What's the Original Viewfinder & Tripod for Fed 3 ??

[kovacs22]

EDIT: I'd like to only consider the viewfinder and not the tripod. I'm thinking that it would even be used, save for display purposes...

Hi all,

I'm looking to purchase a Russian Fed viewfinder and tripod that's original to the Fed 3 model # PE0650. These were originally released in 1967-68. After the PE0650 was released, a new serial number coding system was implemented in 1968 with model PE0655 (otherwise it's the exact same design and parts as the PE0650).

Anyway, does anyone know which turret/revolver-style viewfinder and tripod models were released for and at the same / similar time as the PE0650 Fed 3? I'm guessing that the viewfinder and tripods had the same numbering system, so the 6-digit serial numbers are a later release. Were the later releases improved versions? If so, I'd strongly consider them. For the tripod, I believe that they're virtually all the same, but I could be wrong.

Or maybe they're by different companies than the Fed 3 makers??

I've posted links to pictures below found on the 'net.

Thanks and please let me know!

http://top35mm.com/uploads/product/universal-soviet-turret-viewfinder-for-zorki-fed-leica.jpg

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFgxMDAw/z/L4wAAOSwPhdUz3OW/$_1.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMDY2/z/p-MAAOSwT6pV3BnE/$_1.JPG

 

[kovacs22]

Ok well I bought one with the six digit serial numbers, as shown in the image below.

I'm pretty confident that it'll fit and everything, I'm just wondering if it's the correct "version" that was released in tandem with the Fed 3 model # PE0650. It's obviously made a little later, but if the only difference is the serial numbering system, that's no problem with me.

Thanks and please let me know if you know!

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YokAAOSwzgRWv5ot/s-l1600.jpg

 

[xenskhe]

Jay's Fedka site questions whether the turret finder was made for use with the Fed.

 

[kovacs22]

Jay's Fedka site questions whether the turret finder was made for use with the Fed.

Interesting. I just Googled one of Jay's pages and I see a comparison between the Fed and Zorki cameras.

Do you know which one is of superior quality, however small that difference may be? They look eerily similar, probably one copied the other (it appears the Zorki copied the Fed, which in turned copied Leica ).

 

[gsgary]

EDIT: I'd like to only consider the viewfinder and not the tripod. I'm thinking that it would even be used, save for display purposes...

Hi all,

I'm looking to purchase a Russian Fed viewfinder and tripod that's original to the Fed 3 model # PE0650. These were originally released in 1967-68. After the PE0650 was released, a new serial number coding system was implemented in 1968 with model PE0655 (otherwise it's the exact same design and parts as the PE0650).

Anyway, does anyone know which turret/revolver-style viewfinder and tripod models were released for and at the same / similar time as the PE0650 Fed 3? I'm guessing that the viewfinder and tripods had the same numbering system, so the 6-digit serial numbers are a later release. Were the later releases improved versions? If so, I'd strongly consider them. For the tripod, I believe that they're virtually all the same, but I could be wrong.

Or maybe they're by different companies than the Fed 3 makers??

I've posted links to pictures below found on the 'net.

Thanks and please let me know!

http://top35mm.com/uploads/product/universal-soviet-turret-viewfinder-for-zorki-fed-leica.jpg

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFgxMDAw/z/L4wAAOSwPhdUz3OW/$_1.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMDY2/z/p-MAAOSwT6pV3BnE/$_1.JPG

I've got one of those finders for my Zorki4

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

 

[gsgary]

They are both poor quality when put side by side to my Leicas

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

 

[xenskhe]

Do you know which one is of superior quality, however small that difference may be? They look eerily similar, probably one copied the other (it appears the Zorki copied the Fed, which in turned copied Leica ).

I haven't used enough of them to know. I had a 'Barnack' Fed (II?) but not a Zorki. FED=Leica II/III, Zorki=Leica M, Kiev=Contax. There's also a Kiev medium format series.

 

[kovacs22]

They are both poor quality when put side by side to my Leicas

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

If a Leica is a 10 and the worst possible camera manufacturer that copies the Leica is a 1, then what number would you assign to the Fed 3 and its Zorki counterpart?

 

[gsgary]

They are both poor quality when put side by side to my Leicas

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

If a Leica is a 10 and the worst possible camera manufacturer that copies the Leica is a 1, then what number would you assign to the Fed 3 and its Zorki counterpart?

Probably 2

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

 

[xenskhe]

They are both poor quality when put side by side to my Leicas

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

If a Leica is a 10 and the worst possible camera manufacturer that copies the Leica is a 1, then what number would you assign to the Fed 3 and its Zorki counterpart?

