Which Russian RF for practical use?

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Well, I've got a shortlist now:

Fed-2
Zorki-4K
Kiev-4A

I am tempted to say Zorki 6 for it's lever wind and hinged back instead of the Fed or Zorki-4K but Atilla speaks highly of the Fed.

Kamerer · Joined: 24 Jun 2008 Posts: 389 Location: Russia Moscow

Kamerer · Joined: 24 Jun 2008 Posts: 389 Location: Russia Moscow

std · Joined: 09 Feb 2010 Posts: 1826 Location: Bulgaria

Which one is the most silent from those Russian rf's?
The zorki 4 has very strong shutter noise.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Zorki2C , Fed-2 are silent.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Zorki2C , Fed-2 are silent enough.

Taron-35 a Japanese RF was too silent many times I didn't recognize shutter did work.

Kamerer · Joined: 24 Jun 2008 Posts: 389 Location: Russia Moscow

Nesster · Expire: 2014-02-20

the Fed 3b has lever wind and more modern film loading, and is quiet. Main issue is the squinty VF, but the patch tends to be more visible than in the Zorkis I've peered through. The Zorkis have a notably larger viewfinder however.

The Kiev I peered through was wonderful and I'd love to have a good sample.

aspen · Expire: 2014-02-20

Kamerer · Joined: 24 Jun 2008 Posts: 389 Location: Russia Moscow

Tom in Delaware · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 42 Location: Delaware, USA

Working with a Russian rangefinder seems like an exercise in masochism. Get a Yashica GSN, they really do have excellent 45mm lenses on them and are very quiet. Photoethnography has a nice writeup on them with a demonstration of the quality of the lens.

Kamerer · Joined: 24 Jun 2008 Posts: 389 Location: Russia Moscow

Selenium_27 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 118 Location: Strasbourg, France

I loved my russian bodies but since I got my bessa R2A, they feel a little bit abandonned : you can find the bessa R for 200€ or less and so get a bright rangefinder and patch.
The only drawback is that the jupiter-12 doesn't fit (protubes too deeply)..

It depends on your budget and needs :

very low budget > russian (but be careful to the seller, otherwise you have a high probability to fall on a junk body !!)

Need absolutely a 35 mm and low budget > why not a yashica 35 CC (auto exposure with 35 1.8 lens) you'll find it for under 100€ which is what you would pay for body + jupiter 12 + 35mm viewfinder

A little more : the bessa Very Happy

Drack · Joined: 27 Feb 2011 Posts: 735 Location: Lithuania

I`m sorry for renewing old posts , but I simply can`t constrain myself from saying my personal opinion Smile

Lets start with the Fed cameras. I personally have use and own many Fed`s so here is my review:
Fed 1 - a wonderful camera. Built very nicely, comes with exel. lens and is very trustworthy. One issue is that it has problems with light leaks , but if you are able to find one that has not been used too much it will be fine.
Fed-2 There where dozens of variations of it and newer one are actually better. These cameras do not break as much as Fed 3 , however shutter speeds might not be that accurate. Despite that it is truly camera of choosing.
Fed-3 has slow speed issues which often jams the curtains. Ofcourse if you use it "by the book" it will be a nice camera indeed.
Fed-4 cant say much actually. To my its the same thing as a Fed 3 just with an added selenium meter.
Fed -5B a way better made Fed 3 , very durable, cheap Smile

Fed-5 and Fed -5C are almost the same cameras. 5c version has a nice bright viewfinder , they both have quite accurate selenium meters and are wonderful cameras.

From all of these , I`d probably choose Fed 1 , Fed-2D or Fed 5c.

Now for the Zorkis. Buy Zorki 6. It`s simply wonderful Smile

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Kiev`s are not my speciality therefore I can`t say anything about them.