FSU cameras in and of themselves.

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Pfreddee

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How many of you who own and use FSU cameras do so because you like the cameras and the experience of using them, and are not using them as a substitute for a Leica? I suppose that I don't have very high standards in equipment, although I do own professional, albeit entry level, SLR gear. But I very much enjoy my Russian/Ukrainian cameras: FED 2, Zorki MIR, Zorki 6 and Kiev 4AM. They take fine pictures for me and my uses, they are fun to use, and occasionally I get some attention directed at the camera and I can tell their story. I have often read advice to newbies who are trying out the RF experience to get one of these cameras because they are relatively inexpensive. Well, that's true, although my first RF was a Bessa R and 35mm Color Skopar. The next ones were FSU cameras, and I did try a Barnack Leica ad well. The Barnack was not exactly to my tastes, likewise the early FED and Zorkis. But the later FSU cameras are, to my way of thinking, perfectly fine to use in and of themselves. What has been your experience?

BTW, I am still trying to get enough cash together to get an M model Leica (after I get some bills paid off.) I'd like to try the "Year With A Leica And One Lens" experience. I'm not an anti-Leica snob.


Thanks to all who reply.

With best regards,

Pfreddee(Stephen)
 
I love my FSU cameras. I currently own a Fed-2, a Zorki-4, and a Kiev 4A. They're kind of quirky and unique. I particularly like how each model has its own history. Each camera is a small, yet tangible piece of history.

I'm also amazed at the quality of the images I get from my FSU cameras. My Kiev 4A with the Jupiter-8 is particularly excellent.

Here's an image taken with my 1966 Kiev 4A:

4628065747_8938009b34_z.jpg
 
I have nothing bad to say about my FSU gear... I've had good service, and more than acceptable results from my Zorki Id's and my Kievs for over ten years.

And yes, I do have other gear: Bessas, Leica CL, tons of OM and Nikon slrs.
 
I just today bought a horizon panoramic from the classifieds here. My Nex 5 shoots pano that is probably easier and of higher quality, but I'm looking forward to the experience (read: quirkiness) that I have come to expect and enjoy from an old communist made film camera. I also have a pile of other FSU gear that I use alongside of some decidedly more expensive German gear. My first RF was a Fed2...
 
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FSU gear is interesting! Having grown up with all the usual cameras we had available in the US-- the Japanese slr's, the Leicas, Rollei's and Hasselblads, etc-- it has been fun learning about this part of photographic history. Fascinating. FSU gear is capable of taking wonderful photographs and you can have a whole box of cameras and lenses for half the price of an entry level "serious" DSLR. What's not to like if you love film? If I were a pro my bag would be full of the latest/greatest digital gear, but I am a happy amateur; I am only in it for the enjoyment.
 
btaylor541 -- totally true. I had no idea about these cameras until a couple of years ago. The FSU cameras are like a 'parallel universe' of the consumer cameras we grew up with in North America.

I also have a Kiev 88, which could be called a (very) loose copy of a Hasselblad. It's very unrefined in operation but it takes great photos.
 
bobby_novatron said:
btaylor541 -- totally true. I had no idea about these cameras until a couple of years ago. The FSU cameras are like a 'parallel universe' of the consumer cameras we grew up with in North America.

I also have a Kiev 88, which could be called a (very) loose copy of a Hasselblad. It's very unrefined in operation but it takes great photos.
Click to expand...

No. You do.

Cheers,

R.
 
I picked up a FED 1 with its Elmar 50 copy years ago in Budapest while travelling in Europe and used it for a couple of years. It was certainly rough around the edges by comparison with the real thing but it was fun. I mainly used it with other LTM lenses as the lens it came with had so many bubbles in the elements it looked like it was made from fizzy soft drink that had frozen solid. Seriously, I know optical glass of that era had a few bubbles but this was filled with them. Thats the kind of issue you have to cope with when you buy one of these to use.
 
They're cheap fun. If you're a good photographer and have a decent FSU camera/lens (QC was variable), you can take good photographs. But I stopped using them many years ago because I prefer the results obtainable with more modern cameras and lenses; except perhaps the 85/2, and some older lenses such as the Thambar.

It's mostly down to ergonomics, and your wallet.

Cheers,

R.
 
I've only recently came to know and use rangefinder cameras, my first one being a Yashica Electro 35. Browsing around the internet brought me to FSU cameras and I absolutely fell in love with the looks of a FED 3a and a Kiev 4.

After buying them and getting to shoot them, I can definitely say that I really enjoy using them and am very happy with some of the pics I've taken with them. So much so that I can't get the idea of getting a FED 2 with a collapsible 50 mm lens out of my head !!
 
