Thinking of buying a Leningrad, just from the looks of it. Does anyone have any experience with this camera ? Thanks !
The Leningrad is actually quite a capable camera. It has an excellent finder, and as far as I know, it is the only FSU camera with multiple frame lines, for 50, 85, and 135mm lenses. The full finder area is probably correct for 35mm. It provides dioptre correction through a rotating eyepiece.
Conventional wisdom, and writeups I have seen state that the framelines are not parallax-correcting, however, the framelines in my late model and very ordinary Leningrad DO move to correct for parallax.
It has styling that only a mother could love, but it manages to appear strange as opposed to aggressively ugly like some of the later FEDs. There is a raised area just above the lens mount that will foul the Industar-26 or 61 lens with the large focus ring at the back. The various Jupiters will fit properly. The J8 with the focus lever fits with no problem, but it is a little more difficult to get at the lever than for some other cameras. It looks ridiculous with a little Industar collapsible lens, and it's not as if this beast is pocketable anyway. Please note that it is pictured here with an 85mm Jupiter 9 lens, which provides about the same proportions as a J8 on a smaller camera.
This is a relatively big and heavy camera. Here is a list of several FSU's with their weights (body only). Only the scarce and enormous Kiev 5 manages to score higher.
FED 1 435 gm
FED 2 525 gm
Zorki 6 570 gm
Zorki 4 625 gm
Leningrad 745 gm
Kiev 5 765 gm
From the few of these cameras I have examined, I would say that the build quality is very good, a cut above other FSU's with the exception of very early Kievs. The paint, leather, and chrome are all really good.
The whole reason for this camera is of course the spring motor drive, which provides for single shots only for any version of the Leningrad anyone is likely to ever find. This uses a very heavy spring, and moves the film fast. It makes an alarmingly loud CLANK when advancing the film. I do not have real data on the reliability of this system, but I would think that it would not be a great idea to fire this camera too much with no film in it.
I do not understand the reason behind the rumoured reliability problem with the self timer, but I have heard this often enough that I am willing to believe it. The story is that the self timer should never be set when the shutter is not cocked. Of course, if the spring motor is wound to any degree, this situation will never happen.
I think the Leningrad should be considered a special application camera, rather than something to use every day. It is a real good conversation starter though when people on the street get startled by the noises it makes!
Cheers,
Dez
