FED

A 35mm rangefinder system created on the basis of pre-WW2 LEITZ developments and produced by the Kharkov Machine-Building Plant "FED" (USSR). The choice of these particular developments as a prototype was most likely due to the fact that LEICA cameras were one of the most popular 35mm cameras at that time.

(To be fair, it must be said that early LEICA models were copied almost all over the world, with different versions of copies being produced both before and after World War II. In this regard, it must be recognized that the history of both Soviet and world camera production was based, to a large extent, on the basis of LEICA cameras)

THE CAMERAS:

• FED - the Soviet LEICA II copy;
• FED-2 - the first in-house development which had a combined rangefinder/viewfinder with an increased base and diopter adjustment, removable back, flash synchronization (from 1956), standardized flange focal distance (from 1957), and a self-timer (from 1958);
• Zarya - as the FED-2 (in its 1959 modification), but without a rangefinder and a self-timer;
• FED-3 - as the FED-2 (in its 1959 modification), but with slow speeds down to 1 second, and reduced rangefinder base. From 1966, the camera was equipped with a shutter winding lever;
• FED-2L - as the FED-3, but without slow shutter speeds;
• FED-4 - as the FED-3, but with a built-in uncoupled window exposure meter;
• FED-5 - similar to the FED-4, but with more user-friendly controls, more stable and reliable shutter, exposure meter indicator in a dustproof housing;
• FED-5V - as the FED-5, but without a built-in exposure meter;
• FED-5S - as the FED-5, but with bright-line frame (with marks for parallax corrections) in the viewfinder, without a diopter adjustment unit.

THE LENSES:

The range of lenses produced for FED cameras coincides with the range for Zorki cameras produced by the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant (USSR).