First pix! Pre-1958 Fed-2

mike goldberg

The Peaceful Pacific
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Hi All,

Well, here they three pix, followed by two more.

A WORD ABOUT HARDWARE:
We know my Fed-2 is a pre-1958 model, because of the older
speed designations of 1/25, 1/50, 1/100.
See the CQ Soviet page as well as Fedka on Leica copies.

The J8, 50/2 on the Fed-2 was from an early 1950's production run
at the KMZ factory.
By the way: My 2nd J8 bought from Brian Sweeney, collimated for the
Bessa R, is a 1976 lens from the same KMZ factory; it is much, much better!

Nonetheless, the earlier J8 came through and did quite well.
For convenience, Kodak 400 C41 was used for the test :rolleyes:
Anyhow, RF and shutter speeds are right on, although 1/500 may
be a little slower, as is often the case.

NOTE: Please click on the thumbnails a 2nd time to bring them up to size...
They look much better, large!
- All 3 pix were done at f4.
- The flash shot was at 1/25 for sync.

OK... on to the 2nd Post.
Mike ;-)
 

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First pix! Fed-2 continued...

First pix! Fed-2 continued...

Ok, here's two more pix.

Both the Honda Civic detail and the Watering Can were done close-in,
probably around f 5.6-f4. With no click stops on the J8, I find I'm
often in between the marked stops.

So then, I learn from the test that:

- There are no light leaks.

- All shutter speeds work, more or less, as marked.

- The RF at Infinity, and when the lens is racked out to max close focus...
is right on!

- The Kodak 400 B/W C41, exposed at 200, does NOT like overexposure.

- Although this Fed-2, like any camera 45-50 years old could profit from CLA,
this really might not be necessary. With Spring here, it is warming up, and
USING the Fed-2 on warm days will do camera and photographer a lot of good.

NOTE: Please remember to click on the Thumbnails a 2nd time to
bring them up to size.

Cheers, mike :)
 

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Good tonality. That lens seems pretty sharp, too. Looks like a camera to have fun with.

Ian
 
Wait, I have a FED 3 with a serial number starting with 55, when did they start production of the FED 3???? Sorry to highjack your thread. The pics look good. I have always heard that the FED 2s were good shooter. I will have to break down and buy one eventually...
 
Mike, I really like that lens, nice and compact, it has a good tonal quality and decent contrast. I think you'll love it. It makes carrying your Fed 2 around a real breeze.

Let's see some shots ASAP!
 
Nice shots Mike, but how did you expose the bw400cn at 200 when there is no asa settings on the camera?
 
The Fed and Zorki are really nice compact RF's...After the Leica 2 of course.

Those are great pics, I have a Zorki 1e with a J8. But I haven't got my 1st roll though it to the lab yet. Next week,

The J8 that I had in a Kiev mount was very sharp and had good contrast too. Looks like your J8 is a keeper too.

I too am planning to get a 50/3.5 Collapsible, I think I will get an Industar 50. I hear it is a better lens than the Industar 22

You can get a med size "Lens case" that has a belt hoop, and have a very accessible Fed with small normal or Wide ready to go. I got one from Tenba for $13.00 USD

Enjoy the Fed2..it is a fun camera, Plus the "Thwack" of the cloth shutter is a cool sound.
 
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