The FED is a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 rangefinder camera

Rangefinder camera

A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus...

, 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

Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky

Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky was a Communist revolutionary, famous as the first director of the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka, known later by many names during the history of the Soviet Union...

, founder of the Cheka

Cheka

Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...

. It was his name that was given to the labour commune at Kharkiv

Kharkiv

Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...

 (Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

) whose manager, Anton Makarenko

Anton Makarenko

Anton Semenovych Makarenko was a Ukrainian and Soviet educator and writer, who promoted democratic ideas and principles in educational theory and practice. As one of the founders of Soviet pedagogy, he elaborated the theory and methodology of upbringing in self-governing child collectives and...

, 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

NKVD

The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....

 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

Rangefinder

A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...

 cam is not fitted with a wheel.

From 1955, FED began to innovate, combining the rangefinder with the viewfinder

Viewfinder

In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...

 in the FED 2

FED 2

The FED 2 was a 35 mm rangefinder camera introduced in 1955 by FED. The name of FED comes from the initial of Felix Edomundovich Dzerzhinsky.-Major features:The FED 2 is a new design that is quite different from the FED 1...

 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 thumbwheel to a lever. The FED 4 (1964–77) added a non-coupled selenium

Selenium

Selenium is a chemical element with atomic number 34, chemical symbol Se, and an atomic mass of 78.96. It is a nonmetal, whose properties are intermediate between those of adjacent chalcogen elements sulfur and tellurium...

 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 framelines 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.")

FED and Zorki

Zorki

Zorki is the name of a series of 35mm rangefinder cameras manufactured in the Soviet Union between 1948 and 1978.The Zorki was a product of the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Factory , which also produced the Zenit single lens reflex camera...

 cameras had lenses with the same thread as Leicas, but correct focusing with German lenses on Russian bodies and vice-versa is not guaranteed, as the different rangefinder cam size can prove problematic, and slight differences exist in the distance between the mounting point of the lens and the film. Quality control on the Russian cameras was notoriously poor.

FED 1 collector information

The following types are nomenclature used by collectors as no FED 1 or Fedka camera was actually marked in this way. Brief descriptions are included to help with identification.

1a 1934-35 SN 31- 6000 - some early production had poor galvanised

Galvanization

Galvanization is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, in order to prevent rusting. The term is derived from the name of Italian scientist Luigi Galvani....

 finish rather than the normal satin chrome

Chrome plating

Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...

. Although early production quality was poor, these cameras are considered valuable due to their rarity. For more details see the specification below.

1b 1935-37 SN 6000 - 55000 - Some with the NKVD

NKVD

The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....

 engraving "Peoples Commissariat of Internal Affairs" which was the new name for Stalin's

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

 secret police. Identifiable by the rectangular shape of the plate covering the front rangefinder; before it had been an irregular shape as on the Leica II

1c 1937-39 SN 55000 - 125000 - In 1937 a triangular cam-follower replaced the circular Leica-type cam follower, and the speed dial was modified slightly to resemble the Leica II. 28mm and 100mm lenses were made available. A pocket tripod

Tripod (photography)

In photography, a tripod is used to stabilize and elevate a camera, or to support flashes or other photographic equipment. All photographic tripods have three legs and a mounting head to couple with a camera...

, self-timer, close-up lenses, darkroom

Darkroom

A darkroom is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light sensitive photographic materials, including photographic film and photographic paper. Darkrooms have been created and used since the inception of photography in the early 19th century...

 equipment and filters appeared in this period.

S 1938 - 41 - Identical to 1c except that 2000 cameras were produced with a faster 1/1000" shutter speed. These cameras usually came equipped with a 50mm f2 copy of the Leitz Summar lens

V (B) 1938 - Identical to 1c except with a faster 1/1000" second shutter speed and a slow speed dial. This was a copy of the Leica IIIa camera and was equipped with a 50mm f2 copy of the Leitz Summar. Only 40 were made, but a lot of fakes are in circulation to trap the unwary at camera fairs.

1d 1939 - 41 (August) SN 125000 - 180000 - Identifiable by the centre retaining screw being off-centre and not concealed by the lens mount flange. Also, in 1939 Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 lost its nominal independence from Russia and camera engraving changed to highlight this from UkSSR to USSR.

1d 1942 - 45 SN 174000 - 178000 - Around 4000 cameras manufactured in Berdsk from parts evacuated from the FED Ukraine factory before it was overrun by the Nazis.