Yes & No.
I have a FED2 and a Kiev 4 with a bunch of lenses. I can't say I really like the quirkiness of the bodies (and I dread the day I have to attempt another Kiev 4 shutter ribbon repair), but the lenses are surprisingly good - even if you don't factor in the ridiculously low prices they go for. $20 for a brand new 50/1.8 lens, you say? Count me in!
And I really enjoy using the Industar 69 on my RD-1.
That said, when I want reliability, joy/ease of operation and maximum image quality (which is always), I tend to reach for the M or the III - or a good P&S from Ricoh.
 
Did someone say ... "light leaks?" :p

The main curse IMO ... aside from that I love all that I've owned and used. And hated them occasionally also. :D
 
I originally bought my Zorki 1D because I wanted a Leica clone for the collection, without any intention whatsoever of shooting the thing. But I kept reading about all the folks who just love their Leica II's and III's, and wouldn't shoot with anything else. Then the FSU contest came up, and I decided to see what the fuss was all about, so I pulled the Zorki out of the collection stash, and proceeded to learn how to use it. And how to repair it!

It's been a real learning experience, seeing how some of the old masters did their thing. Of course, they are quirky little things, but then they are copies of a camera that had no equal when it was first designed, so what we now consider odd, was perfectly normal back then. And I like it. It's forced me to get into another mode of thinking when I shoot it, and I'm actually starting to learn how to shoot without a meter. Though I don't shoot it often enough, I did upgrade the lens that came with it, so I could use the filters from another one of my cameras while shooting b&w. And as long as I don't have to tear it down again, I'll be happy with whatever results I get with it.

PF
 
I don't own an FSU anymore (used to have a Kiev 4am), but I use a Jupiter 8 and Jupiter 12 on my Leica IIIf... in fact, the only LTM lenses I own. These are the same two lenses I had for my Kiev, and they worked very well then.

Both lenses work very well. The 35mm is faster than any other sub-$300 LTM lens, the 50mm is sharper than any sub-$500 LTM lens, and both are in far better shape than any Leica lens I can find for under, say, $600. I'm still considering a Summitar, but I think an Industar 10, 22 or 50 would be fine for a collapsible lens for right now... unless anyone has an Elmar 50/3.5 for, say, $150 or so :D.
 
Lenses, yes, but cameras ... not so much. I have a FED-2 and Zorki-4 and in both cases the VF is a joke if you wear glasses.

I would like to have an early FED or Zorki some day as a companion body to the IIIf so at least I'd get compact dimensions in return for an inadequate finder.

I got nothing against them otherwise. Cheap, rugged and simple, for the most part. Can't see anything wrong with that.
 
I'm with you Pfreddee. I enjoy the Zorkis I have simply for what they are, in and of themselves.

I wasn't looking for a Leica copy type body (or any body) when I purchased my first one. But I did need a cheap 50mm screw mount lens and the Jupiter ("what the heck is that?") for 28 zoids was cheap enough. It just happen to have a Zorki.4 ("and what the heck is that? who cares?") stuck to the back end of it. I reasoned I could keep the lens and ditch the body. But ... "oh well. I'll put a roll through it just to see what it's like." That was April '05 and the rest is a little slippery slope of history.

I picked up a couple of Leica III's along the way, but the Russians I kept because I like 'em for what they are - fairly attractive, nice feeling, pretty good, sturdy Russian craftsmanship of the '50s era for not a lot of moolah. I found the older models of mucho better quality than the '70 Zorki.4 that came with the first lens, so I bought 3 Zorki.1's and the oldest I could find of a 3, 3M, 4 & 5 and have no regrets on any of them.

Yep, a couple of the removable backs had light leaks, so that had to be dealt with and it was tedious and major-ly annoying work. Se-ver-al good shots were ruined. ... I've never had a light leak on a Zorki.1.

FSU's. Not the top of the line, even when new. But they're my age now and I sure got a lot of fun out of them. I like the look, the feel, the build and operation of them and despite the fact that I have lots of other cameras including the Leicas, I hear myself telling people my hobby is "tinkering with and shooting antique Russian cameras."
 
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I have a Kiev 4am and a set of lenses that is interesting to use sometimes. Everything now works well and takes plenty good enough photos. I just can't really bond well with it when I have several SLR cameras and really prefer SLRs for shooting. My Kiev did have light leaks along the back, but a modern substitute for Yak yarn fixed that. Maybe if I had more time to take photos and could devote more time to it I would change, but I think I just prefer my SLRs.
 
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