snapper78
Established
Today I took my Fed 1 ( 1g, I think) out, with the intention of shooting a few frames to see if it was in reasonable working order. Alas, it wasn't. The film transport was jammed and i couldn't get the cassette out. At home with the aid of pliers I managed to remove the cassette and some bits of film and after a bit of persuasion managed to get the film transport knob to turn. The little lever that switches between transport and rewind was incredibly stiff and needed a certain amount of force to turn it. I determined that the shutter is indeed firing on all speeds but on 1/25 the second curtain is very slow and not surprisingly, I suppose, the same is true on B. Presumably this means that exposure will be uneven on all speeds.
I guess it needs a good CLA and since I don't really think I have the skills to do it, I think I will probably list it on ebay. I suppose I should shoot some frames with the lens first, on another camera to see if it's any good. It looks OK. Do Fed lenses not have serial numbers? I can see no sign of one. The body is 555065, which I gather dates it as 1954.
Many sites claim that the Fed lens is a direct copy of the Leitz Elmar but I have seen it stated that it is in fact a Tessar copy in an Elmar-like mount. I have also seen it stated that it is in fact an Industar under an assumed name. Is there a definitive answer to this?
There don't seem to be many Fed 1s out there for sale so maybe I should sit on it for a while and perhaps send it to some competent person for a CLA.
I guess it needs a good CLA and since I don't really think I have the skills to do it, I think I will probably list it on ebay. I suppose I should shoot some frames with the lens first, on another camera to see if it's any good. It looks OK. Do Fed lenses not have serial numbers? I can see no sign of one. The body is 555065, which I gather dates it as 1954.
Many sites claim that the Fed lens is a direct copy of the Leitz Elmar but I have seen it stated that it is in fact a Tessar copy in an Elmar-like mount. I have also seen it stated that it is in fact an Industar under an assumed name. Is there a definitive answer to this?
There don't seem to be many Fed 1s out there for sale so maybe I should sit on it for a while and perhaps send it to some competent person for a CLA.
Ron (Netherlands)
Well-known
If the lens is really good, that means unscratched and without cleaning marks (i.e. damaged coatings) and the barrel looks good too, a sale of the lens alone will probably bring you more than when sold together.
Further, the value of a Fed 1g is that low, that it would be only economical (well not really of course) to service the camera yourself. It would take a few hours work for someone else and you won't be able to get back the cost of a CLA; in that case - after a good CLA - use it yourself.
Further, the value of a Fed 1g is that low, that it would be only economical (well not really of course) to service the camera yourself. It would take a few hours work for someone else and you won't be able to get back the cost of a CLA; in that case - after a good CLA - use it yourself.
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
If you are in the U.S. where the Fed 1 is relatively scarce, and you like the camera - you may as well get it serviced. You really don't need to waste money sending it to a leica specialist, it's a simple camera and any competent repair shop should be able to take care of it if the innards aren't destroyed.
snapper78
Established
Thanks for the suggestion, Ron. I wouldn't say that the lens is really good but it looks quite good to me, and incidentally, I found the serial number, 9656, on the back of the mount. I'll take some pics with it and then decide whether I want to keep it or not. You're probably right that it wouldn't be worth paying to have the camera serviced, especially as I have almost certainly too many FSU cameras, although this is my only Fed 1.
snapper78
Established
Hi tunalegs.
I'm not in the US but in Wales, UK. I could probably buy a working Fed 1 for the cost of having it serviced. Unfortunately, though, sometimes they aren't working as well as the seller says.
I'm not in the US but in Wales, UK. I could probably buy a working Fed 1 for the cost of having it serviced. Unfortunately, though, sometimes they aren't working as well as the seller says.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
If it is so bad, most likely it needs new curtains as well.
Steve M.
Veteran
If your lens is the collapsible one, I think it's a Tessar design, but mine imaged just like a Leica, only sharper.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
Some of the FED's lenses are based on the Elmar and some on the Tessar fitted to the Contax. The Elmar versions are slightly shorter than the Tessar ones. There's also a Summar and Sonnar clone...
BTW I mean lenses fitted to FEDs not labelled FED. Roughly speaking the Tessars are called Industars.
BTW (2), every time a FED gets destroyed we lose it and soon they will be rare animals as we seem to like destroying them. At USD 48 for a service with new factory parts available I don't see servicing and repairs as expensive. The only problem is the postal delays within the Russian Federation but destroy a FED and it's gone forever, send it to Oleg and it's only gone for a month or two or three, perhaps.
The real problem is that we are always valuing things in terms of money, there's a lot more to it than that, imo, but that's how they want us to think. Then they can go on destroying whatever they like and replacing it with something cheaper and nastier and at a higher price.
Regards, David
PS And if you get it repaired you know it will work, buying one from a stranger is a bit iffy...
Some of the FED's lenses are based on the Elmar and some on the Tessar fitted to the Contax. The Elmar versions are slightly shorter than the Tessar ones. There's also a Summar and Sonnar clone...