1e SN 174000 - 180000 - Around 1000 manufactured in Berdsk in Siberia in the first few months of 1946 after hostilities ended using parts made before the war. After returning to Kharkov the FED organisation became independent of the NKVD. Also the camera had a superior shutter assembly in a brass housing rather than the earlier aluminium design.

T Engraved "Red Flag" in honour of new masters produced around SN 200000 and was fitted with a coated 50mm f3.5 Industar 10 lens

1f 1949 - 53 SN 201800 - 400000 - New cursive script Fed logo, flatter shutter button, coated lens engraved with what were then called the international f stops, f4, f5.6 and so on rather than the earlier f4.5, f6.3. Lens came with a bakelite rather than metal lens cap.

1949 -50 TSVVS - A remarkable camera taking the Contax

Contax

Contax was a camera brand noted for its unique technical innovation and a wide range of Zeiss lenses, noted for their high optical quality. Its final incarnation was a line of 35 mm, medium format and digital cameras engineered and manufactured by Kyocera, and featuring modern Zeiss optics...

 bayonet mount and Leica body to produce a hybrid camera. Produced in very small numbers for presentation to senior officers in the Topographic Service of the army air force known as the TSVVS. A much modified Fed with brass body rather than aluminium fitted with a genuine Contax bayonet mount Carl Zeiss

Carl Zeiss

Carl Zeiss was a German maker of optical instruments commonly known for the company he founded, Carl Zeiss Jena . Zeiss made contributions to lens manufacturing that have aided the modern production of lenses...

 Sonnar

Zeiss Sonnar

The Sonnar is a photographic lens originally designed by Dr. Ludwig Bertele in 1924 and patented by Zeiss Ikon. It was notable for its relatively light weight, simple design and fast aperture. The name "Sonnar" is derived from the German word "Sonne", meaning sun...

 f1.5 or f2 50mm lens taken as spoils of war from the Zeiss factory at Jena. Again a lot of fakes in circulation. Also of interest is the Nikon

Nikon

, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...

 rangefinder camera as it also had a Contax bayonet mount and Leica shutter. The true origin of the TSVVS camera is still unknown. Two major circulating theories is that the cameras has either been manufactured at Moscow's Almaz factory or it had been ordered for manufacture by the Soviets from East Germany (possibly Zeiss, but it is also not confirmed). This camera is probably the most mysterious in nature out of all Soviet cameras. An old belief that this camera was made by FED factory is disputed by the fact that the body is wholly made out of brass and it is different dimensions physically than the FED-1 cameras. (see forum discussions at USSRPhoto.com for more detailed arguments about it between various Soviet camera experts).

1g 1953 - 55 SN 400000 - 800000 - Shutter speeds changed to 25th, 50th,100th instead of old Leica 20th, 30th, 40th, 60th. Threaded shutter button to accept standard shutter release instead of external thread Leica cable release which fitted over the button of earlier cameras. Mushroom type surround to shutter release.

FED 1 serial numbers and production numbers

1934 SN 000031 - 004000 - 4k

1935 SN 004001 - 016000 - 12k

1936 SN 016001 - 031000 - 15k

1937 SN 031001 - 053000 - 22k

1938 SN 053001 - 082000 - 29k

1939 SN 082001 - 116000 - 34k

1940 SN 116001 - 148000 - 32k

1941 SN 148001 - 175000 - 25k

1942 - 45 (World War 2) - see below

1946 SN 175001 - 176000 - 1k - see below

1947 SN 176001 - 186000 - 10k

1948 SN 186001 - 203000 - 13k

1949 SN 203001 - 221000 - 18k

1950 SN 221001 - 248000 - 27k

1951 SN 248001 - 289000 - 41k

1952 SN 289001 - 341000 - 53k

1953 SN 341001 - 424000 - 73k

1954 SN 424001 - 560000 - 136k

1955 SN 560001 - 700000 - 140k

V (B) 1938 - 40

S 1938 - 41 - 2k

Please note that these serial numbers are approximate as are the estimated production numbers. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 production was shifted to Siberia as the factory in Kharkov was overrun by the Nazis. During this period and immediately after the war some serial numbers between 174000 - 180000 were used on cameras built in Berdsk in Siberia, even in the first few months of 1946.

FED 1 lens type information

100mm f6.3 Fed lens first made in 1938. Supplied with viewfinder less than 20,000 produced.

100mm f5.9 1937- 38 Fed lens, best used at f6.3 or smaller aperture.

