Fed-2 & Time well spent ...

[mike goldberg]

Hi All,

Yesterday morning, my Fed-2 from Fedka was delivered to my door. It is
as advertised Exc- [Exc minus]. Yuri had explained in an email that a lot of
his cameras carry an Exc- designation, because that's how it is with
FSU cameras some 50 years old.

The Fed-2 is very clean, especially on the inside, the shutter speeds look &
sound right on, and the RF focus is OK with an older J8. The winding,
film advance/shutter cocking was a bit stiff. At a nearby electronics shop,
I bought "light oily switch cleaning lubricant," made in Israel and marked,
"for industrial use only." A bit of the stuff sprayed on my finger confirmed
that there was only a very small amount of light oil in the mix.

So I set about cleaning the Fed-2, outside and inside with swabs and a bit
of alcohol, and sprayed just the smallest amount of the contact spray
on carefully selected moving parts. For example, the two little handles that
open the removable back of the camera body were stiff. Then I sprayed
on and into the column having to do with film advance. NOW my winding is
soft & smooth like Ruben's 😀 All those areas that were lubed inside the
body, were then cleaned up with a swab lightly dipped into a 50/50 alcohol
and water mix. The camera was left open to the air for several hours to
be sure everything was dry.

The two hours were well spent... with no need, thus far, to disassemble
anything. And, my energy is in the Fed-2. On to exposing a test roll.

Cheers, mike

 

[dazedgonebye]

They're great shooters.
Looking forward to your first pics with it.

 

[mike goldberg]

Thanks Steve...

And, I'll be checking out your Site & flickr pix.

In 1981, my younger son & I went on a cross country trip in a
'76 Toyota; he was 13 then.. We stayed with friends in Scotsdale;
it was July... hot! 😱

Cheers, mike

 

[dee]

i received a Fed 2c from Oleg a couple of weeks ago - his was very clean too - but is as smooth as my Leica IIIc , which was a shock !
it was a dark blue one too , which he did not bother to mention .
i had bought a ''set'' of red / green / blue from another dealer , which were about the cost of one Oleg camera - but the difference is amazing - i now have three '' spare '' cameras which are suitable for the Oleg treatment , if I so wish !

 

[mike goldberg]

Hi guys,

I affixed a strap this morning, and was out shooting with the Fed-2 this
afternoon. I love the long RF base, and that little central circle is surprisingly
easy to focus. The shutter sure is louder than a Bessa, yet so far, no one is complaining ;-) Hope to have negs & scans in a day or two.

Ciao, mike

 

[dazedgonebye]

Hi guys,

I affixed a strap this morning, and was out shooting with the Fed-2 this
afternoon. I love the long RF base, and that little central circle is surprisingly
easy to focus. The shutter sure is louder than a Bessa, yet so far, no one is complaining ;-) Hope to have negs & scans in a day or two.

Ciao, mike

Mine is considerably quieter than my Bessa, lower in tone as well. You hardly know it's firing.

 

[Warren T.]

Hi All,

Yesterday morning, my Fed-2 from Fedka was delivered to my door. It is
as advertised Exc- [Exc minus]. Yuri had explained in an email that a lot of
his cameras carry an Exc- designation, because that's how it is with
FSU cameras some 50 years old.

The Fed-2 is very clean, especially on the inside, the shutter speeds look &
sound right on, and the RF focus is OK with an older J8. The winding,
film advance/shutter cocking was a bit stiff. At a nearby electronics shop,
I bought "light oily switch cleaning lubricant," made in Israel and marked,
"for industrial use only." A bit of the stuff sprayed on my finger confirmed
that there was only a very small amount of light oil in the mix.

So I set about cleaning the Fed-2, outside and inside with swabs and a bit
of alcohol, and sprayed just the smallest amount of the contact spray
on carefully selected moving parts. For example, the two little handles that
open the removable back of the camera body were stiff. Then I sprayed
on and into the column having to do with film advance. NOW my winding is
soft & smooth like Ruben's 😀 All those areas that were lubed inside the
body, were then cleaned up with a swab lightly dipped into a 50/50 alcohol
and water mix. The camera was left open to the air for several hours to
be sure everything was dry.

The two hours were well spent... with no need, thus far, to disassemble
anything. And, my energy is in the Fed-2. On to exposing a test roll.

Cheers, mike

Hi Mike,

Congratulations on your new Fed-2. I was just curious, I thought Fedka CLA's his cameras prior to them being sold. It seems that yours needed a little more attention after delivery. Was this camera sold as-is (no cla)?

I ask this because I may well purchase something from Fedka someday when I have a little extra $$$ 😀.

Regards,

Warren

 

[HuubL]

Congrats Mike, I ordered mine about two weeks ago. I'm expecting it any day. Not from Fedka, in fact it was really, really cheap, 11.50 UKP (but with a 16 UKP postage fee of course 🙁). I hope I'm lucky and it shoots well.

 

[mike goldberg]

Hi Warren & All,

Before I bought the Fed-2 from Fedka, I asked Yuri what Exc- or "Exc minus"
means. He said, this is the grade he gives many of his items, 45 and 50 years
old. Yuri's grading system is every bit as reliable as KEF & BH Photo. Further,
Yuri said, some of his cameras have had CLA; he doesn't know which...
Sometimes they're on the shelf for long periods of time.

Ruben has a "thing" about soft & smooth winding, because of his Kiev struggles 🙄 When I examined his Fed-2 before I ordered mine,
I could not believe how soft the film advance/shutter cocking was.
Remember, that Ruben's Fed-2 was bought from Oleg, and it did
have recent CLA.

So, why did I buy from Fedka? First, I have had satisfaction with him before.
Also, it took Oleg a few days to catch up on his emails because he was moving
to a new home. I sense that I have a great Fed-2 body, which needs
to be used. The proof will be in today's negs.

Have a look at:
Sticky: FED2 - DIY VF/RF Service (long w/images) ... in this Forum,
to get an idea of what muck & dried grease can be under the top plate of
this great & classic camera. Laika has done a Fed-2 thesis here!

Also: Sticky: HOW TO: FED & Zorki Curtain tension ... by fidget.

As I said, the shutter seems a bit noisy; there may be too much curtain
tension. After some initial runs, I may send my Fed-2, which is pre-1958,
to Oleg for CLA. It's a good shooter and feels good in my hands.

LATER: Now go figure this one?... After Rewinding my first roll of
film, the shutter sounds quieter.

Cheers, mike
BTW: You can buy them cheaper at other FSU Sellers.
You don't know what you are getting, and very likely these would need CLA.

 

[gb hill]

Hey Mike, Just sitting back listening to some really nice background music by Enya. Think it's called new age music, but I like it. Glad to read you got the Fed 2. I wouldn't worry about sending the camera off because of the shutter noise. It probably just needs some attention. Those Fed 2s sure are sweet cameras. I took mine to Old Salem the other weekend. Thats an old moravian community, much like the Amish. Can't wait to see some results from the camera. BTW hows the film developing comming along.? Thanks again for the advice on the R. It's great!

Best to ya,
Greg

 

[januaryman]

Had to pile on, as well. My Fedka Fed2b had been stripped and redone in black enamel and the inside is nearly as clean as the outside. The spool is very tight, so I found it really easier to leave it where it was and load the film as if the spool were non removeable. Worked fine.

Shutter sound is WAY quieter than my Bessa R, not nearly as quiet as my Yashicas. It feels great walking around with this, and discovering the collapsable lens was a revelation for me. This is a very small package to walk about with, and my Sunny 16 guesstimates have been nearly perfect. I like getting back to basics.

Jim