FED 3 – The Ukrainian Rangefinder

Fed 3, The Ukrainian Rangefinder, a camera inspired by the classic Leicas. It has the impression of a Leica rangefinder combined with the beauty of Soviet era’s design.

Fed 3 + Industar I-61 52/2.8

At that time I was surprised that a fully working camera is offered on eBay for a relatively cheap price. I say cheap because the condition is still good (some scratch on the body is indeed exist but overall condition is still good), fully working, and comes with 11 blades Industar 52mm f/2.8, including lens cap. And the most exciting one is I got the original leather case as well. What a complete one!

This comrade is my first rangefinder ever. The serial number is 6505630 and I think the first 2 digits has an information about the year this camera was prduced (1965). Although not small and light comparing to other rangefinder cameras, I still can say that I love to use  this camera. What makes this camera unique (not just this one but maybe also all Fed cameras – cmiiw) is I have to cock the lever first before setting the shutter speed. Remember, lever first and then the speed. Otherwise the mechanical system of the camera will damaged.

Lever first, speed later

Technically speaking, it takes 35mm film and uses a M39 rangefinder lens. It supports shutter speed from 1 to 1/500 (1/30 for flash sync I think) and also B mode. It has a self timer and provides a cold shoe flash mount. The bad news is it has no light meter. So we ought to understand The Sunny 16 rule before we take any picture with Fed 3.