Bought a FED 2

[smallfooties]

Hi there,
I just bought a FED 2 on ebay and was wondering what mount it is? I asked the seller but i think he struggles with English and didn't answer my questions but sent me photos instead.
It looks good but abit different from the photo on the listing. 😕
Anyway i would appreciate any help in enlightening me as to what mount the FED 2 has... and I am looking for a wideangle lens for it as well if anybody has a spare to sell or can point me to a good one, i would really appreciate it.
I read the J12 is good? Would this fit the FED 2? Thanks.

 

[xxloverxx]

I think it's a LTM mount.

 

[smallfooties]

Ahhh... right... thanks!
So would the J12 fit?

 

[gb hill]

The Fed 2 is a 39mm Leica screw mount. Yes the J-12 will fit & is a good lens. It also has a long base length & can accept lenses up to 135mm as well.

 

[gb hill]

BTW welcome to RFF. The FSU forum has been lacking somewhat. Nice to see a new member!

 

[brachal]

Ahhh... right... thanks!
So would the J12 fit?

Yes. You can use the Fed-2 with any of the FSU LTM (Leica Thread or Leica Screw Mount) lenses. Most of these lenses came in LTM (Fed/Zorki) and Kiev/Contax versions. Make sure any lens you buy is the correct version.

The viewfinder shows approximately 50mm, so you would want an external viewfinder to use with the Jupiter-12. Very early Fed-2s will only accept the KMZ turret-finder in the shoe, but later models will work with a variety of viewfinders.

 

[smallfooties]

BTW welcome to RFF. The FSU forum has been lacking somewhat. Nice to see a new member!

Thanks for welcoming me and telling me what mount the camera is!
I've been thinking about getting one for a long time but just didn't know which one and decided on a FED 2 .
I've seen some shots from the camera and it does look promising! I can't wait for it to arrive so i can play more!

 

[payasam]

If you would post a photo of the top of the camera, smallfooties, it will be easy to advise you on the selection of a finder. A 35mm finder will be adequate (and smaller and less expensive) if you plan to use only a J-12: but if you will use other focal lengths also, the turret finder becomes the obvious choice.

 

[Proteus617]

Smallfooties: What lens do you have currently mounted?

 

[wolves3012]

Welcome to RFF, smallfooties. As the others have said, the FED 2 is an LTM mount (M39). Take a look at the sticky thread on selecting an FSU, that covers the more common lenses too. Be sure to note the caution that there are several SLR lenses in the same thread and these will NOT work, although they can be mounted (they were for the early Zenit SLRs). Otherwise any LTM mount lens ought to work. Most FED 2s came with an Industar 26M lens, which is pretty good (some say it flares easily though).

 

[smallfooties]

Thanks guys for all your replies... Really appreciate the warm welcome!
I haven't gotten the camera yet but the guy gave me a choice of 50mm, 52mm,53mm and 55mm and he will be giving me another lens.
I chose the 50mm but it's a 3.5 and not a 2.8 like the rest? Does this matter?
If he is giving me the 50, 2.8 as an extra lens then which one should i choose as a second lens? To me, i think they all seem to be in the same range so there's probably not going to be a difference? Not sure....
PS: I do street photography and i know a wideangle lens might be a better choice. I've also attached a photo that the seller took... it's abit blur though....

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

A wide is not always desirable for street shooting, because some times you can't get too close to subjects, and a wide angle would make them appear smaller and less important than they are...

It's the same with landscapes: short teles are great to isolate, and you can't have it done with a wideangle...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[pakeha]

welcome smallfooties, you will find that the `old fsu hands' here have exellent manners are are really helpfull. Also an exellent sticky list, enjoy.

 

[gb hill]

From what I can see the lens shown on the thumbnail is a industar 61 52/2:8 commonly called a zebra or panda lens. It's a good lens, quite sharp. One thing to take note on. When looking at the camera from the back you will see the rewind knob on the left. right beside the knob is a small lever, that's a diopter lever that allows you to focus the view finder. Sometimes people will post threads thinking something is wrong with the camera without knowing what that lever is for. Post a photo when you get it.

 

[smallfooties]

A wide is not always desirable for street shooting, because some times you can't get too close to subjects, and a wide angle would make them appear smaller and less important than they are...

It's the same with landscapes: short teles are great to isolate, and you can't have it done with a wideangle...

Cheers,

Juan

I see... I do sometimes find that the 50mm lens is sufficient and i do use the 50mm lens on my OM-1 most times... But sometimes, i also find that the 28mm that i have is better for certain shots that i wanna do... So i guess it depends on the subject matter? Correct me if i'm wrong or don't make sense. I'm trying to learn here... keke....Thanks.

 

[smallfooties]

From what I can see the lens shown on the thumbnail is a industar 61 52/2:8 commonly called a zebra or panda lens. It's a good lens, quite sharp. One thing to take note on. When looking at the camera from the back you will see the rewind knob on the left. right beside the knob is a small lever, that's a diopter lever that allows you to focus the view finder. Sometimes people will post threads thinking something is wrong with the camera without knowing what that lever is for. Post a photo when you get it.

I certainly will post a photo when i get it!
These cameras are so interesting!

 

[nzeeman]

you will see fed 2 is a great camera. if you have any problems just ask - there are many of us fsu users still around here - we are not so active as few years ago but you will surely get fast help...
and welcome to RFF!!

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Excellent choice in the Fed 2. I've owned a lot of FSU cameras, still have several, and the Fed 2 is an all around favorite. The J12 is a pretty good lens, but I've got to say that a jupiter 8 on the Fed is a great combination. Welcome aboard. Be careful, though. Fed's are gateway drugs. 🙂

 

[David Hughes]

Welcome aboard. There's little I can add to what's been said exept that I hope you've studied the "don'ts" that go with the FED's about winding on before setting or changing the shutter speeds and not going from 1/500th to B direct but taking the long way round.

I'm not even sure if they apply to the FED 2 but it's best to get into good habits as you're bound to end up with a ton of the things...

In your shoes, I'd not be worrying about other lenses, yet, but thinking about a lens hood (there's some neat ones modelled on Leica's finest from China) and, of course, you'll have fun finding a flash with the 3mm coaxial cable on it (Vivitar 2500 springs to mind) and lens caps etc.

Let us know how you get on, please.

Regards David

 

[brachal]

Thanks guys for all your replies... Really appreciate the warm welcome!
I haven't gotten the camera yet but the guy gave me a choice of 50mm, 52mm,53mm and 55mm and he will be giving me another lens.
I chose the 50mm but it's a 3.5 and not a 2.8 like the rest? Does this matter?
If he is giving me the 50, 2.8 as an extra lens then which one should i choose as a second lens? To me, i think they all seem to be in the same range so there's probably not going to be a difference? Not sure....
PS: I do street photography and i know a wideangle lens might be a better choice. I've also attached a photo that the seller took... it's abit blur though....

Definitely a later model, late 50's or 60's production. The I-61 could be the camera's original lens. I can't tell from the photo if it has strap lugs or not, the last model Fed-2 did not have strap lugs. If you have the choice of another 50mm lens, I would try to get one of the collapsible 50's -- the Industar-22 and Industar-50 are most common and are well thought of. With the lens collapsed, the Fed becomes a very convenient camera.