Hard to say that. The FED II I had was an ok example.

[troll]:
I wouldn't place Leica at 10 anyway. They have a history of licensing other peoples lens designs (TTH, Schneider, Minolta), have made some less than great lenses themselves. Mass produced plastic cameras display their logo. As the veterans of a bygone age used to say "Zeiss for professionals, Leica for amateurs". I'd give the Leicas 8.5, the comparable Commie cameras 7. The plastic LOMO cameras 4. [/troll]

 

[kovacs22]

They are both poor quality when put side by side to my Leicas

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

If a Leica is a 10 and the worst possible camera manufacturer that copies the Leica is a 1, then what number would you assign to the Fed 3 and its Zorki counterpart?

Hard to say that. The FED II I had was an ok example.

[troll]:
I wouldn't place Leica at 10 anyway. They have a history of licensing other peoples lens designs (TTH, Schneider, Minolta), have made some less than great lenses themselves. Mass produced plastic cameras display their logo. As the veterans of a bygone age used to say "Zeiss for professionals, Leica for amateurs". I'd give the Leicas 8.5, the comparable Commie cameras 7. The plastic LOMO cameras 4. [/troll]

Hey I'll take the 7 - that's not bad, right?

 

[kovacs22]

From pics I've seen online, the shutter button is supposed to be like this for stock Fed 3 cameras of this model. However, you can see from my photo of the shutter button below that there's an internal threading that suggests that a shutter button extension attachment would attach to it.

Does anyone know what attaches to it - what it's called? And, is there a specific model for this attachment that goes with the Fed 3?

Thanks in advance!

 

[limr]

Shutter release cable.

Here's an interesting overview of the Fed 3: Photoethnography.com - Classic Cameras

As for quality difference between Feds and Zorkis - it's really just six of one and half a dozen of the other. Ultimately, they're both very similar systems and it will come down to preference for some of the working details. Don't forget about the importance of the lenses. The Soviet rangefinders have a variety of Industar and Jupiter lenses with different characteristics. My Zorki 6 has an Industar-50 which is quite sharp, though you might prefer the look of a different lens.

And finally, since you're new here and might not realize it, I have to comment on gsgary's rating to help you put it in perspective. You see, Gary is a hardcore Leica fanboy. He's a good egg and a good photographer, and there's no doubt that Leicas are great cameras. However, rating the Russians as a 2 compared to a Leica at 10 is more of a function of his blinding, all-consuming love for his Leicas than of an objective assessment of the relative merits of each camera. The Russian knockoffs are not as good as Leicas, no, but they are are still good cameras. The thing is, if you are always comparing them to Leicas, you'll never be satisfied. They are great cameras taken on their own merits, but they'll always suffer in comparison to a legend.

 

[kovacs22]

Shutter release cable.

Here's an interesting overview of the Fed 3: Photoethnography.com - Classic Cameras

As for quality difference between Feds and Zorkis - it's really just six of one and half a dozen of the other. Ultimately, they're both very similar systems and it will come down to preference for some of the working details. Don't forget about the importance of the lenses. The Soviet rangefinders have a variety of Industar and Jupiter lenses with different characteristics. My Zorki 6 has an Industar-50 which is quite sharp, though you might prefer the look of a different lens.

And finally, since you're new here and might not realize it, I have to comment on gsgary's rating to help you put it in perspective. You see, Gary is a hardcore Leica fanboy. He's a good egg and a good photographer, and there's no doubt that Leicas are great cameras. However, rating the Russians as a 2 compared to a Leica at 10 is more of a function of his blinding, all-consuming love for his Leicas than of an objective assessment of the relative merits of each camera. The Russian knockoffs are not as good as Leicas, no, but they are are still good cameras. The thing is, if you are always comparing them to Leicas, you'll never be satisfied. They are great cameras taken on their own merits, but they'll always suffer in comparison to a legend.

Thanks for all that info! I'll be reading that linked article soon.

I'm guessing that LOMO is the Russian brand used by Fed 3, as opposed to one that may have been made in-house, since I'm not finding one made by Fed 3 from my Google searches. I found a shutter release cable that's advertised as 15 cm in length and I believe that was the standard length then as that seems to be the most common one.

And, do you or anyone else know if these are all standard thread sizes?

 

[limr]

Thread size is standard as far as I know.

LOMO often refers to the glass, although they did make cameras as well.
LOMO - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They were the inspiration behind the Lomography movement and it's easy to confuse the two. These days, "Lomo" usually refers to a certain style of image typical of cheap plastic lenses or intentional inclusion of things like light flare or out of focus subjects.