A strange Fed 1 more...

Here is the camera I have just bought.


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/7112017_Fed 236680 1.jpg
(photo of the seller)

A Fed 1 with selftimer, probably the same as a Fed 2 one. But it seems difficult to house the timer of a Fed 2 into the narrow space of a Fed 1. Usable or not? Home made or trial of the factory? Perhaps we will know more when I receive it.

Amitiйs. Jacques.

Interesting. Waiting for more photos from you.

Jacques, really interesting. Can you disassemble it a bit and show how the self timer is installed?

Ulrich

http://fotos.cconin.de

I have received the camera.

The selftimer works perfectly, which surprises me a bit. In fact, all works well.
I will make some photos, but I am reluctant to dismount it, as I don't know how the SF is connected to the mechanism.

As for the bag, the holes in the leather are neat and seem professionally made. But the leather is too thick to allow the movement of the SF. Ah, this blasted Soviet quality!

Jacques.

So you can disasemble the camera or it will stay a mistery forever.

And I think the camera has synchro contact for a flash. Am I right ?

Flash syncro crearly visible at drilled top plate, not need to think.

http://xalmaz.narod.ru

As promised, some other photos.


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/23112017_IMG_4800.JPG

On this one, the ears for straps are not usual on Fed 1-s, even if we meet them from time to time. The release shutter button has curious vertical stripes, and I must say it's the first time I see that. And of course, the selftimer.

The lever and release buttons were possibly borrowed to a Fed 2, "c" or "d" series by the design of the lever. The distance axle to axle is of 25/26mm, like on other Feds (10mm on Zorki 2, 24 mm on Zorki 4). So, certainly the mechanism is a Fed product.

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/23112017_IMG_4804.JPG

Here is the release spring. The general shape looks like a Fed 1's one, but it is "guided" in connection to the ST mechanism, like on the Fed 2c or Fed 2d on which this guided spring is well visible. And a shim is visible too under the spring, certainly to adjust the ST mechanism. Note that the shutter box is the one of a Fed 1, not of a Fed 2. No doubt the ST mechanism was adapted to an original Fed 1f.

To compare with a Fed 2: https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Vintage-USSR-FED-2-Rangefinder-Film-Camera-M39-Screw-Body-Leather-Case-NICE-EXC/162770793173?hash=item25e5e532d5:g:PcAAAOSwk1haFrcg

As said before, I don't want to dismount the camera, unless I have a precise guide concerning the ST and its connection to the main mechanism.

A last photo (at least for the moment!)


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/23112017_IMG_4802.JPG

A flash contact in the middle of the cover: it's not very beautiful. But this camera has something astonishing: it combines all that could not be regularly found on Fed 1s. And of course the main question remains: is this camera a prototype/preserie made by the factory, or a home made product?

Home made is possible or probable, but not logical. In which purpose? A 1958 Fed 2c is much easier to use. I don't even talk of a Zorki 4. In 1958, a Fed 1/Zorki 1 is a camera of the past... Only Leitz try to go on with their Leica IIIg!

I wait for your comments!

Amitiйs. Jacques.

quote:

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Originally posted by Jacques M.
Home made is possible or probable, but not logical. In which purpose? A 1958 Fed 2c is much easier to use. I don't even talk of a Zorki 4. In 1958, a Fed 1/Zorki 1 is a camera of the past... Only Leitz try to go on with their Leica IIIg!

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Maybe not logical in a country where you were able to go to a shop and buy what you wanted. USSR was far from that! You bought what was available, so that you could trade it to something you needed, with another comrade who had been lucky in getting it.
And if you had a high quality camera, which worked well, it may have been a much better alternative to modify it, than trying to get another one, and hope it would be a working specimen.

Best regards,
Juhani

Jacques, there could be several reasons.

1) I was using FED 1 in 80/90's because it was the smallest sensible camera I could hide in my pocket. I already had Zenit E and Zenit 12XP and even PRAKTICA MTL 50 but they were big and heavy. Also SMENA 8M was bigger and had no rangefinder and had very pour shutter speed. Lightmeter I had in my eye after using Zenit E for many years - before taking each photo I had to read exposure and than put it into a lens. Accuracy o my eye was 1/2 EV. Now I lost this skill after using TTL cameras for many years.

2) As Juhani said, it was not possible to buy anything in a shop so I had to think about modyfying this what I had. I had Triotar 4/135 with Exakta mount, but I had no Exacta. Only 3 cameras with M42 mount. To buy a lens in a shop was a dream. But my father was professional turner when he was studying to have a money for learning. So he modified the lens professionaly for me. Back of a lens was made of piece of pipe.

Im communism people had a lot of free time. Much more than people in capitalism. So they could educate oneself in many areas. But they had no availability of many things. So they had to create them by themselves.

Thanks, Juhani and Alfa!

Such explanations were already made about my Fed with slow speeds, if I remember and I understand that very well. What makes me hesitate is the quality of the work, quite a professional one. That could not have been made on the corner of a table. And you must have the ST of a Fed 2. Of course, that can be explained too...

If I had to tell a tale about that camera, I would rather think of a fan of Fed 1 (like me!) asking for a special camera!

I will post photos of the leather bag. Perfectly adjusted to the ST, but unusable...

Amitiйs. Jacques.

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/25112017_IMG_4807.JPG

A photo with the camera in its bag. Of course, the selftimer cannot be used with that type of hole. But to be honest, I have never used the ST with a camera in its bag...
Very happy to have a Fed 1 more!

Amitiйs. Jacques.

quote:

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Originally posted by Jacques M.


If I had to tell a tale about that camera, I would rather think of a fan of Fed 1 (like me!) asking for a special camera!

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Let me have another idea.

In communism many things were arranged "by friendship" (some extra privileges). It was very popular and existed everyday. If you had a friend on gasoline station you could have bought as many gasoline as you wanted. Other people had limitation for gasoline in some periods of time. It was working even when you had friend of friend somewhere.

There was no fans of FED 1 because people had no time and opportunity for such things.

My idea is the camera was made in a service/a factory "by friendship" for somebody. In communism reality it was much much more probable scenario.

Jacques, could you please show a bigger photo of shutter release button ?
I have never seen it like this one.

You are right, Alfa.
Here it is, one year later!


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/12112018_IMG_0704.JPG

Amitiйs. Jacques.

Thank you Jacques for the photo.
Could you write me something about those shutter release buttons.
When was this type mounted to FEDs ?

I had never seen such a release button before. I don't know where it comes from. Never on Feds, anyway...
Just the same about the ring!

Jacques.

quote:

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Originally posted by Jacques M.


I had never seen such a release button before. I don't know where it comes from. Never on Feds, anyway...

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Me too. I have seen many FEDs NKVD in my life, but never with such a release button before.

quote:

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Originally posted by Jacques M.


Just the same about the ring!

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What is strange here ?

Not the ring, sorry. But the collar of the release button is original too. Even if vertical stripes are common, the design is quite different here.
I suppose that all these changes were made at the same time. This cmera only misses slow speeds to be perfect!

Amitiйs. Jacques.