FSU Question

My avatar shows my camers which is camera similar to the green Zorki S .
The Zorki S is an updated Zorki 1 , with flash sync - not too popular in it's standard form , I have bought some '' revitalised '' ones from moscowphoto [ covered in neat faux - German engraving ] , and I love 'em .
Nothing wrong with having a fun zorki or Fed , though a pea green genune Leica might cause some distress to some !
I would lurve to have a Leica IIIc re-engraved as a Fed or Zorki !!!
WICKED !!!
That, to me is the joy of '' the red menace '' , not too precious , so that I can have fun with them !
 
When I first looked into getting a FSU camera I was looking for something very user-friendly. I guess thats why its so cheap and common.
 
Any words of wisdom on a decision between Zorki S and a FED 2? Both seem to be overpriced and painted but from a reputable dealer.
 
Any words of wisdom on a decision between Zorki S and a FED 2?
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Personally, I'd go for the FED 2. I've got two of them (an early model and a later one) and I love them - they look great and feel right in my hands. To be fair, I haven't used a Zorki S, but I think they're really ugly by comparison.
 
pcfranchina said:
Any words of wisdom on a decision between Zorki S and a FED 2? Both seem to be overpriced and painted but from a reputable dealer.
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FED 2 is a solid, reliable camera, assuming you get a good one. The Zorki S has a rather squinty rangefinder, although personally I find the FED rather dark instead. Handling is very good on the FED 2 and they usually come with Industar 26 lenses which are good performers.

Other than the near-identical FED / Zorki 1, FEDs seem to have darker RF/VFs than Zorkis but their contrast is higher. In poor light I'll take a ZOrki over a FED any time. In daylight there's little to choose.
 
pcfranchina said:
The both seem to be in great shape. Any preference on film loading and usability?
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Depends if you are averse to bottom-loading cameras. Doesn't bother me but some people can't get along with it. Other than that there's not much between them. I rather like the Zorki since it's smaller and the squinty and separate VF/RF doesn't worry me. Opinion seems to say the FED's long-base RF is more accurate but I've never had an issue over it - I tend to think it makes little difference in practice. There is more parallax error in a long-base finder.

Why not get both? Hehe. They both have pretty much the same capabilities...
 
Any preference on film loading and usability?
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I really can't get on with bottom-loading. I know a lot of people do it quite happily, but I'm not one of them (my bottom-loader is a FED 1). Having a back that comes off seems like a much better idea to me.
 
Buying from Yuri at Fedka.com or Oleg at OKVintageCamera.com gives you some piece of mind. You generally pay more but they offer great service. I recently bought a beautiful, black-painted Zorki-Zorki 1c from Yuri. As soon as I got it, I noticed that the rewind lever did not disengage the winding gears. I sent it back and Yuri had it fixed and returned to me in 2 weeks. Being from Canada, that's very good. I also noticed that the shutter was quite loud and sounded like a mouse trap when I got the camera. I didn't complain as I assumed that the FSU cameras were probably much louder than the Leicas. When the camera returned, the shutter was much quieter. Seems louder than my MP but not by much and higher pitched. Definitely quieter than my Bessa-T. Obviously, Yuri's repair guy adjusted the shutter. It was a very pleasant surprise.

And yes the Zorki 1 is a bottom loader. I actually find bottom-loading on my MP easier than loading my Bessa-T. When I first loaded up a Leica IIIf that I borrowed, it took me 20 minutes to figure it out but that's because I did it on my own without referring to anything on the internet. Once you get used to it, bottom loading a Barnack/Fed/Zorki is really easy. The worst part for me is getting the film leader set into the take-up pool due to my chubby fingers and also because I bite my fingernails. It is also a bit difficult to see if the gears are engaged, especially if you are changing film in dim light. If you follow the method outlined on the ZorkiKat's website, its not too bad.
 
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pcfranchina said:
The Zorki is a bottom loader?
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Zorki/FED bottom-loaders were: Fed 1, Zorki 1, C, 2, 2C and 5. ("C" models are also referred to as "S", meaning with flash-sync). All others are removable backs other than Zorki 6, which is hinged-back.
 
Thanks for all your help. I think I am going with a Fed 2. Its about the same price as the Zorki S. Both are kind of overpriced but look great.
 
Cool! If my eyesight agreed with the FED2s VF I'd still have one. I think it will serve you well.
Let us see some photos when you can.
Rob




(Have you sorted out lenses yet?)
:D
 
wlewisiii said:
That's the easy part - one of each! :angel:

William
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I was thinking 5--one for each setting on the turret viewfinder. Except that there are several FSU 50s...so maybe 8 or 9?
Orion(28mm), J-12(35mm), I-22 or I-50, I-26, I-61LD, J-3, J-8(all 50mm), J-9(85mm), and J-11(135mm). :D
Rob
 
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