FED 2 yes or no?

FED 2 yes or no?

  • yes

    Votes: 64 75.3%

  • no

    Votes: 21 24.7%
  • Total voters
    85
Purely in the interests of explaining to our friends across the pond I'll add that we use "P&P" for postage and packing...

Regards, David
 
I love my Fed 2b. It's a great camera and takes good photos... I'd given up on film for a while and recently it lured me back because it was the camera that really taught me to be a photographer.

$70 is too high, though and honestly, the Fed2 is a beautiful camera on its own. All the extra painting and such I think detract from a great piece of industrial design.

Your comparison to the Argus C3 is pretty accurate. If you can use a C3 you can use a Fed 2. I agree with the poster above that the C3 is odd looking, but it takes very good pictures, and the 50mm Cintar lens actually does a beautiful job. I think the Fed2 and the Argus C3 are basically what equivalent families would have on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain in the 1950s and 60s.
 
My first RF was a fed 2. It was fun, but I outgrew it pretty fast once I found a 50 to be a bit limiting. If I had a 35mm ltm I would use it more. I'm tempted to take it apart and tinker.
 
I have an Argus C3. Heck, I think I have about 4 or 5 of them. Its nickname (the brick) is deserved for both shape and weight, but can take perfectly nice photographs. The typical Cintar lens is quite up to the task for typical uses. And, there are other lens versions for the Argus that perform better.

The "brick" was/is a robust mechanical camera. They all tend to still work because the mechanism was so simple and beefy. What other camera has this trait? I would say the Fed-2 (and 3).

I've CLA'd and repaired both Fed 2's and Argus (Argi?) C3's quite easily and successfully at home. ***They are ideal for budding tinkerers.***

In the U.S., one should not pay more than $5 (10 at most) for Argi. I think I only paid for one of mine, the remainder were given to me by people cleaning out the closet. (BTW, it pays to get word out that you're an "old camera buff"). I'd pay $20 for a nice Fed2 that I could reasonably expect to be in working order (perhaps after the home CLA).

Having said all the above. I never use my Argi, and very rarely pick up a Fed 2. I have other cameras that perform to higher levels. I just think those cameras are good for "beginners".
 
Tompas said:
You really think so?

I have two of them -- the worst cameras I have ever used: tiny, dark viewfinder without frame lines, wind and rewind knobs instead of lever and crank, a diopter correction lever that's involuntarily misadjusted far too easily, and a horrible film loading mechanism/method.

I'd recommend a Canon P instead. THAT's a fine fully mechanical classical RF!
Click to expand...

ummm this may come the wrong way, but seems like you are describing a Leica Barnack 😛
 
David Hughes said:
Hi,

The important thing is the condition and at that price I'd hope it has been fully checked and so on. I'm not sure what you mean by bronze. Has it been recovered?

FED 2's can be picked up very, very cheaply - say a pound or two (USD 2 to 3 or a little more in Euros). I'd buy a good looking body cheaply and send it to Oleg* for some of his magic. It would probably cost the same but you'd know what to expect; meaning it would be silky smooth to use and work properly.

They are very easy, pleasant cameras to use, if you understand basic old-fashioned manual RF photography and have a light meter.

Regards, David

* http://www.okvintagecamera.com/repair.html
Click to expand...

I'd like to know where one can get these one pound Fed 2s.
 
Hi,

Walked round the town yesterday and looked in the flea market and charity shops. Lost count of the cameras for sale from a couple of pounds for a P&S to dSLRs. Anyway there were several dozen to mull over.

Regards, David
 
Hmmm. A few years later and I suspect the OP (orendanger) did not like the answers received here.

I hope his/her "bronze" Fed-2 worked out for them.

I was poking through my camera boxes recently and.....I still have a Fed-2. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be functioning, but I doubt its working well. The shutter seems too "lazy". I also have a Zorki-4. Neat!
 
Hmmmm, well, um, when you buy anything cheap and old that may have been abused or neglected you have to check it carefully and be prepared to get it sorted out. But sorting them out can turn a lemon into a thing of beauty and functionality...

Do a search on L***a M4's while you are on RFF and you'll see what I mean.

Regards, David
 
I quit trying to pay cheap money for cameras hoping to get one in excellent condition. I think you are better off finding the best one available and paying fair money, with the certainty that it is clean, lubricated, and adjusted.
I recommend alex-ukr-alex on ebay, and I do have a connection, having bought from him 5 times, he is an honest dealer.
 
David Hughes said:
Hmmmm, well, um, when you buy anything cheap and old that may have been abused or neglected you have to check it carefully and be prepared to get it sorted out. But sorting them out can turn a lemon into a thing of beauty and functionality...

Do a search on L***a M4's while you are on RFF and you'll see what I mean.

Regards, David
Click to expand...

So I continue to wonder what happened with the OP. I think we all know what a "bronze" Fed means. Not necessarily a good sign.

I've bought many FSU items over the years from many different people. Only a few from ebay, and that was many years ago before the scams and dregs became common. I know I got my NDVK Fed-1 from a fellow RFFer.

And like many folks here as well, I learned my basic camera repair and maintenance skills with FSU kit. None were lost to incompetence (a miracle) and I have ended up with quite a few well-functioning FSU cams. I rarely use them these days though. I have simply too many cameras and I'm finally coming around to seeing this as a problem (maybe I'm a hoarder?)

But for the OP. We haven't heard from him/her for years now, I wonder if the "bronze" Fed2 soured them on the rangefinder (or film) experience. Seems possible.
 
Well, I buy a lot of cameras from charity shops, or rather I used to because they are cheap and I can check them over and don't worry too much about spending a coin or two.

There seem to be seasons for them, spring (or what passes for it) is a good time to go looking; I've seen dozen these past few days and have bought a couple to play with; both digital and bought out of curiosity. One in its box with everything including two CD's. The cheapest was 50p and that means fifty pennies...

Often something extra comes with them, like flash adapters, Smart Media cards and so on and I can get my money back selling those bits and pieces on ebay. And later on I'll sell the camera and can include a sample photo in the ebay pictures, so it doesn't break the bank and I have a bit of fun. It's also a very cheap way of gaining a lot of experience or things I could never afford the first time round like ring flashes and so on.

The only problem is getting rid of the filters that I never use.

Regards, David

PS And every now and again I hand over a 2 pound coin and get a µ-I or II or a T3 or C-625 etc...
 
Last edited:
davidnewtonguitars said:
I quit trying to pay cheap money for cameras hoping to get one in excellent condition. I think you are better off finding the best one available and paying fair money, with the certainty that it is clean, lubricated, and adjusted.
I recommend alex-ukr-alex on ebay, and I do have a connection, having bought from him 5 times, he is an honest dealer.
Click to expand...

I have also had very good success with alex-ukr-Alex and have 3 very well sorted Fed 3b''s that I really like
 
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