FSU filters quality

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giovanegian

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Hello everybody,

what do you think about FSU filters?
There is someone who uses them?

Thanks in advance to anyone who knows and tells me. :angel:
 
No idea mate .... i got a 40.5mm to 49mm step up ring and use the filters I had for my Olympus they were Hoya mostly.
As long as the filter is in good condition it should be ok just like any other filter, the lenses are ok ...
I do recommend a lens hood.
Fedka.com has some for sale and they should be in great condition.
 
They are the same as any other of that age. In good condition they are good and if not then useless. They're usually free with the lenses, imo.

You need to do some research to find the filter factors. There's a code or part letter in Cyrillic on them that gives the filter factor.

It's usually that letter that looks like a letter "K" hard up against a mirror and a number: or it is on the yellow ones.

Regards, David
 
Their CC/CB filters often are odd - presumably that did not register on the colour film average FSU photographers had access to. The black and white filters are uncoated or single coated with mostly decent quality and filter properties - not quite up to Zeiss Oberkochen filters of that vintage, nor to current brand name filters, but better than average 80's vintage Japanese OEM filters (doubtlessly the period that brought us the worst in filters, whether in type, material or production quality).
 
Hi,

The yellow one is their medium (you can tell by the 17 on it) and is x2.0 factor. If it had a 12 it would be light yellow and roughly x1½ *and dark yellow has 18 on it and is x3.

The yellow one you have is great for blue skies with a bit of cloud.

I'm sorry I can't print the Cyrillic letter but the relevant id looks like this "XC-17" only it's not a letter "X" but something else.

Regards, David

* Usually given as x1·4 but x1½ is OK for most of us.
 
This is the cyrillic letter : Ж. So it's Ж 17 on my yellow filter and yours. Thanks for the filter factor info.
Marc
 
I guess I'll be cutting and pasting that letter for years to come. Thanks.

BTW, my light yellow one says "ЖC-12" on its rim. There's a lot of Hoya ones around as well.

Regards, David
 
FSU accessories--The Soviets made all types of accessories for their cameras. Very few are seen here in the US probably because they are low ticket items. In the mid-90's I weekly frequented a Commission Store in Almaty where they sold cameras and also had filters, tripods, flashes, lightmeters, timers which screwed into the shutter release-both spring and pneumatic types. (Unfortunately this store is long gone.)
Stereo adapters were also available but rare.
A look at Princelle tome on Soviet cameras has a brief description of some of these.
My favorite is a small tripod- a Leitz copy which works well with a very small ballhead like the Bogen 3009.

Popular sizes for filters were 40.5 and 49mm-- the 40.5 for the 35, 50, and 135 lenses. the 49mm was for the 85mm lens.

Slip on filters were made for the earlier Industar -22 lenses

Rarer filters were made to fit the Iskra and the Moskva 4 (the same size)


The yellow (jolti- Russian for yellow) Ж (J in English) filters and the orange really make clouds pop on landscapes.

We must remember that the Soviet camera and photography industry was second to that of Japan and perhaps in first place for a short while.
 
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Most of the accessories are available on the usual websites but you have to search on a daily basis to be certain of getting things.

Many of their accessories are, perhaps, functional rather than pretty but they do work well and are often more practical than the "Western" version. Their clamp-on holder with the B&S tripod head is excellent, imo. Whilst their version of the Leitz table-top tripod is nowhere near Letz's quality but does the job all the same.

Regards, David
 
Hello,

I use USSR-made filters with my Kiev outfit and Medium Format ex-USSR cameras and I can say that they are excellent, as long as they are without scratches and/or dirt on the glass surfaces.

Best wishes,

Elmar Lang
 
I've had some russian filters with non-parallel surfaces. This can be verified by observing the reflections from the filter: if images of distant objects, one of them tinted by the filter, appear double, then the surfaces are not parallel. Maybe it isn't a big deal but for the peace of mind I have avoided putting those "prisms" on my lenses.
 
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