5 Frames With a Fed 3 Type-1 B

This is not going to be an in-depth review of the Fed 3, I’m sure you have all read one before. This one came from the usual auction site complete with an Industar 52mm f2.8 lens for £37.77 plus postage which seemed very reasonable. I have to confess here that I was motivated by Hamish’s column on shooting his Fed 2 and it was only after clicking Buy Now that I realised I’d accidently bought a Fed 3. So be it. It seemed very clean and the lens looked perfect apart from the focusing being a little stiff. When I sighted on my favorite telegraph pole on the opposite side of the next field I saw that the infinity focus was way off. A quick adjustment of the rangefinder optic and the little screw behind the dummy next to the viewfinder and all was well. Thank you The Internet.

The following pictures were all taken at 1/125s and either f8 or f11 depending on how bright it seemed on Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow 400iso from Hamish’s mate Steve, which seemed appropriate. They were home developed in R09 and scanned in a Canon 9000F. And then straightened. As has been said, the Fed viewfinder is terrible, especially for spectacle-wearers.

I’m not unhappy with the reel and the experience of shooting a camera from 1962 but I think I’m done now so it can go back on the auction site for someone else to enjoy.

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