info about fed 50mm collapsable f2 lens

J

John haeger

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hello
looking for info about the fed 2/50 mm collapsable lens Does anyone have one that they use, and if so how do you like it ? (looking for one to go with my fed-s) thanks john
 
There was a 50mm f2.0 collapsible. I think it was originally intended for the Fed-S.

There is a reference here:

http://www.commiecameras.com/

I think it was uncoated. I know it is hard to find.

-Paul
 
pshinkaw said:
There was a 50mm f2.0 collapsible. I think it was originally intended for the Fed-S. I think it was uncoated. I know it is hard to find.

-Paul
Click to expand...

That's right - it was fitted to the FED s and Fed V. Amateur Photographer tested it - and an "S" in 1945. Reprints of the review are available from Oldtimer Cameras, here - http://www.oldtimercameras.com/stock/Model.asp?Model=10735&ModelPage=true. As far as I recall they were less than impressed: the lens was very soft indeed wide-open. There would also be problems mating it with standard LTM bodies, as pre-1948 FEDs were produced to a different standard. But I can't help wishing I had one!

Cheers, Ian
 
Last edited:
John haeger said:
hello
looking for info about the fed 2/50 mm collapsable lens Does anyone have one that they use, and if so how do you like it ? (looking for one to go with my fed-s) thanks john
Click to expand...

I have one and it is indeed soft in the way a genuine Summar is. I'd say that the difference between the copy and genuine article is in the same degree as what people say about the Elmar 50/3.5 vs. the I-10/1-22/1-50 copies. Here's a picture of the lens mounted on a Leica engraved Fed-S. Good luck hunting!

Joseph
 
Thanks for all the info I was won a Fed-s from *bay for $72.50 that has a j12 mounted to it
and thought it might be nice to look for the 50mm that should be with it. Camera is in the mail and should be here in a day or so. guess I will have to try my canon 50mm 1.8 (black and sliver) or the j3 or j8 thank you again for the info. john
 
John haeger said:
Thanks for all the info I was won a Fed-s from *bay for $72.50 that has a j12 mounted to it
and thought it might be nice to look for the 50mm that should be with it. Camera is in the mail and should be here in a day or so. guess I will have to try my canon 50mm 1.8 (black and sliver) or the j3 or j8 thank you again for the info. john
Click to expand...

Hi John

Let's hope that the J-12 on the camera now was there because it was used with the camera, and not just put there by the seller or its previous owner for the sole reason of having a lens on that camera.

First, FED-S, like the other early FED cameras, didn't use the standard LTM pitch (the threads will not correctly accomodate the true LTM thread) and second, their lens working distances varied from the standard LTM register of 28,8mm.

The first would mean that many true LTM lenses may have difficulty in mounting in those early FED. At worst, it could also destroy the lens mount. FED started getting the standard lens mount pitch after the war.

The second issue would mean that the lens will not be able to focus properly. 35mm wide angle lenses may be able to produce acceptable images because of their inherent depth of field. Wide aperture lenses or longer ones will not be able to focus right- producing either back or front focus effects.

Your Canon 1,8/50 may face a double whammy: "incorrect" lens thread mount and bad focusing. Even if you could mount it, you may not be able to focus it right.

However, there is also a good chance that the camera may have been revised
sometime. One way to tell is if the 35mm Jupiter mounts with its index marks readable from the top. And if its lens mount has been changed, chances are, its lens working distance would have been modified too, to accomodate the later Russian and true LTM lenses. Modifying the lens working distance (as well as adjusting the RF system) to accomodate your Canon lens is not really difficult to do. With some tools (a 1.4mm jewellers screw and a small pair of pliers) and the right instructions, you'd probably be able to do this yourself.

A word about Canon and other non Russian LTM lenses: some of them used tongue-shaped RF cams isntead of the full-barrelled ones. These should not be used on FSU rangefinders as these would be almost impossible to mount, and can cause damage to the RF or to the lens itself.

Jay
 
Jay's comments about thread pitch, lens index location and film to flange distance registration are very true with preWWII and immediate postwar Fed 1s. FWIW, my Fed-S and 50/2 has the standard 28.8mm Leica registration and thread pitch BUT the index marks on a J-12 ends up at 8 o'clock, which is very inconvenient.

Joseph
 
It may be almost impossible to find the f2/50mm lens as they are rare (or at least scarce).

I have three Fed-s camera/lens combinations. The last I purchased on eBay without the lens which was sold separately to a buyer in Japan. I wrote the buyer and after he played with the lens and declared it "soft" he sold it to me for what he had paid plus postage.

I suggest you install a post war lens mount (saving the old) and set up the registration to standard (or find a post war lens that screws on easily to the non-standard threads - some do I guess because of sloppy tolerances). The pre-war cameras were well made and assuming the RF and everything else is in good shape you would have a great user and you could always convert it back if the correct lens shows up.

Michael
 
outfitter said:
.

I suggest you install a post war lens mount (saving the old) and set up the registration to standard (or find a post war lens that screws on easily to the non-standard threads - some do I guess because of sloppy tolerances). The pre-war cameras were well made and assuming the RF and everything else is in good shape you would have a great user and you could always convert it back if the correct lens shows up.

Michael
Click to expand...

I share Michael's observation that the prewar FED are really well-built. I got a non-working FED NKVD (5 digit serial number) and restored its curtains and replaced its lens mount with a surplus lens mount from a real Leica. After the necessary adjustments, it accepted most Leica and Canon (except the ones which use a tongue-shaped RF coupler), as well as post war Industar and Jupiter lenses.

It must be "feeling" like a Leica now- it often sports a coated (1951) Summitar most of the time.

Jay
 

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If your Summar is soft Joseph you should have it cleaned. The shots below are from an uncoated Summar that had tons of haze and was properly CLA'd by Focal Point Optics. A few of them were shot wide open, and hand held in low light around 1/15. It was one of the sharpest lenses I have ever used, and had a wonderful olde Leica IQ. Great lens.

The Fed 22 is one of the better Fed collapsible 50's. I loved mine, but it wasn't the equal of the Summar. I believe the Fed 22 design was a Sonnar.

https://i.imgur.com/L00dxyG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5IFw6ZX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4gviRgp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/WzCMP5N.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/AJOcW5j.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/79Wc4jn.jpg
 
MwzlLuLsvHE.jpg

Zorki 3m FED 50mm f/2
 
Both of my F/2 50mm FED lenses collapse and were issued in 1939 and 1940.

Serial numbers suggest that before the German invasion of the USSR the serial numbers of the FED f/3.5 50mm were issued in the correct sequence. The f/2 versions seen look as though they fit the same sequence but as a block within the 1936 number range. If so the f/2 first appeared in 1936 and the last one was issued in 1941.

To add to the fun 1941 was when the war started for the USSR and so chaos may mean more were issued...

In the early 1950's there seems to be no sequence followed for FED and Industar lenses, suggesting a bulk order and random fitting of the lenses to bodies. Perhaps VOOMP and GOI (both in Leningrad) may have co-operated to make them for FED*.

Data from another RFF member who took it from the passports issued with the lenses and camera bodies from various sources.

Regards, David

* See Oscar Fricke's article:- ttp://www.fedka.com/Useful_info/Commune_by_Fricke/commune_A.htm
 
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