Fed 50

Another one in my small article reviews, The Fed 50. I must admit that I was sceptical about this little camera. I hadden't heard a lot of this camera and I was making a leap in the dark when I bought it. But the seller was good, price was good, so I went for it. What I wanted was a small handy camera with a better lens than the Lomo LC-A and without the problems of the Kiev 35a.

I guessed RIGHT. This little camera has a WAY better lens than the infamous Lomo and doesn't suffer from any of the problems of the Kiev 35a.

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But it is about the same size, granted it is a little bigger than the Lomo. But not by much. Here is what I got, camera, camera bag and straps. This little camera doesn't use any batteries, it uses a seleniumcell. Mine was in perfect working order and cost me, including shipping, about 23 euros, which is cheap. I was expecting a plastic little camera, but what I got was partially metal. It weighs around 420 grams. The camera feels a lot better than the Lomo or the Kiev. It has no rangefinder but it does have, just like the Lomo, an indicator in the viewfinder.
Shooting with the Fed50 is a lot of fun. I find it a nicer usercam than the Lomo LC-A or the Kiev 35a. The lens is a fast Industar-81 2.8/38mm. Which is also treaded for 46mm filters. This is fun when using black and white film.
The camera knows two modes. Auto and Manual. Put on auto the camera allways uses the highest speed possible, which is anywhere from 1/30th up to 1/650. In manual mode it fixes the speed at 1/30th and the lightmeter switches off which is a bit odd. It also has a threaded shutterbutton for a remote cable release and a B setting. I was suprised by the shots (below on this page), nice on sharpness, good contrast and wel saturated colors. No oddnes on the edges of the lens. This is one very well built and fun camera to use.

Bottomline

If you want a small and reliable camera that doubles as a streetshooter. Go for this one. It is cheap, it is fun to use, gives good quality shots and doesn't use any batteries.

Advantages

  • Small and not intrusive, real streetshooter
  • Good lens, good on contrast, coated and sharp
  • Does not use batteries
  • Has straplugs and strap
  • Good nice overall feel of the camera
  • Has a lightmeter
  • You can actually use filters (46mm)

Disadvantages

  • No rangefinder, but has symbols in the viewfinder for distance
  • Selenium cell
  • In manual mode the speed is allways 1/30th


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A few shots with the Fed 50, grapes in the greenhouse, Charlie the Cat overlooking the water, the bookfair at the "Dam" in Zaandam in August (early in the morning) and the old lock at the Zaandam locks.