Jump to content

Curious FED lens


Connie7

Recommended Posts

Here it is:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Connie7 said:

At the risk of drawing down the wrath of the forum for posting a FED query I recently picked up a FED 50mm f3.5 macro lens (serial number 14941) and I have never seen one of this kind before it being non-collapsible and uncoupled. Any intelligence welcomed.

IMG_4629.HEIC 1.65 MB · 14 downloads

 

I got one as part of a set of 4 early FED lenses which I bought at auction recently. I took the close up shot quickly. It would be much better if I cleaned the lens ( and the M10 too!) and used a tripod for accuracy. The lens is uncoupled so I had to use the rear screen for focus, which is difficult for someone with my eye issues. At normal distances ( last photo) the lens gives excellent image quality. There was some haze which was dealt with in Lightroom.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Both of our lenses are probably the PT 5620 variant shown here:

http://www.sovietcams.com/index4971.html?tmpl_into=middle&tmpl_id=558&_m_e_id=5&_menu_i_id=534

The interesting thing is that this is probably the very earliest true macro type (ignoring reproduction ratios) design with features which were not seen until the Micro Nikkors of the 1960s. Certainly Leica had no such designs in the late 1930s or early 1940s. The Kilfitt lens shown here is often stated to be the first true macro lens https://moneymakerphotography.com/history-macro-photography/  but this article incorrectly states that, before that, lens bellows and extension tubes were used as the Russians had a lens many years earlier with macro type features which work.

Connie, if you are coming to Dublin at any time, we must do that long promised meet up and compare our lenses. I see that your one has a nice filter which I did not get with mine.

William 

 

Edited by willeica
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

1 hour ago, Pyrogallol said:

The second one is the 100mm f6.3 lens, which is not really macro.  I have one of those in the set which I bought and it is an outstanding lens. It is PT 8110 from this group and is not RF coupled.

http://www.sovietcams.com/index0f50.html?tmpl_into=middle&tmpl_id=567&_m_e_id=5&_menu_i_id=543

The eBay item seems to be the same. FED was making some very good lenses back in the late 1930s. The construction may look a little more crude than Leitz items, but they had features not to be found in products from Wetzlar and were excellent optics. A FED 28mm which I have has more elements than the 28mm Leitz Hektor. Today, some of the FED lenses suffer from haze, but that is not that unusual with lenses from that era.

William 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

My 1939 Fed 50mm lens was very foggy when I got it but I found that the whole front lens block unscrews exposing the diaphragm and the hazy was either side of the diaphragm, it is now bright and clean.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, nitroplait said:

No offence, but it is amazing how cheaply manufactured these these lenses look - it is like they didn't even try to make them look nice.

 

I believe you are missing the point. These lenses, produced in a commune in Soviet Russia in the late 1930s, actually contain features not found in lenses from Western countries until the 1950/60s. As for 'looking nice' that was not a 'thing ' in the USSR. However, if you are into 'nice things' you should look at the very 'nice prices' which very early Soviet cameras are fetching at auction these days, which are way more than the prices for equivalent Leicas from that period. You need to look at all of these things in the context of the times and places in which they were produced and not through the prism of today.

William 

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Ok, It sounds like you did take offence - none so intended. But even with 30’s eyes, they don’t look like the manufacturer cared much for looks - I understand they had other things going for them - otherwise they wouldn’t be  a subject here. Pride in function but not in form it appears.

Link to post
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, nitroplait said:

Ok, It sounds like you did take offence - none so intended. But even with 30’s eyes, they don’t look like the manufacturer cared much for looks - I understand they had other things going for them - otherwise they wouldn’t be  a subject here. Pride in function but not in form it appears.

I did not take offence at all. I was trying to explain something, but you have not understood what I said. Caring for looks was not something that mattered in Soviet Russia where consumerism, as we know it today, did not really exist. These lenses were produced for that market only. For what it is worth, I think that the lenses look splendid, but I did not buy them for their looks. 

A photo of my set of 4 lenses is below.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

William

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, david strachan said:

I think they look nice William.  Rather a cool and simple aesthetic.

Gorgeous condition.

... 

Thanks David, but I did not buy them for their looks. I bought them because they were interesting, particularly the Macro lens. It struck me that there weren't any other lenses like the Macro FED around before this one. I'd love to hear if there was another one, of course. At that time, Leica used a lot of accessories for close up imaging, but the people at FED were going down a route which other manufacturers would only follow many years later. The f2 lens and the 100mm lens produce really outstanding image quality for their era.

William 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...