50mm f3.5 Industar-10 copy of the Leitz Elmar 50mm f3.5 manufactured 1934-46 and fitted to most FED 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d. Old-style apertures f4.5, f6.3. From 1949 coated. From 1948 or 49 new international f stops, f4, f5.6 and so on. A four-element design. The most produced lens and even fitted to the next generation Fed 2 camera and supplied to China for fitting on Chinese made Leica copies - Dai Lai "Popular" (Fed 1 or Zorki 1 copy), Shanghai and Chang Chiang "Yangtze River" (Fed 2 Copy).

50mm f2 Fed copy of Leitz Summar 1938-41. A 6-element design with f2 to f18.

28mm f4.5 Fed wideangle lens 1938 -39. A 6-element design with f4.5 to f18. A viewfinder was produced in 1939 in very small quantities.

A number of 50mm f3.5 macro lenses existed.

Some time probably between 1947 and 1949 when the first KMZ Fed-Zorki cameras were being assembled at the KMZ factory in Moscow with the collaboration of Fed engineers the copy of the Leitz Elmar 50mm f3.5 was replaced by a copy of the Tessar 50mm f3.5 in the same collapsible mount. This probably happened due to technical information taken as spoils of war from the Zeiss factory, which was in the Soviet-controlled zone of East Germany. The KMZ version of this Tessar lens was the Industar-22.

The original Industar-10 lens manufactured between 1934-46 was a more or less exact copy of the Leitz Elmar 4-element lens that first appeared in 1924. This was based on the earlier 5-element Leitz Elmax which had been patented by 1920. The Industar-10, Elmar & Tessar had completely different focal lengths. The Industar-10s made between 1934 and 1948-49 were 50mm. Those manufactured after 1948-49 based on the Zeiss Tessar were 52.4mm. The later KMZ Industar-22 was 52.4mm. The Carl Zeiss standard is 52.4, the same as the Sonnar (Jupiter 3 & 8) and later the Industar 26M, Industar-50, Industar-61—all used the standard CZ focal length.

FED (& GOMZ) started using coated

Optical coating

An optical coating is one or more thin layers of material deposited on an optical component such as a lens or mirror, which alters the way in which the optic reflects and transmits light. One type of optical coating is an antireflection coating, which reduces unwanted reflections from surfaces, and...

lenses as late as 1949-1950 (Maizenberg Book), KMZ (1947 onwards - Zorki Zenit camera line) probably never produced uncoated lenses because they continued the Carl Zeiss line.

Pre-World War 2 lenses have a slightly different lens-to-film register different from that of as Leica lenses. Consequently early Russian lenses should not be used on postwar cameras as they will not focus correctly, although results may be adequate when stopped down.

FED 1 technical specifications, 1934 (or Fedka)

• Exact copy of a 1932 Leica II
• Manufactured 1934 - 1955 (Spec as 1934 Fedka)
• About 700,000 made by the FED Machine Works Kharkov Ukraine (formerly the USSR)
• All were identical except for the six or seven different types of engraving
• Lens is a copy of the collapsible Leitz Elmar Copy - FED or Industar-10 f3.5/50mm
• Aperture settings: f3.5, f4.5, f6.3, f9, f12.5, f18 Lens is screw mount 39mm Leica-type.
• Shutter is cloth focal-plane
• Shutter speeds: Z - 20th, 30th, 40th, 60th, 100th, 200th, 500th.
• Focusing: 1.25 M to infinity.
• Coupled range finder with a separate viewfinder.
• Film is standard 35mm
• Loading via a removable bottom.
• Weight is approximately 630g.

Notes:
1948 or 49 onwards Industar-10 lens with "international" f stops, f3.5, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16
1953 onwards Shutter speeds changed to 25th, 50th,100th, 200th 500th

External links

• Film about FED company history "To be the first!" (Rus)
• The FED company site (Rus)
• FED General Information (Rus)
• FED company history (Rus)
• FED cameras by Wayne Cornell
• Rangefinder cameras of the Soviet era
• Faraway, yet so close "Are Leica LTM lenses really compatible with Soviet LTM bodies?"
• Industar 26 and 61 Relubing
• rus-camera
• Exact Soviet Leica II copy the FED 1 or Fedka camera c. 1934 by Stephen Rothery
• Soviet development of Leica II concept the FED 2 c. 1955 by Stephen Rothery
• FED cameras Price Guide completed auction prices
• Zorki Survival Site by Jay Javier
• USSRPhoto.com Wiki catalog entries for the FED-1 cameras. Use left navigation to see other FED models