Figuring The Dates

[Ken.Cartouche]

Hi, all!

I know on Kiev cameras and on the Jupiter series of lenses that the year of production can be figured by the first two digits of the serial numbers. What about FED AND Zorki cameras, and Industar lenses? I am borrowing a FED 3 from a friend, and I'm curious to its date of manufacture.

 

[wolves3012]

A question that's been asked a few times. There are semi-reliable dates for the FED 1 but no-one seems to have reliable dates for other FED models. Indeed, no-one seems to be sure if records were even kept. Apart from saying it was made during the years of production of (insert suitable years) you are going to struggle.

Zorki bodies are mostly decipherable in having the first two digits of an 8-digit number as the year but there are plenty of exceptions known. Industar lenses, based on the random sample I have at least, are not readily datable.

 

[nparsons13]

Sovietcams.com gives date ranges for some FSU camera models and types and some FSU lenses. For example, it IDs the types and production runs of the I26m, but the info for the I61 is still "in progress."

 

[Ken.Cartouche]

Thanks, gentlemen. You've solidified what I was already suspecting from the research I was able to conduct on my own. Okay, it's enough for me to say, "This is a FED 3b, most likely from the mid-to-late 1960s." Production of the 3b ended around 1972, is that right?