Kapa
Established
Picked up a near mint boxed Fed 5 recently for a steal....
Virtually no scratches or wear and tear. Came with a Industar
61L (I think).... Body serial no: 445857. Lens no: 8407573
Just seems too good to be true and suspect it might be a fake.
Can't find much regarding intentifying FSU fakes except bit below...
Can anyone help with regards to this......?
http://www.commiecameras.com/sov/35mmrangefindercameras/index.htm
and this....
Four different factories produced Soviet rangefinder cameras. They were the first to copy the Leica II and the last to finish copying the Leica II. They then built a long series of LTM cameras. Perhaps the penultimate camera was the Leningrad with a brightline viewfinder for the accessory lenses and a spring motor drive.
Fake Cameras
Because counterfeiting is rife in Russia any really rare FED such as the Siberia, TSVVS and the FED-V must be assumed to be a fake. The FED S is more likely to be real because to fake one you need a rare lens and a body with 1000 speed. The price that could be realized for a FED S will not cover the effort to fake one,The Zorki red banner of Labor, the Siberia and Yura must also be assumed to be a fake. Even an expert can only verify that it may be original. Some Items such as the FED Stalinets and Stemar copy are known to all be fakes. In many cases even an expert can only say "this appears to be original" because only 1 or 2 of the model have been seen.
"Commerative" Cameras
There are large numbers of special cameras coming out of Russia. Original cameras are being taken into small workshops and remanufactured The workmanship on many of these cameras is exquisite. You could not afford to make a camera of this quality anywhere else in the world and sell it for a profit. In many cases they are really of gem quality. I believe that in 10 or 20 years they will be collectable as "Soviet Fakes" and worth a lot of money.
There is only one genuine FED-1 commerative, the 300 year aniversary of the Ukraines union with Russia. These were produced in small numbers of the last variation of the FED 1. The rest are "non-factory authorized commeratives'. This is especially true of the Gold Plated cameras. Ostentation of this sort was totally unacceptable in a comunist society.
:bang:
Virtually no scratches or wear and tear. Came with a Industar
61L (I think).... Body serial no: 445857. Lens no: 8407573
Just seems too good to be true and suspect it might be a fake.
Can't find much regarding intentifying FSU fakes except bit below...
Can anyone help with regards to this......?
http://www.commiecameras.com/sov/35mmrangefindercameras/index.htm
and this....
Four different factories produced Soviet rangefinder cameras. They were the first to copy the Leica II and the last to finish copying the Leica II. They then built a long series of LTM cameras. Perhaps the penultimate camera was the Leningrad with a brightline viewfinder for the accessory lenses and a spring motor drive.
Fake Cameras
Because counterfeiting is rife in Russia any really rare FED such as the Siberia, TSVVS and the FED-V must be assumed to be a fake. The FED S is more likely to be real because to fake one you need a rare lens and a body with 1000 speed. The price that could be realized for a FED S will not cover the effort to fake one,The Zorki red banner of Labor, the Siberia and Yura must also be assumed to be a fake. Even an expert can only verify that it may be original. Some Items such as the FED Stalinets and Stemar copy are known to all be fakes. In many cases even an expert can only say "this appears to be original" because only 1 or 2 of the model have been seen.
"Commerative" Cameras
There are large numbers of special cameras coming out of Russia. Original cameras are being taken into small workshops and remanufactured The workmanship on many of these cameras is exquisite. You could not afford to make a camera of this quality anywhere else in the world and sell it for a profit. In many cases they are really of gem quality. I believe that in 10 or 20 years they will be collectable as "Soviet Fakes" and worth a lot of money.
There is only one genuine FED-1 commerative, the 300 year aniversary of the Ukraines union with Russia. These were produced in small numbers of the last variation of the FED 1. The rest are "non-factory authorized commeratives'. This is especially true of the Gold Plated cameras. Ostentation of this sort was totally unacceptable in a comunist society.
:bang:
erikhaugsby
killer of threads
Maybe I'm just ignorant, but why would a Russian craftsman (in no way meant to be racist or discriminatory, but the FEDs are Russian) want to counterfit the abundant FED camera when he can just as easily make a fake Leica?
I have not yet heard of a "fake" FED or Zorki.