BTW I mean lenses fitted to FEDs not labelled FED. Roughly speaking the Tessars are called Industars.
BTW (2), every time a FED gets destroyed we lose it and soon they will be rare animals as we seem to like destroying them. At USD 48 for a service with new factory parts available I don't see servicing and repairs as expensive. The only problem is the postal delays within the Russian Federation but destroy a FED and it's gone forever, send it to Oleg and it's only gone for a month or two or three, perhaps.
The real problem is that we are always valuing things in terms of money, there's a lot more to it than that, imo, but that's how they want us to think. Then they can go on destroying whatever they like and replacing it with something cheaper and nastier and at a higher price.
Regards, David
PS And if you get it repaired you know it will work, buying one from a stranger is a bit iffy...
Coopersounds
Well-known
snapper78
Established
I thought that perhaps launching it back out into the world of the fanciers of old cameras from the Soviet Union might ensure its survival, especially if it falls into the hands of someone who can fix it properly. I would be more likely to do further damage, I think. Incidentally it is very difficult to fit a modern cartridge into it. Were they smaller back in the 'fifties? I think I may have a Russian reloadable one somewhere that I could try in it.
Dralowid
Michael
I'd just keep it. OK so that sounds rather defeatist but they are nice things with a touch of history. Orphanages, Felix E. Dzerzhinsky, founder of the NKVD etc etc...
Then you'll get another and soon you will be buying non functional Feds for next to nothing in order to build up a collection of the different engravings.
Not an offensive passtime and quite enjoyable. Much cheaper than the Leitz trap...
There was a Fed self timer on Ebay are week or two ago. Looked like it was made from a sardine can with a bit of mirror on the front but bet it still worked!
Then you'll get another and soon you will be buying non functional Feds for next to nothing in order to build up a collection of the different engravings.
Not an offensive passtime and quite enjoyable. Much cheaper than the Leitz trap...
There was a Fed self timer on Ebay are week or two ago. Looked like it was made from a sardine can with a bit of mirror on the front but bet it still worked!
locheeboy
locheeboy
100% with David Hughes on this. My FED 2+lens cost £37. It worked well enough, shutter firing correctly. Everything else was slow,rough and stiff though. Stripped and cleaned the lens but ah would never take pliers ad screwdrivers tae these bodies. Seen too many disasters from folk who think they can fix cameras. They end up on ebay with the usual disclaimers about former FSU workers.
Sent the camera tae Oleg. Cost me $46+$12 postage, inc full CLA and stripped, lubed and adjusted lens. It's been purring along beautifully for years now - like a Swiss watch. It'll outlast me...
Sent the camera tae Oleg. Cost me $46+$12 postage, inc full CLA and stripped, lubed and adjusted lens. It's been purring along beautifully for years now - like a Swiss watch. It'll outlast me...
snapper78
Established
I can certainly see the attraction of just holding on to it and occasionally posing in front of a mirror with it or having a friend take my photo with it but if it doesn't take photos it isn't really much use. I have a similar but perhaps worse quandary with my Leica Ic which hasn't worked since 1969. On the one hand it still looks nice but on the other it would cost a lot to fix and even if it were working perfectly wouldn't do anything that my Bessa L doesn't do. Still I'm reluctant to sell it. I also have several Fed 2s, at least two of which work properly, and the Fed 2 is a much nicer camera to use than the Fed 1( based on feel, anyway). I think they took a backward step with the Fed 3 and 4, although the 4 is quite a capable camera, even if the meter doesn't work any more, which they usually don't, i think.
rbiemer
Unabashed Amateur
I think that if your FED1 were actually working you might like it rather more than a FED2--perhaps not but I think it is at least a little unfair to compare an almost working camera with a working one...
That said, I can only echo the other suggestions to send your FED to Oleg:
http://www.okvintagecamera.com/repair.html
He does excellent work at very reasonable prices. And, in fact, could work on your 1c as well.
I live in the USA and the longest I ever waited for return of my cameras was around five weeks--that was due to the postal system not Oleg.
For me, I do think these cameras are worth having professional work done. And, once sorted, they are fun and enjoyable to use.
And, I don't have an early FED but a modern 35mm cassette is a bit of a tight fit in my early Zorki--I have a 1952 1d.
Rob
That said, I can only echo the other suggestions to send your FED to Oleg:
http://www.okvintagecamera.com/repair.html
He does excellent work at very reasonable prices. And, in fact, could work on your 1c as well.
I live in the USA and the longest I ever waited for return of my cameras was around five weeks--that was due to the postal system not Oleg.
For me, I do think these cameras are worth having professional work done. And, once sorted, they are fun and enjoyable to use.
And, I don't have an early FED but a modern 35mm cassette is a bit of a tight fit in my early Zorki--I have a 1952 1d.
