Your favorite FSU camera and why?

[julio1fer]

Zorki 6, as the OP. And if pushed, it SLR equivalent, Zenit 3M. I have Kievs and Contaxes but do no like the ergonomics.

Zorki-6 with Industar-50 collapsible:

 

[David Hughes]

I like all of them but mostly because they are not digital with electronics and batteries and stupid ideas of their own about taking the picture.

Regards, David

 

[p.giannakis]

And if pushed, it SLR equivalent, Zenit 3M.

That reminded me the Zenit 12XP .

It gave me some very nice pictures.

 

[rfaspen]

I simply cannot do "the Contax hold" so the Kiev 4 is not a favorite.

My Fed-2's and Mir are not working, so they're out.

Thus, I'm left with Fed-1, Fed-3, Zorki-C, and a Zorki-6. All nice, but the Zorki-C seems to get the most use.

So my favorite is the Zorki-C. Mine's a 1957 model.

Super reliable and durable. Nice small size. Set the shutter speed anytime. Plus I get bottom loading and a squinty viewfinder! 🙂

 

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

my favourite 35mm. camera from the USSR, is the 1968-made Kiev-4A I've bought back in 1975, that still works perfectly;

my favourite Medium Format one is the Pentacon Six, with its very fine lenses.

E.L.

 

[Fotohuis]

Pentacon cameras were made in East Germany (DDR) which is not FSU area. Zorki's and Zenit were made in Russia, FEDs were from Ukraine a former USSR area.
Interesting nobody is mentioning Minox, at that time made in Riga, Baltic States also former USSR area.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I thought the Minox was started off in Latvia but was it still made there when the USSR took over in 1940? Just curious.

Regards, David

 

[Steve M.]

Once upon a time I had a Fed 2 that had been CLA'd, and it is the only FSU camera I ever owned that worked right. Dark viewfinder though.

 

[rfaspen]

A close second to my Zorki-C is a lightly CLA'd Fed-1 Kombinat. Its an early one and the Fed-50 lens that came with it seems like an appropriate partner. Its a fun camera to use in exactly the same way as a Barnack is. I don't remember how other [later] lenses perform on that body but it would be nice to use my neglected Super-Rokkor 45/2.8 on it. That lens is really well built, heavy, and a rather good performer, but not FSU 😀.

 

[underlord]

Mine is the FED-2, mainly because it's the only one I have left. In the past I've owned Zorki 1,Zorki 4K,Zorki 3-C,FED 5B, Kiev 4 and 4A. My FED-2 has the old style shutter speeds and has one one the best rangefinder patches than any of the aforementioned. Alas, it hasn't seen much action lately, so to cheer it up I gave it a new paint job.

FED-2 by Philip McAllister, on Flickr

 

[seany65]

My Fed 2. (Click on the thumbnail):



It's viewfinder isn't as bright as a 4k and I think it's rangefinder is smaller than a 4k but even though I'm a speccy-four-eyes I can see 3 sides of the 'finder frame with no trouble, which makes framing much easier than a 4k. It's rangefinder patch is dimmer than a fed 4L and so I find it easier to use than a fed 4L as I had trouble seeing the 'real' image to focus on, and it has a re-wind knob which is easier and quicker to use thasn a fed 4L.

 

[rfaspen]

When I wanted to document scientific fieldwork in messy locations, I needed a reliable, rugged, and simple kit. Something resistant to battery failure and not so valuable it required cuddling.

FSU gear rose to the challenge. I've used Feds and Zorkis to photograph endeavors in forests, wetlands, grasslands, and the intertidal zone. I love my Leicas and Nikons, but FSU gear is such a great fit for some situations.

Here, it was a Fed-3 with Jupiter-8:

These are two of my students measuring Douglas-fir trees.

Along with our class material, its fun to expose (pun intended?) my students to film cameras and "old fashioned" photography. Some humor me and show interest, but I doubt I'm gaining and converts. They know and love digital. That's OK.

 

[p.giannakis]

My latest FSU camera.

The Shutter speeds are a bit off unfortunately.

 

[Fotohuis]

I thought the Minox was started off in Latvia

Walter Zapp made them in Riga, Latvia up from 1937.

In 1948 the new Minox company started in West Germany.

 

[David Hughes]

Walter Zapp made them in Riga, Latvia up from 1937.

In 1948 the new Minox company started in West Germany.

Thanks, I just couldn't remember.

Regards, David

 

[Vadimson]

Hi! My favorite FSU camera is the Zorki-10. The first Soviet automatic camera.

 

[znapper]

My absolute favorite is my Zorki 1(d) with the Industar-22 50mm f3.5

Why?

It's crude, basic and noisy for it's size.
But it got a really nice CLA in Ukraine before I got it, so the focus and camera operation is oh so smooth.

And the lens is pin-sharp in the center, even at F4. 🙂

Timings are good too ^^

Plus, it looks like no other camera I have, or have seen out on the streets 🙂


Zorki 1d, Tri-x 400 @ 400 in HC-110B

 

[gb hill]

I now only have two fsu camera's. A Fed 5 & a Zorki 2c. Both are loaded with film & like shooting both but I do lean toward the Zorki being more pocketable. I had a Fed 2 & really liked that camera but it finally gave up the ghost so passed it along. Here is from the 1st roll I put in the Zorki. A roll of XP-2 & J-12 lens. I'll post more recent photos when I finish the roll.

Asian Dancers by Greg, on Flickr

 

[Pentode]

I'm pretty partial to my Kiev 4a because the fit and finish are a bit nicer than my Zorki 6s and it's a whole lot easier to manage than the Moskva 5. Also, the J-8 on it is a good one.

The lens on the Moskva is also quite good and a 6x9 transparency is a glorious thing, but it's not exactly ergonomic to shoot with.

My opinion of the Zorkis would probably be higher if I had better glass for them but, for now, myLTM lenses are only so-so.

 

[chickentender]

This is a fun thread. Hahaha....
Nearly impossible to answer because honestly, if I could squeeze characteristics out of each of my FSU cameras, I'd have ONE camera that I love! But I've many complaints about most of them as well. I've a Kiev4m with meter, a black Kiev4a without meter, a Fed 2E (sort of a cross between 2 and 3 in many ways), a Zorki4 and a Zorki4k. I was certain I would like the Zorki 4k the best - it was the last one to arrive to me long after I'd owned the others. I don't. It somehow feels "less" than the regular Zorki4 and I really don't get on with its very odd feeling and very loud advance lever.
All in all, it would have to be the Kiev 4a, for pure reliable and utilitarian style with no b.s., yet oddly refined. And the Helios-103 that I normally have mounted to it certainly blows away IMO all the other 50-ish length lenses I've had on it or the others, Contax or LTM.




the dark knight by Kevin Rosinbum (Eyewanders Foto), on Flickr