FED (camera)

The FED is a Soviet rangefinder camera, mass-produced from 1934 until around 1996, and also the name of the factory that made it.
The factory emerged from the small workshops of the Children's labour commune named after Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (the acronym of which gave name to the factory and its products) in December 1927 in Kharkov (Soviet Ukraine, now Ukraine). Initially the factory was managed by the head of the commune Anton Makarenko and produced simple electrical machinery (drills). In 1932, the new managing director of the factory, A.S. Bronevoy (Russian: А.С. Броневой), came up with the idea of producing a copy of the GermanLeica camera.
Large-scale production began in 1934, and in the same year the factory was put under NKVD control and Makarenko was fired. Production continued until 1941, when German forces destroyed the factory, and resumed in 1946.
Until 1955 the factory made a huge number of cameras that resemble the Leica rather closely. They are often altered, given "Leica" markings and sold as Leicas. However the FED is cruder: for example the rangefinder cam is pointed and not circular as in Leicas. There are differences in the shutter-release buttons and viewfinder windows. The FED has a gap in the left side of the accessory shoe. Genuine Leicas have film-loading instructions on the inner surface of the baseplate and the screws on the front are always black; on the FED these screws are chrome-coloured. Unscrupulous rebranding of Soviet-made lenses also occurs, since "Industar" lenses are sometimes sold as "Elmar" lenses. Camera collectors have described the FED as interesting and often well made and effective so long as the buyer is not deceived into paying a premium for a counterfeit Leica camera.
From 1955 FED began to innovate, combining the rangefinder with the viewfinder in the FED 2 and all its successors. The FED-3 added slow shutter speeds and on the later version FED-3 (b) the film advance was changed from a thumbwheel to a lever. The FED 4 (1964–77) added a non-coupled selenium exposure meter. The FED 5 marked the end of the FED rangefinder family and was meant as a replacement for both the FED-3 and FED-4, which were in production at the time of its introduction. There were versions of the FED-5: the original FED-5 had an exposure meter, the FED-5B was a cheaper version without meter and the later FED-5C had reflected framelines showing field of view of 50mm lens and an exposure meter. All FED-5 cameras were delivered with an Industar I-61L/D lens. Production of FED rangefinder cameras ended in the mid 1990s (Fed-5 Serial Number 545446 was made on 28 February 1994; Fed's site claims that it was in fact 1997: 
"Start of serial production of vertical drive for control system of tanks. Production of all types of camera has stopped. 8,647,000 cameras were manufactured since the beginning.")
FED 1 collector information.
The following types are nomenclature used by collectors since no FED 1 or Fedka camera was actually marked in this way. Brief descriptions are included to help with identification.
FED 1 serial numbers and production numbers.
These serial numbers and production numbers are approximate. During World War II production was shifted to Siberia as the factory in Kharkov was overrun by Nazi German forces. During this period and immediately after the war some serial numbers between 174000 - 180000 were used on cameras built in Berdsk in Siberia, even in the first few months of 1946.
FED 1 lens type information.
Some time probably between 1947 and 1949 when the first KMZ Fed-Zorki cameras were being assembled at the KMZ factory in Moscow with the collaboration of Fed engineers the copy of the Leitz Elmar 50 mm was replaced by a copy of the Tessar 50 mm in the same collapsible mount. This probably happened due to technical information taken as spoils of war from the Zeiss factory, which was in the Soviet-controlled zone of East Germany. The KMZ version of this Tessar lens was the Industar-22.
The original Industar-10 lens manufactured between 1934 and 1946 was a more or less exact copy of the Leitz Elmar 4-element lens that first appeared in 1924. This was based on the earlier 5-element Leitz Elmax which had been patented by 1920. The Industar-10, Elmar & Tessar had completely different focal lengths. The Industar-10s made between 1934 and 1948–1949 were 50 mm. Those manufactured after 1948–1949 based on the Zeiss Tessar were 52.4 mm. The later KMZ Industar-22 was 52.4 mm. The Carl Zeiss standard is 52.4, the same as the Sonnar (Jupiter 3 & 8) and later the Industar 26M, Industar-50, Industar-61—all used the standard CZ focal length. The last KMZ Industar made in quantity was the Type 50-2 for the Zenith, a small, flat unit in black with M42 thread, often sold as "Pancake Lens" to recent DSLR owners. This has two serious defects: The aperture ring sits inside the focus ring so cannot be stopped down after focussing, as is normal practice with manual lenses. The anti-reflection "economy"-coating is visibly poor inasmuch existent. Maybe only on a single surface. Although the images are sharp, they are typically overlaid by a fog filter. In contrast to the earlier 52.4 mm white-metal Industars with heavy blue coating, that are rarer, more expensive and often in heavily used condition.
FED (& GOMZ) started using coated lenses as late as 1949 to 1950 (Maizenberg Book), KMZ (1947 onwards - Zorki Zenit camera line) produced blue coated lenses making full use of the complete Carl Zeiss wartime technology. Only the latter years saw the Industar degraded to a mass item with production shortcuts affecting coating, as incidentally also with the last /50 Tessars from the GDR.
Pre-World War 2 lenses have a slightly different lens-to-film register different from that of Leica lenses. Consequently, early Russian lenses should not be used on postwar cameras as they will not focus correctly, although results may be adequate when stopped down.
FED 1 technical specifications, 1934 (or Fedka).
Notes.
1948 or 1949 onwards Industar-10 lens with "international" f stops, , , , , , 
1953 onwards Shutter speeds changed to 25th, 50th,100th, 200th 500th.