My 1st Fed

[truls]

Arrived today, she seems very smooth in operation, could be a favourite camera to bring with. Not much to say, an extremely simple camera, everything is manual, and less to brake.

[Stephen]

Once these cameras were very unusual to find outside the Soviet Union borders, the Fed Zahya is a standard Fed 2 body and Fed 2 shutter, with the rangefinder completely removed, mainly to keep costs down for the Russian home market. Takes all the M39 fit lenses, and all Leica lenses, which should all focus to scale perfectly. Made from 1959 to 1961, with slight variants, some were engraved Zarya 2 on the top, and there was a Zarya 3 with an extinction meter window added. They were slowly dropped as the Fed 3 took over and all later Fed's had a rangefinder again

Focus accuracy, in an initial check over, is easily verified with a ground glass, as the back comes off completely, much better than the older Leica. It is unlikely the body will be out for accurate focus, as it is all die-cast, not the earlier soft aluminium, which could warp and bend far too easily on early Fed cameras.

They were well liked by professional photographers in Russia, and should deliver results limited only by the lens.

The Industar 55 F2.8 lens should work very well, they are usually sharp, but the quality can vary, so a test film will be needed. Sharpest aperture is about F6.3 to F8, but are usually respectable at about one stop closed down. They do benefit from a proper lens hood, the elements are not deeply recessed.

Stephen.

[Stephen]

How is the Zahya turning out, have you tried out the new camera and lens?

Stephen.