FED

Originally an orphanage in Kharkiv, Ukraine, the FED factory was turned into a labor commune in the 1920s and renamed after Felix E. Dzerzhinsky, founder of the NKVD which was the forerunner to the KGB. Eventually it came to be known by the initials, FED (cyrillic ФЭД or фэд).

After the groundbreaking introduction of the Leica II in 1932, Soviet leaders stopped the import of photographic equipment and set the FED factory to its task of creating a Leica of their own. Only 18 months later, in 1934, the FED factory began churning out its first clone of the Leica II rangefinder camera. Since then, they have produced millions of cameras, some good and some not so good.

See also the article Soviet Factory Logos

FED models with coloured coverings image by Dmitry (Image rights)

Screwmount Rangefinder Cameras

• FED NKVD
• FED S
• FED 1
• FED-2
• FED-3
• FED-4
• FED-5
• FED-5s
• FED-5v
• FED-6 TTL
• TSVVS
• Zarya (no rangefinder)

Fixed-lens Rangefinder Cameras

• FED-10
• FED-Atlas (FED-11)
• FED-35
• FED-35A
• FED Mikron
• FED Mikron-2

Fixed-lens Viewfinder Cameras

• FED Micron
• FED 50

Stereo camera

• FED Boy Stereo
• FED Stereo
• FED Stereo-M

Links

• FED Zorki Survival Site
• FED 1 Wiki entries at USSRPhoto.com
• Zorkis and FED repair notes
• Rangefinders of the Former Soviet Union
• Notes in German about the FED
• FED pages at Antique Russian Camera
• FED 35mm Rangefinder Page at Communist Cameras
• FED page at Collection G. Even's site
• FED Cameras at www.collection-appareils.fr
• French Photography Wikibook
• Fed Cameras Price Guide by CollectiBlend.com
• Russian camera instruction manuals including Fed, Kiev, Zenit and Lubitel
• Manual Camera Coleccionismo de cámaras fotográficas rusas (en español)

Bibliography

• BOUSSAT, Jean-Claude .- Les appareils soviétiques. In : France-Photographie, n° 209, février 2008, pp. 8-9.
• Princelle, Jean Loup - Made In USSR - The Authentic Guide To Russian And Soviet Cameras, Le Reve Edition, 2004