FED-1 FED-2 Fit and feel

[Nickfed]

Yesterday I received a FED-2 in the mail from Sweden, the well travelled Olga, who actually lives in Guadalajara.

I have never seen a FED-2 before. It's size was a real surprise. The FED-1 is a surprise because it is so small. This is a surprise because, while not big, it is massive by comparison.

I don't think this has been done before, so I submit some comparative pictures, which show the FED-1 best described as "dainty".

 

[derevaun]

Thanks for posting this--I too had no idea there was such a difference. I guess I always thought the FED-2 was a tiny step on the road from sveldt to monstrous, but it looks like a big leap. Ouch, the GAS....

 

[pvdhaar]

..I have never seen a FED-2 before. It's size was a real surprise. The FED-1 is a surprise because it is so small. This is a surprise because, while not big, it is massive by comparison..

But it does have the strap lugs..

Interesting pictures though, it's not just the rangefinder housing that's higher, it's more bulky all around..

 

[captainslack]

Wish you had a FED 5 to stack up next to those two. Be interesting to see just how much bigger they got.

 

[claidemore]

Arghhh, I wish my digital was working...I could stack a Fed 1 up against a Fed 3b. The 3b is about 2 cm taller, not quite 1/2 cm longer and the baseplate is about 1mm wider. That doesn't seem like much on paper, but visually the Fed 1 makes the Fed 3 seem huge. Don't have a Fed 2 or 5 to compare (yet!).

Dainty, elegant, sleek, svelte, all words that work when describing the Fed 1.

 

[ZorkiKat]

Dainty, elegant, sleek, svelte, all words that work when describing the Fed 1.

You forgot 'sensual'....😀

 

[mac_wt]

I made some quick digital snaps of the whole family (the smallest is actually a nephew: a Zorki 1). The Fed 5 is a little less high than the Fed 4.

The difference between a Fed/Zorki 1 and a Fed 5 is: slow speeds, a timer, a removable back, a larger viewfinder with integrated rangefinder and a meter. Leica, who designed the original, incorporated most of these features in their later cameras and a Leica M6 is also considarable larger than a Leica II (and then I try to forget the M5). But I agree that their solution is slightly more elegant than Fed's.

Wim

 

[mac_wt]

One more, to complete the family portrait.

Wim

 

[lushd]

I once read that time is flowing backwards and I think this set is proof. The example that proves the point - the simplest, greenest, most elegant and flexible way of writing something and passing it around is to use a pen and some paper. As time has gradually flowed backwards, a much more noisy, irritating, frustrating, complicated, expensive and clumsy way of doing the same thing has appeared (called the PC and Printer). The same here - the most perfect, compact and elegant solution to 35mm photography arrived in the form of the Leica II and gradually degenerated (in the SU, anyway) into the ugly and clumsy FED 5.

 

[captainslack]

I once read that time is flowing backwards and I think this set is proof. The example that proves the point - the simplest, greenest, most elegant and flexible way of writing something and passing it around is to use a pen and some paper. As time has gradually flowed backwards, a much more noisy, irritating, frustrating, complicated, expensive and clumsy way of doing the same thing has appeared (called the PC and Printer). The same here - the most perfect, compact and elegant solution to 35mm photography arrived in the form of the Leica II and gradually degenerated (in the SU, anyway) into the ugly and clumsy FED 5.

Progress isn't necessarily a good thing, huh?

 

[je2a3]

I once read that time is flowing backwards and I think this set is proof.....same here - the most perfect, compact and elegant solution to 35mm photography arrived in the form of the Leica II and gradually degenerated (in the SU, anyway) into the ugly and clumsy FED 5.

I can fully empathize, my FSU craze started with the Fed 2 and Zorki 5/6 which progressed to my favorite shooter - a Leica II. But the other day I loaded a Zorki 6 just to pay homage to how I came to appreciate the Barnack design.

Joseph

 

[Nickfed]

Further to this, in the feel. The kids in Kharkov got their act tiogether in the milling shop. The arrows and the frame count dial are finer engraved. The FED-2 knobs are much more finely milled and thus more comfortable. The "comfort factor" in using the knobs is entirely down to the fineness of the milling. This becomes most apparent at the top, where the FED-1 knob is uncomfortable to hold. I don't think Leica II knobs are any better finished.

The FED-2 sounds better. This may be simply down to CLA, though my FED-1 seems very clean.

In the viewfinder. The FED-2 has a view that ia about 50% larger. It comes at a hell of a price. The FED-1 finder is about 100% brighter and the rangefinder spot is about 100% larger. None of this will stop me getting a FED-2.

 

[je2a3]

....I don't think Leica II knobs are any better finished....

I agree with regards to Fed/Zorki 1 knobs, when they are not CLA'd it can develop finger callouses. But the knobs are indeed better finished and everything just works smoother on the Leica.

Joseph