FED HISTORY
The FED is a Russian Rangefinder camera, mass produced
from 1934 until around 1990, and also the name of the factory that made it. FED
is indirectly named after Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Cheka.
It was his name that was given to the labour commune at Kharkiv (Ukraine)
whose manager, Anton Makarenko, encouraged a workshop education for
indigent children and who decided to copy the Leica in 1932. Large-scale
production began in 1934, and in the same year the factory was put under NKVD control
and Makarenko was fired. Production continued until 1941, when German forces
destroyed the factory, and resumed in 1946. Until 1955, the factory made a huge
number of cameras that resemble the Leica rather closely (and are often
altered, given "Leica" markings, and sold as Leicas). However, the
design is cruder: for example, the rangefinder cam is not fitted with
a wheel. From 1955, FED began to innovate, combining the rangefinder with the viewfinder in
the FED 2 and all its successors. The FED-3 added slow
shutter speeds and on the later version FED-3 (b) the film advance was changed
from a thumb wheel to a lever. The FED 4 (1964–77) added a
non-coupled selenium exposure meter. The FED 5 marked the
end of the FED rangefinder family, and was meant as a replacement for both the
FED-3 and FED-4 that were in production at the time of its introduction. There
were versions of the FED-5: the original FED-5 had an exposure meter, the
FED-5B was a cheaper version without meter, and the later FED-5C had
reflected frame-lines showing field of view of 50mm lens and an exposure
meter. All FED-5 cameras were delivered with an Industar I-61L/D lens.
Production of FED rangefinder cameras ended in the mid 1990s (Fed-5 Serial
Number 545446 was made on February 28, 1994; Fed's site claims that it was in
fact 1997: "Start of serial production of vertical drive for control
system of tanks. Production of all types of cameras has stopped. 8,647,000
cameras were manufactured since the beginning.")
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Short description of camera
I bring to your attention very rare vintage USSR Russian collectable, 100% ORIGINAL range finder film 35mm photo camera FED-3. This camera is a copy of Leica. FED-3 accepts the whole range of Leica Thread Mount (M39) lenses. Engraved on the top plate is "ФЭД FED 3". The camera made on factory F.E.D. (Kharkov, USSR Ukraine). The name "FED" comes from the initials of Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky. The youth rehabilitation commune which bears his name was created as a memorial to Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet secret police. Very Good item to the collection. Serial number camera body: № 360821. This camera dates this camera 1987 as per published production numbers. All features have been tested and work properly. Shutter speeds look appropriate. Glass on lenses is clean, no fungus. This unique camera was kept till our time in very good condition. Getting such thing you do good capital investment. Every year the price for them will increase only! This camera is a stylish acquisition for collectors, 100% satisfaction, and good present or for everyday use!
Technical information:Lens Industar-61 f2,8/53 mm
Diaphragm 2,8/16
Focusing, m: 1 to 20 and infinite
Focusing, m: 1 to 20 and infinite
Lens serial number: 8738814
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