FED type 1(C) (c.1939)

  
One of the earliest FED Rangefinders ? (c.1934)

The Russian FED Rangefinder
The name "FED" comes from the initials of Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet secret police. The FED-1 (c.1934-55) was the earliest successful Leica II(D) copy, and the only one achieving any measure of success before WWII. I have several FED 35mm rangefinder cameras in my collection, although not all of them are illustrated here.

FED NKVD CCCP & YCCP Rangefinder
The camera pictured above (top row; serial number 124420) has the FED NKVD CCCP logo engraved on the top plate, which would indicate it is a FED type(1d) with a manufacture date of 1939-41. However, the serial number is low enough to be a FED type(1c) made from 1935-39 (the 1c usually had a "YCCP" engraved, instead of the "CCCP"). These facts would seem to indicate this camera was produced during that transition, which would be a date of about 1939.

One of the Earliest FED Rangefinders?
The FED rangefinder pictured above, (bottom row - with the yellow filter; serial number 3214), if authentic, would be one of the earliest FED known. However, many FED rangefinders were repaired at the factory, or otherwise altered, so that statement has to be somewhat tempered. This camera has the Cyrillic "FED" logo and the distinctive "hammer & sickle" that indicates it as one of the first FED cameras made (c.1934), a very rare camera. Like typical FED rangefinders, it has removable bottom plates for film loading, and the lens is a collapsible 50mm Fed f/3.5 (apparently an early lens, with no serial number) with shutter speeds of B, 1/20, 1/30, 1/40, 1/60, 1/100, 1/200 and 1/500. It has a focus lever near the body mount to assist in focusing.


FED-2 Rangefinder, with blue covering (c.1958)

"Blue" FED-2 Rangefinder
The FED-2 cameras were produced from 1955 into the 1970's. All models had a removable back, and a combined viewfinder/rangefinder. From 1956-on they included a self-timer and flash sync. Early models had a large, milled advance knob, and a collapsible lens similar to those on the earliest FED models. Models, like the one pictured above, made after 1958, had a new, smaller milled-edge advance knob, and non-collapsible lenses with a large milled collar. Body coverings were predominantly black, but examples do exist with coverings in dark red, dark green, grey, sand and (like above) in very dark blue. The various colors are found much less often than black.

Zorki-2C "Festival" Rangefinder
This camera is a rare Zorki-2C (serial number 57169574), produced in late 1957. It is rare in that it was produced specifically for the Moscow International Festival of Youth (held in 1957), and factory-engraved accordingly (see inset of engraving on left side of top plate, bottom right).

The "2C" designation (see inset, below) is a misnomer peculiar to English translations of the camera's Russian name. The apparent "C" is actually the letter "S" in the Cyrillic alphabet. The camera has a removable bottom for film loading; shutter speeds from B, 1/30 to 1/500; the 5cm Industar-50 f/3.5 lens (serial number 5845953); a self-timer and a synch post on the front of the top housing, the same features of the regular Zorki-2 (c.1955-60). It also has a milled lens collar, instead of the usual focus knob.


Zorki 2-C Top Plate

This particular camera (serial number 5504427) was produced in early 1955, and has a 5cm Jupiter-8 f/2.0 lens (serial number 5434084).

Commemorative Zorki-4 Rangefinder
The Zorki-4 (c.1956-73) was virtually identical to the Zorki-3C, but with a self-timer. It has a focal plane shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/1000. It was the most common Zorki, with more than 1.7 million manufactured. Variants could be found with Roman lettering, as well as Cyrillic, and it could also be with or without a viewfinder bezel (as this one is).

This particular model (serial number 67632645) was produced in 1967, has a 5cm Industar-50 f/3.5 lens, and is in excellent condition. Rarer than most Zorki-4's because of its edition, this Zorki was stamped (see picture below, right) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in 1967. The commemorative Zorki-4 usually brings about 33 percent more in the collectible market.

Mir Rangefinder
Also produced in the Krasnogorsk factory, the Mir (Russian for "Peace") rangefinder (c.1959-61) was essentially similar to the Zorki-4, with removable back and self-timer, but it did not have the slower shutter speeds.

This particular Mir (serial number 6054035) was produced in 1960 and has a 50mm Jupiter-8 f/2.0 lens (serial number 6029681), and is in excellent condition, although it does have a few very faint cleaning marks on the lens. Surprisingly, the Mir is uncommon today, and can bring three- to five-times the price of a Zorki-4 at auction.