Favorite FSU RF (?)

[john_van_v]

I just bought a Bessa L w/ a 24mm for Xmas. Now I need darkroom equipment. It really is a beautiful little thing, but it is the present interest in the FSU rangerfinders that is inspiring me.

I am leaning towards a Fed 2. I picked one up in one of the original NY camera stores, Olden. I thought it had a pretty solid feel and smooth operation.

I think the most impressive of the FSUs is the Kiev 4, looks like a truck drives. But the funny shutter is scaring me away.

Sad that all the classic stores have gone from NYC, and this one looks like it may not last long either. They wanted like.. 500$ for theirs, lol.

 

[w3rk5]

I know where you're coming from with the Kiev shutter fear. I was like that when I first go into FSU's. The Kiev was my last addition to my FSU's. I'm glad I got one.

If I could start all over, I'll just by a two Kiev 4's and slowly build up a nice kit.

Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

 

[clarence]

Go for the Fed 2. Good rangefinder baselength. They're lighter than most FSU cameras; you won't need the slow speeds anyway.

Clarence

 

[Ash]

Fed-2 is a nice camera, but as I said in another thread, the VF is very dim on a lot of them. Really nice as a pocket camera, and cheap enough you can take it everywhere. My favourite by far is the Kiev. I ended up spending money on a Contax-II to have the 'real thing'. I love the idea of the focus wheel and huge baselength. Not so keen on the limited choice in lenses or that buzzing shutter noise though 😉

 

[Ash]

ManGo are you promoting polls?! *gasp!* 😀

 

[brachal]

Kievs are great, as is the Fed2. How about the Fed3 as an underappreciated type? I like the feel of the camera, sometimes the slow speeds, and the film lever instead of a knob. It's a shame they deleted the strap lugs, though.

 

[physiognomy]

My favourite is definitely the Kiev. Don't hesitate buying one if you like them because you will only delay the inevitable! There isn't much to fear of their shutters if you get a working example from a reputable source. I own four different Kievs & they all work very well. Sure, I've done some work on them (mostly by choice), but they are definitely as reliable as any of my other fsu cameras.

Peter

 

[gb hill]

Sense your leaning toward the kiev go ahead and get it. But you'll not be satisified until you get a Fed 2. Then you'll not be satisified til you get a Zorki 1 or 2. Then you'll not be....well you get my drift.😉 😀

 

[bgb]

Just buy one of each it's going to happen anyway 🙂 Starting with a Fed 2 of course.
FSUGAS is incurable once you get it you are doomed ... but happy

 

[rbiemer]

I have owned and used these 35mm FSU cameras:
FED 2 and 3(lever wind version), FED5, Kiev 4 and 4a, and Zorki 3m.
The Kievs are very nice and I have been happy with them. The 4(that's the metered version) has been turned into a fake, black Contax. It looks pretty cool but it is not as smooth in operation as the 4a(that's the unmetered one).
The FED 2 was very nice but I didn't get along with it well--the example that I owned was in excellent condition but I wear eyeglasses and couldn't use the VF well at all so I passed it along.
The FED 5 I bought as unused(it sat in a warehouse somewhere since '94) and it works well but is, um, appearance challenged(ok, it's ugly). The diopter correction has enough adjustment that I can see the VF field well with out mashing my glasses against the metal surround. Top speed of 1/500 is sometimes limiting but not too often.
The FED 3 is somewhere between the 2 and the 5 but the one I own isn't in as good condition as either so I'm not using it much. That will probably change once I get it rehabbed.
Which leaves the Zorki 3m cameras. I have two of those and they are, hands down, my favorite FSU cameras. Very pretty and, more importantly, they have all the (for me) essential features: Slow and fast speeds, great VF, strap lugs, and, with a collapsible lens, very pocketable. Not much bigger--if at all-- than the FED 2. They are more expensive than most of the other choices, though.
Probably the best bargain--if you get a good one and can live with the VF--is the FED 2
Rob

 

[zhang xk]

It would be much easier to pick which one you could pass without regret. I don't care much for a Fed 4, and any of the Fed 5s.😀

I like a nice 60's Kiev 4, a Fed 2, Zorki 3,3M, early Zorki 4, Zorki 5,...


zhang

 

[lubitel]

Fed 2 is a great little camera!

