Hello Everyone, Here is what I have just added to my own collection! A pretty normal FED-2 in most respects and it operates beautifully ... but look at the number! Probably from 1960 from what I have read on Aidas' site, and maybe the lens is not original, not sure about that.
great find. I think the lens is not original, it's one of the lenses I have seen on the early FED 4a (mine has such a lens), but as I know it's a rare lens (specially with that low serial number).
Yes, the lens may not be original to the camera. Princelle dates the introduction of the I-61 as "circa 1963" and on Aidas' site there is a FED-2 camera from 1962 with the same lens (even lower serial number) that he thinks is original to the camera.
But, I wonder when this lens was invented and the first copies made? I am quite sure that once it was available, camera users would have wanted to replace an earlier I-26 with the new I-61. This may be the case with both my camera and Aidas' example. The only way we will really know is if someone has one of these lenses with a passport.
I suspect it may be possible that although not standard with the FED-2 camera yet, this early version was produced as soon as 1960. I was told that this was the original lens, but I think only a passport for one of these will give the true date that they may have been available.
FED-2 ~ One Millionth
Posted - Jun 14 2010 : 1:30:07 PM
