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| FED 5B (1975-1990) |
#413
This photo is from the copy I ownHistory and technical features
Development of the Fed-3 (b), new winding lever, rewind crank. Accesory shoe screwed on top of top plate, rather than in a depression.
Source: sovietcams.com
Now I know I’m really crazy. This is the very camera about which I said “I know it’s got a great lens but it’s just so UGLY!” At the time I couldn’t imagine anyone actually walking around with one in public. I’ve looked at it enough now that it’s grown on me considerably — while it’s not exactly a handsome camera, it’s more agreeable in person than pictures suggest. How’s that for a compliment? This is the basic 5B, there is another version of the 5 with an uncoupled selenium light meter. There is also a model year variation with different Cyrillic lettering on the nameplate and gridded pleather covering like the FED 3B that is even less attractive than this model. Note – though this model is commonly referred to as a 5B the letter is really equivalent to an English V, so you will see it referred to as a 5V by native Russian speakers.
Where the FED 3B feels like a solid shooter, the 5 feels like a cheap knock-off. The body is slightly taller but it weighs about the same, and feels noticeably cheesier, like it’s made of cheaper or thinner metal. Even the lens mount feels a little cheap. Aluminum instead of steel? Maybe. Odd about the extra height, I can see about 1/4″ of space under that tall top cap, wonder if it was simply to make room for the hot shoe wires or some other manufacturing shortcut? At any rate, of the series, this is definitely the FED to take to the muddy soccer game in the rain, the one to schlep to the windy beach for those lovely sunset shots when you’d leave a more collectible camera at home.
See my other FEDs and the Links below for the background on this beast, it does indeed have a great lens and that’s really the bottom line. Touted as the best Russian-made LTM lens ever, the rare-earth impregnated Industar-61 L/D came standard on the FED 4 and 5. The common sentiment is that for the price what you’re getting is a world-class lens with an ugly camera-shaped rear lens cap. I haven’t used it enough myself to say whether I think it’s better than the earlier Industar-61 or the Industar-26M, which are both excellent.
I’ll skip the somewhat sordid history of the FED. Suffice it to say that the FED factory in Kharkov was an orphanage-turned-work-commune named for Felix E. Dzerzhinsky, founder of the original Soviet Secret Police. It’s a very interestsing story, and you can read all about it on this excellent page, just make sure to come back when you’re done (I love that site!). Oh and put your wallet away or you’ll find yourself off bidding on FEDs before you know it. One FED is never enough!
Source: mattsclassiccameras.com
Specifications
Produced 1977-199? FED, Kharkov, Ukraine
Film type 135 (35mm)
Picture size 24 x 36mm
Weight 1 lb, 9.4oz (720g) with normal lens
Lens LTM 39mm Industar 61L/D 55mm 1:2.8-16
Filter size 40.5mm
Focal range 1m to infinity
Viewfinder coupled rangefinder
Exposure meter none
Shutter double cloth curtain
Shutter speeds B, 1 – 1/500
Diopter correction ring
Self-timer
Hot shoe and PC sync connection
Source: mattsclassiccameras.com
Produced: 1975-1990
Name: „ФЭД-5B“
Producer: FED
Frame size: 24x36
Lens: Industar-61L/D 2.8/53.
Shutter: 1s, 1/2s, 1/4s, 1/8s, 1/15s, 1/30s, 1/60s, 1/125s, 1/250s, 1/500s + B.
Quantity: ±1.500.000 units.
Original price (in year 1986) 67 roubles.
Source: sovietcams.com
Model
Serial number 094685
Reference sites
casualphotophile.com
mattsclassiccameras.com
sovietcams.com
Manual
English manual #1
English manual #2
Film
Pictures taken with this machine
Videos
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