 35mm/DSLR.

Why good value? Coz they're cheap as anything. They're ugly too which I guess has something to do with it...

 

[howpow]

My vote for what you ask is the FED 3B. Full range of speeds, lever wind, good diopter system and my 2 at least are very reliable. Not as collectable as some models but pretty cheap.

 

[rxmd]

I'm not sure whether there are any collectible Soviet cameras, except maybe pre-war FEDs and one-off prototypes. This is partly what makes them interesting.

 

[lawrence]

I'm not sure whether there are any collectible Soviet cameras, except maybe pre-war FEDs and one-off prototypes. This is partly what makes them interesting.

"Collectible" is one of those words I just love because anything in the world can be collectible -- all you need is someone to collect it 😱

 

[rxmd]

Of course under such a literal definition you can create all sorts of interesting Gödelian paradoxa ("I collect only things nobody considers collectible.")

 

[mnmleung]

I'd second whoever suggested getting an FSU that has been CLA'd.

A couple of people here and on flickr recommended I bought my FSU from Oleg Khalyavin okvintagecamera.com

I have a Zorki 1, Fed 2 and Kiev 4 and they have worked well. People at my local camera club thought these were the cleanest FSU models they have seen. I have read that some people weren't as happy with this vendor (but there are far more happy than unhappy people from what I can remember) : I can only speak from my own experience and I am very happy.

 

[relistan]

I have no experience with other FSU RF cameras, but I recently got a 1957 Zorki 4 and I love it! This is one great camera. The ergonomics are great and the viewfinder is a bright thing of wonder. Lovely to use, lovely to look at. I have shot about 4 rolls with it and gotten about 4-5 compliments on that "great old camera," including from about a 13 year old. Another advantage of the Zorki 4 from what I read is that it can easily take the Voigtlander viewfinders because the shoe is perched proud of the top of the camera. I use a Heliar 15mm on mine without any issue at all.

I want a Kiev 4. I think they look amazing and the heritage is great. But I love this Zorki and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone.

Cheers,
Karl

 

[fanshaw]

You have to try the Sokol (well, just about every other FSU rangefinder has been recommended, so I thought it was a pity not to leave one out).

 

[rxmd]

Actually the Sokol is not bad. Have you ever used one? If you don't mind that it's big and that you can't change lenses, it's nice with the internal meter, a good viewfinder and a precise rangefinder.