archive59
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I have a fake Leica II and was looking for some help and guidance in identifying the original Fed or Zorki it was made from without having to remove the top plate. A great deal of effort appears to have gone into this fake and I suspect the base plate might even be genuine Leica. One rangefinder window is yellow tinted and the other blue. Was this an original feature on any FSU camera? Am I correct in identifying the lens as an I-22?
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archive59
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rxmd
May contain traces of nut
This is a nice fake. It's clearly a later FED because of the angular shape of the rangefinder housing underneath the shutter speed wheel. On grounds of the old shutter speeds (20-30-40-60) and the non-engraved, non-threaded shutter release button I'd say it started its life as a FED-1"f" somewhere between 1949 and 1953. It could also be that they changed in the button from another camera, but the FED-1f hypothesis would be consistent with the rest of the appearance.
EDIT: Impressive job, they even changed the tip of the rangefinder arm. Might be difficult to adjust for close focus now.
EDIT: Impressive job, they even changed the tip of the rangefinder arm. Might be difficult to adjust for close focus now.
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brachal
Refrigerated User
I would also say a FED-1f. The lens is an Industar-22 or maybe Industar-50.
archive59
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Yes it is impossible to adjust for close focus with that tip, which pretty much stops me from actually using the camera as I had originally intended. With all the effort they have put into faking most of the recognised 'spot a fake' areas I'm surprised they didn't do anything about the viewfinder window surround edge.
Thanks for the Fed type information.
Thanks for the Fed type information.
pauls52
Established
Whether there is any FED in this camera, I do not know. The shutter crate is definitely from a Zorki 1c. It has an integral lip for the baseplate lock and the flat spring (stepped on 1b and FEDs and different on Zorki 1d an 1e). Very late FED 1g shutter crates were identical but they retained the 2 sided FED adjusting nuts rather than the 4 sided Zorki nuts on this camera. The accessory shoe is not FED 1 of any variation, these have pressed indentations in the sides. It is consistent with Zorki 1 shoes.
In regard to the baseplate, the reinforcement plate and film loading guide look like Leica but I'm not familiar with the locking mechanism itself (I can't find any examples of similar Leica, FED or Zorki mechanisms amongst my database, or indeed FED ad Zorki cameras, neither of which is extensive in this regard). I also thought that Leicas had two screwheads visible near the locking toggle.
Regards,
Paul
In regard to the baseplate, the reinforcement plate and film loading guide look like Leica but I'm not familiar with the locking mechanism itself (I can't find any examples of similar Leica, FED or Zorki mechanisms amongst my database, or indeed FED ad Zorki cameras, neither of which is extensive in this regard). I also thought that Leicas had two screwheads visible near the locking toggle.
Regards,
Paul