FED-10
FED-10 is a Soviet 35mm rangefinder camera with a leaf shutter, which was produced by the FED Plant in Kharkiv from 1964 to 1967.
It is worth noting that FED-10 is the first Soviet rangefinder camera with a semi-automatic exposure setting.
It is also worth noting that the design of FED-10 is quite noticeably different from the design of other cameras produced at the FED plant, and is very similar to such German cameras as Voigtländer Vitomatic, Agfa Optima, Dacora Super, and Kodak Retina.
Fed-10 Specifications
- Type: 35mm rangefinder camera
- Manufacturer: FED plant
- Production period: from 1964 to 1967
- Format: 24x36cm on 135 film
- Lens mount: original mount
- Lens: Industar-61 L/D f2.8/52
- Rangefinder base: 41mm
- Shutter: leaf shutter, with shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/250, and B.
- Viewfinder: optical parallax viewfinder combined with a rangefinder
- Lighmeter: built-in selenium light meter
- Flash synchronisation: at any shutter speed
- Selftimer: mechanical
- Weight: 1000 grams
The FED-10 camera was created for 35mm perforated film with a frame size of 24×36 mm. The camera body is made of high-quality cast aluminum with a removable rear panel.
The camera was equipped with an Industar-61 2/52 mm lens. Although the camera was made with the expectation of interchangeable optics, the FED factory did not create additional lenses. So the only possible lens is Industar-61.
If you visit Sovietcameras.org often, you know that our team loves different versions of the Industrial 61 lens very much. This is a rather sharp lens that gives very good photographs.
It is worth noting that the lens does not have an aperture control ring since it is controlled by automation in the camera. The camera has a unique bayonet mount, so third-party lenses cannot be mounted on FED-10.
The FED-10 camera was equipped with a leaf shutter with shutter speeds of 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, and B. Quite a good set of shutter speeds for such a camera. For example, many Zenit cameras had fewer shutter speeds. But at the same time, there are no fast shutter speeds, such as 1/500 or 1/1000.
The camera has a built-in selenium exposure meter. It must be understood that selenium tends to deteriorate over the years, and you should not rely on the accuracy of the exposure mechanism. But you may be lucky, and you may come across a camera with a well-functioning light meter.
The FED-10 camera has a convenient enough film advance lever and no less convenient film rewind crank. FED-10 has a parallax optical viewfinder linked with a rangefinder with a 41 mm base. The illuminated frame inside the viewfinder window helps compensate for parallax.
Сonclusion
The FED-10 camera is very interesting, but unfortunately, it did not become popular. If you often read articles on Sovietcameras.org, you most likely know that this is a fairly common situation for the Soviet industry (as it was with Leningrad camera for example).
Due to the poverty of the population, the unreliability of the design, and a number of other problems standard for the USSR, after some time the production of FED-10 cameras was stopped.
