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(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov: Leningrad 80s >> ART>>
Reconstructing E-E KOZLOV's photo archive from the 1980s
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Chapter 1. The FED-2 camera FED, or ФЭД in Russian, is an abbreviation of Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinky (Феликс Эдмундович Дзержинский, 1877-1926). The name of the founder of the Soviet State Security was given to a machinery plant founded in 1927 in Kharkov, Soviet Ukraine, which started its production with cameras and drilling machines. Today, the State Enterprise Kharkiv machinery plant FED is an Ukrainian manufacturer working in the field of aviation and railway aggregate production. The FED-2 was produced between 1955 and 1970. Kozlov's camera has the serial number 170176 (see below). It appears that serial numbers of FED-2 cameras were continuous, and if we rely on the information given by nzeeman in 2005 on rangefinderforum.com, it must have been manufactured in 1956:
The FED-2 was the successor model to the FED-1 (1934-1955), launched as “FED” and called FED-1 retrospectively, when the FED-2 appeared. The FED-1 was actually a copy of the German Leica II from 1932, which in turn built on the success of the 35 mm Leica I; Henri Cartier-Bresson’s first camera was a Leica I. The Leica II was the first camera with a built-in rangefinder, which means that an object can be focused by turning the wheel controlling the focusing mechanism (distance scale). The correct distance can be checked when looking through the camera’s rangefinder window: you turn the wheel until two images of the same object overlap. This made the new genre of street photography and photojournalism even more popular. (In the 1980s, I bought a Olympus XA a as a small and light alternative to my Pentax reflex and found its rangefinder focus extremely reliable.)
The FED-1 was by far not the only copy of the Leica II. Wikipedia page “Leica copies” gives examples from several countries, especial from the period after WWII, when German patents were declared void and were used by other countries (e.g. the Japanese Minolta-35). There was, in fact, another Soviet camera copying the Leica II, the Zorki (1948-1956) that developed a different series of successor models. Besides, pre-war copying also concerned the Zeiss Ikon Contax, a camera that competed with the Leica II. A video on the YouTube channel Zenography discusses the Leica II and some of the identical copies external link >>. At 2:03 min, the presenter (who doesn’t present himself) states that “the FED and Zorki versions are excellent cameras, very well made and, in my opinion, in engineering terms, they are as good as the Leica original. Finish is a different matter – Leicas are finished beautifully, the engravings are more precise, the surfaces feel like silk, but to actually use, the Leica and the Russians are indistinguishable.” He comes to the conclusion that “…this camera is not just about style; it has substance, too. You can use it anywhere, at any time, there are no memories, no batteries, no cables, no fuzz. – just load it with film, wind on, check you light and shoot (7:57 min). With respect to the FED-1, the FED-2 featured some innovations. One such important innovation was the fact that changing films was made more comfortable. The FED-1, like the Leica II, was a so-called bottom loader with a removable baseplate to take out and insert the films. The FED-2, on the other hand, not only opens at the bottom, but has a detachable back; bottom and back can be removed as a single unit. This makes it easier to place the cartridge and to insert the film into the take-up spool. Loading the film properly is essential, because otherwise, the rewind knob might not move.
Another new feature was a cable release socket to release the shutter from a distance (later FED-2 models all had self-timers). This mechanism, fixed close to the lens, allowed Kozlov to take self portraits with the help of a shutter release cable, a feature he used repeatedly. The shutter release cable was also useful to operate the “bulb mode” of the shutter speed which keeps the shutter opened as long as the shutter release knob is pressed.
Otherwise, the shutter speed scale is rather unusual by today’s standard: on Valentin Kozlov’s model, the values are 1/25s, 1/50s, 1/100s, 1/250s, and 1/500s and B, but there are variations according to the camera model.
The FED-2 also has a flash synchroniser connecting the flash electrically via a cable. Kozlov used it with a Foton electronic flash he fixed to a camera extension base plate provided with a handle grip. To supply the Foton with power, a line cord had to be connected to a wall socket. This obviously restricted its use, even when equipped with a long cable.
The lack of a light exposure meter is an evident disadvantage of the FED-2, and Evgenij Kozlov used a separate light meter, the “Photoelectric Exposure Meter Leningrad 4”. In our days, apps for smartphones serve the same purpose.
Like the FED-1, the FED-2 has a L-39mm screw mount which operates with old and modern lenses likewise, and like the FED-1, the FED-2 was originally sold with a collapsible or retractable lens (a lens that must be pulled out to take photos). It was an Industar-22- f3,5/50 mm, a Tessar design derived from the Leica Elmar. Later, a non-collapsible Industar-26 became the standard lens for the FED-2. This explains why Valentin Kozlov’s camera case is flat and not bulky, like Picasso's, because, because Kozlov’s camera came with an Industar-22, and Picasso’s came with an Industar-26, so it seems. Evgenij Kozlov later changed the original lens for a Jupiter 3 he received from a friend. Its serial number is 5902951, which means that it was produced in 1959, as indicated by the first two digits. The cover of the Industar-22 still exists.
With an aperture of 1.5, the Jupiter 3, based on the Zeiss Sonnar optical design, is faster and better adapted for taking picture inside rooms than the Industar-22 starting at 3.5, although at 1.5 some of the sharpness and contrast is lost, and 2.0 is generally recommended. The aperture values range from 1.5 to 22 (the aperture ring turns without click stops). The closest distance for focusing is 0.9 m. In Evgenij Kozlov’s diaries form 1979-1983, we find several entries indicating aperture and shutter speed. Examples are a note from summer 1980 (page 2-09) giving the following values: 5,6 – 50; 4 – 100; 3,5 – 250; 8 – 25 (shutter speed values are always indicated as full numbers, not fraction numbers, thus "50” instead of ”1/50") more >>.
In a note from May 21, 1982 (page 3-22-23), we read “полностью открыть диафрагму и выдержку на 25 /длинную/ или на В – 2 сек” (open diaphragm completely and put shutter speed to 25 (long) or to B for two seconds) more >>. Although this would apply to shooting with little light, the sentence follows the word “солнце” (sun), which leaves room for interpretation. Perhaps the idea was to shoot inside a dark place as if it was lit by the sun.
© Hannelore Fobo / text / pictures / lay-out © (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov / artwork Uploaded 3 May 2021 |
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