I have not yet heard of a "fake" FED or Zorki.
rbiemer
Unabashed Amateur
Yeah, there are still tons of NOS(New Old Stock) FED 5 cameras around. Dunno where you got yours but if the dealer is OK then you likely did get a "new" one.jpbob100 said:
I just bought one my-self from this seller:
EBAY LINK
And I have no doubt there are lots of others out there.
One question that comes to mind about this:
Even if some one actually wanted to counterfiet a FED5, what other, presumably cheaper, camera could they start from?
I think the FED5 is an underrated camera, personally. Ugly as sin but mine works everytime. And I expect the new one to work when I get it.
If Leica=Rolls Royce; then FED5=VW (original)Beetle in my opinion.
Rob
Kapa
Established
Yeah, I doubt this unit is a fake.... and agree that the FED 5 is
supremely butt ugly..... it was this sentence from commiecameras
website that raised the question....
"Because counterfeiting is rife in Russia any really rare FED such as the Siberia, TSVVS and the FED-V must be assumed to be a fake"....
The other reason is compared to my Fed 4 the chrome is really shiney, cheap looking. The leatherette also looks cheap. Maybe it's just because it's "New old stock"...?
One other thing, it has a "CCCP" logo on back plate rather than the usual made in USSR.
supremely butt ugly..... it was this sentence from commiecameras
website that raised the question....
"Because counterfeiting is rife in Russia any really rare FED such as the Siberia, TSVVS and the FED-V must be assumed to be a fake"....
The other reason is compared to my Fed 4 the chrome is really shiney, cheap looking. The leatherette also looks cheap. Maybe it's just because it's "New old stock"...?
One other thing, it has a "CCCP" logo on back plate rather than the usual made in USSR.
darkkavenger
Massimiliano Mortillaro
Trust me, no one would lose it's time faking a fed 5!
pvdhaar
Peter
Just a note, FED-V doesn't stand for FED-5..Kapa said:
If I remember correctly, FED-V is a FED-1 variant.
O
Oldprof
Guest
Rumor has it that lots of Canon, Leotax, Nicca. and Tanack rangefinders are being converted into fake FEDS. The mystique of the FED marque has risen steadlily in the past few years! As demand outstrips supply other rangefinder brands may be sucked into the swirling vortex of FED fakery.
Jocko
Off With The Pixies
pvdhaar said:
Absolutely: a near copy of the Leica IIIa, produced in very small numbers in 1938.
Kapa, one day you'll see the funny side of this!
Ian
Ash
Selflessly Self-involved
Oldprof said:
OT slightly - going in the other direction, wasnt someone selling a Kiev with a Contax front plate?
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Kapa
Established
Thanks for clarifying that for a newbie to Rangefinderdom.....
Cheers!
Cheers!
andy_v
Established
Exactly! I live in one of FSU republics and I can tell you that Fed5 is easy to find in ex condition. And this is the cheapiest FSU rf.darkkavenger said:Trust me, no one would lose it's time faking a fed 5!
lushd
Donald
I have one of these new old stock FED 5 - its works feel gummed up. Has anyone had one serviced and noticed a difference? Anyone got a treatement for the horrible shiny finish?
captainslack
Five Goats Hunter
lushd said:
Sandpaper? Steel wool? Seriously, you can't make it any uglier!
lushd
Donald
I have thougth about the steel wool and you are certainly right about its handsome looks. I sort of hope someone might have gone there before me. Maybe I need to be the pioneer...
physiognomy
Confirmed RF addict...
I like the black ones for sale from the seller Rob mentioned above... If I didn't already have a chrome 5B I'd be tempted... It's just a bit hard to justify over $75 when I already have a rear lens cap for my I-26L/D
Cheers!
Peter
Cheers!
Peter
Jocko
Off With The Pixies
lushd said:
Yes and No, Donald. I've bought 2 NOS FED 5Cs and i must admit I rather like them, but (as we all know) just because they're new doesn't mean they work. The first one had a duff rangefinder and a defective shutter and the second has oil in the viewfinder and a wonky meter, which I "repaired" by brute force.
Anyway, the first went to Oleg and came back A Very Nice Camera and A Pleasure to Use.
As for the finish, I expect it will rub off in time
Cheers, Ian
brachal
Refrigerated User
Faking a Fed 5 would be like faking a Yugo.
Having said that, I've owned 3. One broke, gave one away, and one is still with me. It was the first real film camera I ever used. I like the 5.
Having said that, I've owned 3. One broke, gave one away, and one is still with me. It was the first real film camera I ever used. I like the 5.