Received FSU 50 mm Fed 3.5 collapsible today

No secret to it, just thread it on and pull the front element forward, giving it a little twist to get it to 'lock' the barrel into place. You might have to twist the element a bit as you pull it out.

To focus closer than infinity, push down on the focus/lock lever and slip it past the point it was locked into as you focus like normal.

Cheers
 
Hey, Eli, thanks it worked like a charm. Couldn't get it to mount on the FED but it went on easily on my Zorki 6. Now I just got it on the FED with no problem. Thanks much.
 
Always at minimum focus setting

Always at minimum focus setting

The RF cam tip of FED and Zorki are very delicate. You must always mount or unmount lenses with the lens set at its minimum focus setting. That keeps the lens's cam out of the way and prevents it from touching the camera's RF cam tip.

For this reason, collapsible lenses have to be mounted only when they are extended. A collapsed barrel can also hit and upset the camera's rf tip.

FED-50 (I-10) collapsibles come in many variations. There were those made with non-standard lens mounts (for NKVD /prewar cameras) which should not be used on later cameras due to mount thread and focus register differences.
Those made after the war and before 1952 may have the 'right' thread pitch but camming and focus registers are also different.

Those made after 1952 had standard focus registers, correctl LTM pitch, and Leica-compatible focus camming, and were coated. Another version, made for the FED-2, used a notch, instead of the usual spring-loaded pin, to lock the lens at infinity. The old style infinity locks would not mount correctly on FED-2 because the lens mount flange of the FED-2 is flushed lower.

Jay
 
Thanks for your comments.

Thanks for your comments.

Good comments here to get me going, Jay, many thanks for all the wealth of info. :)
 
ZorkiKat said:
The old style infinity locks would not mount correctly on FED-2 because the lens mount flange of the FED-2 is flushed lower.

Jay
Click to expand...
Ah... that'll explain why I have to take the infinity lock off on my new KOMZ I-22 before it's mounted onto cameras.

Time to go hunting for a Zorki-1 body, I guess.
 
The collapsibles aren't usable on my FED 2 for the reason Jay mentions - the infinity button is just a whisker too much to let the lens go to infinity.
 
raid said:
Most importantly, the I_50 is the sharpest of all FSU normal lenses.
Click to expand...

I think this is about the Fed 50 (I-10), an older lens...but still waaay sharp (I imaginge the I-50 is it's equal if not better). Fed 50 digi snap, levels adjusted:

477189517_8fedee85d9_o.jpg
 
wolves3012 said:
The collapsibles aren't usable on my FED 2 for the reason Jay mentions - the infinity button is just a whisker too much to let the lens go to infinity.
Click to expand...

Are we talking about the same camera and lens?
I think I got the lens and the camera discussed in this thread:

1140311279_7598be054c.jpg


Seems to focus fine and yes, it's darn sharp :)

1307919857_e9bd142f3c.jpg
 
shadowfox said:
Are we talking about the same camera and lens?
I think I got the lens and the camera discussed in this thread:



Seems to focus fine and yes, it's darn sharp :)
Click to expand...
Mine's a slightly later one, with flash sync. I can't get collapsibles to focus to infinity because the lock hits the body. Some work, some don't, I guess! I think some of the early FED 2s came with a collapsible, so possibly they had a different infinity-lock design on these. Clearly yours works...nice shots!
 
SteveM(PA) said:
I think this is about the Fed 50 (I-10), an older lens...but still waaay sharp (I imaginge the I-50 is it's equal if not better). Fed 50 digi snap, levels adjusted:
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting the pic, Steve. It is sharp.
Yes, I am referring to a different lens, as you said. :bang:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom