Looks can be deceiving...my Fed2

Diggin99

Diggin99

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Ok so I finally got my Fed2 from blyatnikov! My first thought was, "Now thats an ugly betty!" (Um NO offence to any Betty's out there!!!!). So I thought, um, its very heavy, some chrome flaking, and nothing like the feel of the Barnack Leica I used to own (sold the Leica, could not handle the bottom loading). Ok so I wait a week or two and I think well, I had better at least see how she works (her name now being Betty!). At the same time I am already thinking to myself, well I could try a Barnack again, bottom loading is not that bad, the quiet shutter was cool, maybe I can get another IIIC. Or maybe I should get a Bessa R. Well lots of websurfing and number crunching later I find that ALL other options are just two pricey for me. I could buy a camera body, but then not afford some lenses etc. So I look back at Betty and say ok girl, lets go out for a test run! Lets see, ok, the design is great, very intuitive, shutter, rangefinder adjustment, film counter setting, all easy to find and use. Size is not to bad, throw it in my bag and it does not take up a lot of room. Bonus, I am not worried about damaging a $500 camera. MMMM, I could just keep her in my bag and take her out whenever I want. Now I just had to go home and develope the film, check out the results. Ok, so this is a long winded way to say, first impresions are not always right! I have a good "user" camera that deserves my attention. So in that vein, I decided to keep her, not buy some other Screwmount body and instead pick up a couple of lenses. Now I have a Juniper 12 and a Industar-50 Collapsible, with unversal viewfinder on its way, all for a price that I could live with (less than the cost of getting the Bessa R body). Oops longer post than I inteded! I am off the bed, here it a scan from my cruddy scanner of one of the test shots!


THanks for listening!

ParkFedtest.jpg
 
Great camera ... great test shot ... less is more ... sleep tight! :)
 
Good for you, a working Fed 2 can be a lot of fun. I like the size and shape of them. Easy wind on. The viewfinder is awfully small but you can put an external viewfinder on if needed. Enjoy yours and post some more pics!
 
Definitely a useful test shot, and a rather interesting looking tree, too! Which lens was on the camera for this one?
 
Thanks for the comments! The lens I have right now is the one that came with it....Industar 26m 2,8/52 ...I love the root sytem of these trees...


Nancy
 
Keith you only like it cos it's a shot of the base of a tree... á la tree stump shots someone posts :D :D


Anyway. Great shot there. Looks like you got a winner ;)
 
I always think Fed-2 is the queen of Soviet rangefinder cameras.:D There might be many kings though( Kiev 2, Zorki 3...).

a great camera. Congratualtions. Isn't it load easier than a Laika?:p

Cheers,

Zhang
 
Ash said:
Keith you only like it cos it's a shot of the base of a tree... á la tree stump shots someone posts :D :D


Anyway. Great shot there. Looks like you got a winner ;)
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Especially for you Ash! :D

371767606_6400d2888d_o.jpg
 
The Fed2 was my first camera too. And it must take the blame for my current condition. I bought the thing as a bit of a lark. I was dumbfounded by the quality of the pictures. I still think this rattly, smeary, faded little relic of a failed empire takes better pictures than anything the Japanese ever produced. There is a magical light in all the pictures I have taken with Russian cameras that I just haven't seen in any of the Japanse cameras that I or my friends have owned.

It has been an unexpected diversion to get into Soviet rangefinders. I started all this looking for a digital camera, then I noticed you could buy a superb film SLR for nothing - and then I drifted onto the rangefinder section of eBay. I had no chance after that.

Are SLRs more than a marketing construct? Are they really superior to rangefinders? My experience with the Soviet cameras has been that the "progress" of cameras under Japanese marketing has been a clever stimulation of the impression that the machines were getting better. They were not. The best Nikon does not take a better picture than my FED.
 
Congrats on your Fed 2. It was also my first FSU camera, I now own 6. In many ways it is my favorite, so reliable, takes great pics, and to boot, I learned the sunny 16 rule using it. It's funny, but I have gotten so used to using a wind knob to advance the film, that a wind lever seems alien now. You have a great user camera on your hands, enjoy it, and hopefully you wouldn't be getting anymore FSU GAS attacks any time soon.
 
Diggin99 said:
Thanks for the comments! The lens I have right now is the one that came with it....Industar 26m 2,8/52 ...I love the root sytem of these trees...


Nancy
Click to expand...
Ugly Betty?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..... fortunately:rolleyes:
 
Malcolm_J said:
Are SLRs more than a marketing construct? Are they really superior to rangefinders? My experience with the Soviet cameras has been that the "progress" of cameras under Japanese marketing has been a clever stimulation of the impression that the machines were getting better. They were not. The best Nikon does not take a better picture than my FED.
Click to expand...
Horses for courses - ever tried using a rangefinder for macro? Or attached to a microscope eyepiece? Such things are easy on an SLR. The SLR is probably nearer to the ideal all-rounder than any other type (maybe controversial on here, but true nevertheless). However, for some things the rangefinder is more suitable and devotees can "force" it into other areas.

I own a couple of SLRs besides the rangefinders and I don't hesitate to use them where they're more appropriate. Like many other areas, they're a tool for achieving a result and using the right one helps. You can undo cross-head screws with a flat-blade screwdriver but a cross-head driver does a better job!

Just my two pennies worth...and I'm not being confrontational either.
 
Wolves, I use SLRs too. I hadn't thought of your point about macro, astronomy, microscopes work and so on. It's just that for general snapping, I have been surprised by how little there is to justify the die-off of the rangefinder in the market. That's all.
 
How about buying from Sergey - ''blyakitov 's ''other name !
I bought three Fed 2s in set of blue/green/red - but was worried 'cos they were £21 each shipping incl - but they are great - though heavier than my Zorkis
[ and leica II / IIIc / IIIf ] they are solid and reassuring and charmingly agricultural ! - complete with free I 26 body caps and cases , one of which will be converted to half case rather than the never-ready variety !
Sergey simply sells honest,used, checked, fair cameras at a fair price - not cla'd badly or ''mint '' etc ... that's my opinion anyway - i have been reassured that if one does not work, he will replace it - fair enough ?
 
Horses for courses - ever tried using a rangefinder for macro? Or attached to a microscope eyepiece? Such things are easy on an SLR. The SLR is probably nearer to the ideal all-rounder than any other type (maybe controversial on here, but true nevertheless). However, for some things the rangefinder is more suitable and devotees can "force" it into other areas.

I own a couple of SLRs besides the rangefinders and I don't hesitate to use them where they're more appropriate. Like many other areas, they're a tool for achieving a result and using the right one helps. You can undo cross-head screws with a flat-blade screwdriver but a cross-head driver does a better job!
Click to expand...
I agree totally. I use my rangefinders when they're suitable, and my OM SLRs when they're suitable (ever found an 80-200 zoom for a rangefinder? ;) )
 
Fed 2's are nice shooters with the wide RF base.

Fed 5's are even uglier, but the wide RF base + film advance lever make it very useful.

Either one is heavy enough be handy for self-defence :D
 
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