FED 50/2.0 lens

F

Frontman

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I came across one of these lenses, the asking price is $100. I'm thinking it would go well with a couple of my cameras, but want to know if anyone has had any experience with this lens.
 
I tried it out once, and as can be expected, it is pretty poor wide open.
 
This is supposed to be a copy of the Leitz Summar--Leitz's first f:2.0 lens. It would not be something for everyday use but could be interesting in specific situations.
 
outfitter said:
Just remember the threads and the registration are not standard LTM and they need to be adjusted to your camera. Here are some shots with the Fed 50/f2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38667038@N00/
Click to expand...

Interesting, I've been using an FED 50/3.5 as-is on my Leica with no problems. If nothing else, I can put it on the old FED1 I picked up this week.

Nice shots by the way, I hope this lens works as well as yours does.
 
Outfitter is right, though.

The Fed 50/3.5 often is a post-war lens and is Leica-standard, the 50/2.0 is for sure a pre-war lens, and they were made to fit the matched body. Only after the war did FED standardize lens production, before that lenses were made to fit the body, like Leica started out.

I have two FED-S cameras. One was at Yuri's to have it rebuilt, it had been partially stripped to be hacked into a fake Leica before they found out that the FED-S is worth more. I asked Yuri to bring it into Leica specs. The other one is original FED-S, which I got from Arsenal through That Auction Site, they had mislisted it for a 'normal' FED 1 :D It was a steal.

The 50/2.0 is a complete Summar clone. The barrel is a bit longer (no collapsing on Leicas!!!) but for the rest it is identical. I had test shots with both lenses and my M8, and could not see any difference, not in colour, bokeh, DOF, anything. Focus throw is almost the same length, aperture scale is identical.

Try to find out if there's a FED body in the vicinity, the FED-S has a top shutter speed of 1/1000th, and reportedly only 2,000 were made. A matching camera and lens sometimes sell for approx. EUR 500 on That Acution Site. Yuri will happily bring it back to life, but do ask him to keep the non-Leica specs. Might cost you a bit more than his standard body/lens CLA package deal.
 
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CLE-RF said:
Outfitter is right, though.

The Fed 50/3.5 often is a post-war lens and is Leica-standard, the 50/2.0 is for sure a pre-war lens, and they were made to fit the matched body. Only after the war did FED standardize lens production, before that lenses were made to fit the body, like Leica started out.

I have two FED-S cameras. One was at Yuri's to have it rebuilt, it had been partially stripped to be hacked into a fake Leica before they found out that the FED-S is worth more. I asked Yuri to bring it into Leica specs. The other one is original FED-S, which I got from Arsenal through That Auction Site, they had mislisted it for a 'normal' FED 1 :D It was a steal.

The 50/2.0 is a complete Summar clone. The barrel is a bit longer (no collapsing on Leicas!!!) but for the rest it is identical. I had test shots with both lenses and my M8, and could not see any difference, not in colour, bokeh, DOF, anything. Focus throw is almost the same length, aperture scale is identical.

Try to find out if there's a FED body in the vicinity, the FED-S has a top shutter speed of 1/1000th, and reportedly only 2,000 were made. A matching camera and lens sometimes sell for approx. EUR 500 on That Acution Site. Yuri will happily bring it back to life, but do ask him to keep the non-Leica specs. Might cost you a bit more than his standard body/lens CLA package deal.
Click to expand...

Interestingly enough, there is a rather unusual FED camera nearby. I'm not sure which model it is, it looks like an FED 1, but has a tall shutter button, and a tall aperture dial. It's also priced higher than the normal FED 1 cameras at about $300 (most FED/Zorki cameras here sell for under $100). I'll have to take a closer look at it this weekend.
 
It could be the rare FED-C (or FED 1 type 4D). It's called 'Komandirskij Fed' and is very much sought after by collectors. That model came with the rare FED 50mm/f:2 lens.
 
I was told that it was an FED 1 made for use in Siberia. The extended shutter control and button were made large for use with gloves. The camera also comes with a 50/3.5 Industar lens, which also has raised nobs for the aperture and focus. Also found was a "FED-1948-Zorki" with lens and case, I was told it was collectible, but I don't know if the $200 asking price is fair or not.
 
Frontman said:
I was told that it was an FED 1 made for use in Siberia. The extended shutter control and button were made large for use with gloves. The camera also comes with a 50/3.5 Industar lens, which also has raised nobs for the aperture and focus. Also found was a "FED-1948-Zorki" with lens and case, I was told it was collectible, but I don't know if the $200 asking price is fair or not.
Click to expand...
The FED Siberia seems to have a lot of controversy about it. The argument is around whether or not there are any genuine ones. General concensus seems to be that most, if not all, are fakes. Bear that in mind...it may be an interesting one to collectors but it may also turn out not to be worth more than curiosity value.
 
Mablo said:
It could be the rare FED-C (or FED 1 type 4D). It's called 'Komandirskij Fed' and is very much sought after by collectors. That model came with the rare FED 50mm/f:2 lens.
Click to expand...

Rare is a much over used word. I have three Fed-C cameras (and Fed 50/f2 lenses) sitting in a draw and they were not hard to come by so I wouldn't use the word "rare". Perhaps "uncommon" is a better word.
 
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