Rob
snapper78
Established
Thanks for the information. I have heard good things about Oleg and may well decide to go down that route. After all, a working Fed 1 would be a nice thing to have. I'll wait and see how the pictures from the Fed lens come out first, though, although obviously it would be possible to use other lenses instead if it turns out not to be a winner.
Ron (Netherlands)
Well-known
You could already judge the quality of the lens by holding it agains a strong light (like a lamp on your desk) by looking through the back of it. Look carefully for scratches at the front glass (clean it first). If there are no or hardly any discernible scratches, you have a good one - and you don't have to offer a film to try it.
Further in the past I have - also - restored FEDs (example:https://www.flickr.com/photos/zorki_2007/sets/72157631569483687/) but that was only worthwhile since these were NKVD or earlier FED's which upheld their value. Sending forth and back a package nowadays already will cost a leg. It might however be an idea if you can find someone who wants to service more than one of your camera's i.e. the fed 1, 2 and the Leica in order to save shipping costs.
snapper78
Established
Thanks Ron
More food for thought.
More food for thought.
rfaspen
[insert pithy phrase here]
It would be a shame to lose another Fed1 to the black hole of no return.
If it were me. I would fix it myself, mostly because as an old camera afficianado it makes sense to learn how to fix these older cameras. They are much more pleasant to repair than modern cameras, and obviously designed to be repaired in the first place. I don't like living in a throw-away society, but that's another topic.
If not fixing it myself, I would consider placing it in the hands of another RF fancier who can, or is willing to pay for the repairs.
If keeping it, I would first opt to send it to Oleg. Its not that much money, and the wait is shorter than "lost forever" (as pointed out earlier). Some day, perhaps months from now, a package will arrive and it will be like christmas -- the long forgotten Fed 1 will return gleaming and functioning like a precision machine. Sounds pleasant to me. It sounds like you could live without this camera, so why not just live without it for only 2-3 months?
At the very least, place it on the fireplace mantel. Old cameras are appropriate home decor for those of us that have photographic interests/hobbies. I have a few myself
I just hate to think of a Fed laying at the bottom of a trash bin, waiting to make a journey to the landfill. Tragic.
If it were me. I would fix it myself, mostly because as an old camera afficianado it makes sense to learn how to fix these older cameras. They are much more pleasant to repair than modern cameras, and obviously designed to be repaired in the first place. I don't like living in a throw-away society, but that's another topic.
If not fixing it myself, I would consider placing it in the hands of another RF fancier who can, or is willing to pay for the repairs.
If keeping it, I would first opt to send it to Oleg. Its not that much money, and the wait is shorter than "lost forever" (as pointed out earlier). Some day, perhaps months from now, a package will arrive and it will be like christmas -- the long forgotten Fed 1 will return gleaming and functioning like a precision machine. Sounds pleasant to me. It sounds like you could live without this camera, so why not just live without it for only 2-3 months?
At the very least, place it on the fireplace mantel. Old cameras are appropriate home decor for those of us that have photographic interests/hobbies. I have a few myself
I just hate to think of a Fed laying at the bottom of a trash bin, waiting to make a journey to the landfill. Tragic.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi (again),
I don't think it's an exageration to say that a FED 1 that's been fettled by Oleg will come back like a Leica II that's had the same treatment but at a fraction of the price. Plus he has access to new parts and won't charge UKP 150 (that's USD 240 or so) for a pair of blinds plus fitting them as I was once told by another firm here at home. (It seems they have to be made individually.)
Also it makes sense for us all to support these specialist technicians. One of the joys of old cameras is that they can be kept working forever with a little TLC, until my mobile phone, laptop, car and heaven only knows what else. And every time I change one of those modern horrors I spend a few days swearing at it and what passes for the instruction manual.
Just my 2d worth.
Regards, David
I don't think it's an exageration to say that a FED 1 that's been fettled by Oleg will come back like a Leica II that's had the same treatment but at a fraction of the price. Plus he has access to new parts and won't charge UKP 150 (that's USD 240 or so) for a pair of blinds plus fitting them as I was once told by another firm here at home. (It seems they have to be made individually.)
Also it makes sense for us all to support these specialist technicians. One of the joys of old cameras is that they can be kept working forever with a little TLC, until my mobile phone, laptop, car and heaven only knows what else. And every time I change one of those modern horrors I spend a few days swearing at it and what passes for the instruction manual.
Just my 2d worth.
Regards, David
snapper78
Established
Thanks David
Perhaps the best plan is to get rid of some less interesting stuff to fund the cost of the repair. Since I definitely have too many cameras this shouldn't be too difficult. Unfortunately I am by nature a buyer rather than a seller, hence the surfeit of cameras.
Perhaps the best plan is to get rid of some less interesting stuff to fund the cost of the repair. Since I definitely have too many cameras this shouldn't be too difficult. Unfortunately I am by nature a buyer rather than a seller, hence the surfeit of cameras.