Free Jupiter 9 85/2!!! Which RF?

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

I have FED 1g and very hard to focus at dim light. I used many Leicas and I was expecting the same easy focus wherever you are but wrong.
May be someone could report Zorki and later FEDs.

[Xmas]

I have FED 1g and very hard to focus at dim light. I used many Leicas and I was expecting the same easy focus wherever you are but wrong.
May be someone could report Zorki and later FEDs.

Hi

This can be true, but equally IIIc rangefinder splitters are frequently faint, the other Leicas models pretty good.

Any of them Leica, Ja or FSU can be misted or fogged internally, and need a clean.

It is best to inspect before you purchase, for contrast, clarity and signs of damage (i.e. degration of image), can be very expensive to fix.

You may need also need calibration, of lens and body, the Leica and e.g. Canon clones have lots of adjustments for rangefinder calibration..., you can easily spend a weekend tinkering... but dont touch unless you are skilled.

Noel

[vpwphoto]

Fedka.com will hook you up.

[Spicy]

Youxin can upgrade the barnack beamsplitters to a new japan-sourced beamsplitter. contrast is slight blue/yellow and probably better than my M body. the barnack's are quirky, but great users if you're willing to put a little more effort in.

[j-dogg]

I got a FED-2 locally!!! Can't believe it, decided on the FED-2, searched eBay and by a stroke of luck remembered to check local listings, found this little gem 20 miles away. Messaged the seller, they agreed to cash payment and local pickup. It has some sort of Industar lens, a 50 2.8, Sekonic light meter and my 85 works flawlessly on it.

It will need a CLA, which I will tend to this week. I CLA'd my Kodak 35RF and I specialize in laptop repair so this should be simple as there are no electronics.

I will build a complete system around it, already got 2 of the trifecta to make a kit. Feels great to have an interchangeable RF system now.

One thing I have been a little confused on is the m39 mount. I know that there are m39 for Zenit SLR and for rangefinder, but do all m39 rangefinder lenses work on the FED-2? Was looking at the Industar 28 2.8 pancake, the 35 2.8 jupiter 12 and maybe the 50 3.5 leica clone.

[ntenny]

I got a FED-2 locally!!! Can't believe it, decided on the FED-2, searched eBay and by a stroke of luck remembered to check local listings, found this little gem 20 miles away. Messaged the seller, they agreed to cash payment and local pickup. It has some sort of Industar lens, a 50 2.8, Sekonic light meter and my 85 works flawlessly on it.

Very nice catch! I like the blue bodies; they look black enough to be dignified, but on close inspection the blue gives them a little character.

That's an Industar-26m, the standard lens on most FED-2 bodies; it's a Tessar type and can be pretty darn good.

It will need a CLA, which I will tend to this week. I CLA'd my Kodak 35RF and I specialize in laptop repair so this should be simple as there are no electronics.

There are a lot of fiddly little bits to make up for the absence of electronics, but it's a fairly simple camera on the whole. No slow-speed escapement system, which helps. That said, the one time I went into mine to try to fix the shutter tension, I made things worse rather than better...

One thing I have been a little confused on is the m39 mount. I know that there are m39 for Zenit SLR and for rangefinder, but do all m39 rangefinder lenses work on the FED-2? Was looking at the Industar 28 2.8 pancake, the 35 2.8 jupiter 12 and maybe the 50 3.5 leica clone.

Yes, except for the concern about alignment differences between Soviet and "real" M39 focus threads. It shouldn't be a problem with wide-angle lenses, which means that you might think about something like the Voigtlaender wides as well as the fSU originals.

I'm not sure what the Industar 28 is, but the Jupiter-12 is a seriously nice lens, or at least my sample is. You might want to play with that Industar-26m for a while before deciding if you need the 50/3.5 as well; I decided I really like one of my "stock" lenses and didn't need another normal.

-NT

[j-dogg]

Very nice catch! I like the blue bodies; they look black enough to be dignified, but on close inspection the blue gives them a little character.

That's an Industar-26m, the standard lens on most FED-2 bodies; it's a Tessar type and can be pretty darn good.



There are a lot of fiddly little bits to make up for the absence of electronics, but it's a fairly simple camera on the whole. No slow-speed escapement system, which helps. That said, the one time I went into mine to try to fix the shutter tension, I made things worse rather than better...



Yes, except for the concern about alignment differences between Soviet and "real" M39 focus threads. It shouldn't be a problem with wide-angle lenses, which means that you might think about something like the Voigtlaender wides as well as the fSU originals.

I'm not sure what the Industar 28 is, but the Jupiter-12 is a seriously nice lens, or at least my sample is. You might want to play with that Industar-26m for a while before deciding if you need the 50/3.5 as well; I decided I really like one of my "stock" lenses and didn't need another normal.

-NT

I thought about the leica clone but in all actuality I'll probably CLA the Tessar as I have almost all the tools save the lens spanner and that is on order.

Plus from what I've seen on the Tessar clone it's absolutely fantastic. There's a whole slew of 50mm lenses for the FED-2 I might just keep this one.

[Gerald C Koch]

I have 6 FED's acquired in a fruitless attempt to find one that is reliable. If you are serious about photography get a Bessa R body. I once saw an ad for an Industar lens "with a heavy, bulky lens cap" (in other words a FED body). This pretty much sums up my opinion of soviet camera bodies. Now the lenses can be quite good optically but quality standards for the barrels is fair. The 55mm f2.8 Industar 61-L/D is probably the best of the soviet litter and gets good reviews. The L indicates that it has a lanthanum glass element.

[ntenny]

I have 6 FED's acquired in a fruitless attempt to find one that is reliable. If you are serious about photography get a Bessa R body. I once saw an ad for an Industar lens "with a heavy, bulky lens cap" (in other words a FED body). This pretty much sums up my opinion of soviet camera bodies.

I have to admit that my Bessa-R pretty much put my Soviet bodies out of a job. I occasionally pull out the Mir simply because it's fun to shoot, but in practical terms it can't compete with its modern peer.

That said, people *did* routinely make these things work for them, enough that they were a standard household camera for millions of Soviets. Just about anyone who grew up in the Soviet Union, I find, will be sent on a big-time nostalgia trip by the smell of a FED or Zorki never-ready case. That doesn't really speak to their photographic quality, but it does suggest that they were good enough to be cameras rather than trash or doorstops. (They do make good doorstops, though.)

-NT

[j-dogg]

Did the CLA on the FED-2b, it's ready for battle!!! Shutter speeds check out fine, no pinhole leaks, everything is good to go on the body. The vertical parallax adjustment is a wee bit off, I can see it if I look hard enough, but the test roll will go in tomorrow.

The 85 is fine already. The Industar will need a minor CLA.

I did the entire CLA while listening to Soviet communist march songs and anthems.

It isn't my bud's Leica but dammit you can't get too much closer without actually getting one. Maybe I got a good copy.