 

[3opkuu]

My vote is for either a Fed2 or a Zorkii 6.
The Zorkii is tres moderne in use and feel - the lever winder and the hinged back - and if you pull off that horrid name plate, (and paint it black) it starts to look tres chic... They usually come with a Jupiter 8 - which is, in my opinion, ****loads better than 'the thing' that Fed's usually come with. (Go on, Flame Me!)
Sayng that, I have a Fed2 with a Jupiter 12, which is a cracker, and my 'it's gonna get rough so take the Fed' outfit - this setup has taken some of my most valued images.
I know why so many of you have said the Kiev. I've not got one, but a beautiful East German girl once photographed me on a train with one, and I used the occasion to engage her in a discussion about her passions, and what images she pursued for her happiness. Beautiful to look at, and to use, she lent it to me for a weekend in return for a whole weekend in my darkroom. I fell in love twice that weekend...

 

[cameosis]

i think the fed 2 and the zorki 4k are both ace.

since i have two other cameras, i decided to stick with the zorki 4k and leave it at that ... for the time being. am building up a complete kit with fsu accessories, however (what a surprise). 🙄

 

[robin a]

1-9 Hi,gotta be the Fed2d with a J12 on it.Mine go everywhere.......Robin

 

[oscroft]

A FED-2 would get my vote as the best one to start with, though I'm currently very taken by my newly acquired Zorki-6 (it's like a Zorki-5 but with a, far superior imo, swing back instead of bottom-loading - I wouldn't recommend a bottom-loader as your first one).

A Zorki-4K is probably easier to find than a Zorki-6 (and usually cheaper) because millions we exported, so that might be a good starter (though I think it feels a bit clunky compared to the FED-2 or Zorki-6). There are always some to be found on the auction site.

And then, of course, there's the most beautiful of them all - the Zorki 3M. If I could keep only one of my FSU cameras and had to get rid of all the others, that's the one I'd keep (especially now that Screwy has very kindly given me a proper Zorki spool to fit it 😀 ). They're a bit more expensive though, so probably not the best to start with.

So yeah, overall, I'd suggest a FED-2 - they're cheap to buy, and if you decide you don't like it they're easy enough to resell.

Or then again, I think bgb has the best answer - just get one of each 😉

 

[fidget]

If this were a recommendation to a newbie I would also go with a FED2 as they have a good spread of cool retro features and are easy to work on, but as a working 'alternative' to a more expensive rangefinder I would expect that most would look for a lever wind model. At the moment I love my Zorki5a, which is similar to my Zorki6, but in mint condition (it helps the relationship). But for a vote on it, I think that the FED3a has all the looks and features needed for a retro style shooter and the FED3b has it for the lever wind.
But then again, Kievs are just something else aren't they? Not quite the same thing as a Zorki/FED, very good lenses and lots of features. I just find it hard to buy a good Kiev. The 4 I bought all needed surgery and 1 may never recover....

 

[hitmanh]

For me, a Kiev is the nicest. Very solid feel, lovely bright long based rangefinder/viewfinder, and not a bad selection of glass. The FED2 is nice, but my versions viewfinder is not great, and the dioptic is forever needing adjusting, otherwise a very solid and nice to use camera. The zorki 4k is pretty nice, let down by the flimsy wind-on handle, and not the brightest viewfinder, but easy to use.

Cheers

Matt

 

[Valkir1987]

From all the FSU camera's I have I like my Zorki 4 with engraved shutter dial and a silver Jupiter 8 the most. Next are the Zorki 1 and the Lubitel 2.
I'm using a Fed 5 at the moment, I like the built in light meter but the design is big and uncomfortable. The viewfinder is much to small for such a big camera, and the unreliable frame counter is blocking the way to the release button. The body is nicely shaped, but the top makes it a weird camera.
I've never tried a Fed 2 yet, but I hope I will soon find one. I can't say much about Kiev either, although I know the real Contax. (my father owns one)

Greetings 🙂

 

[peterc]

Either Zorki 3M or FED 1. I have both and it's hard to decide between the two.
Both have great ergonomics. The FED is pretty much limited to the lens it came with (mated at the factory). The 3M works very nicely with Leica glass.

Peter