Fedka- how was your experiance

[Tom hicks]

For those of you who have purchased from him, how was your experiance ?

I have not purchased from him but might in the future.

I have seen him mentioned before but was wondering what you thought.

Tom .

[Keith]

Hi Tom,

I bought my Kiev II, the Kneb marked model, from them about a year ago. It wasn't the cheapest deal around but the camera is perfect and had been CLA'd before it was sent. Communication freight etc were all A1. :)

[gb hill]

I haven't delt with Fedka personally but many here at RFF have and every report i've read has been good.

[TVphotog]

I was in desperate need of some parts for my Zorki 6. Yuri said he had one that was not good enough to sell, that he would gladly sell as parts. I bought it. When it arrived, I could not find what was wrong with it. The camera looked great to me. The curtains needed some help, but how often is that not the case with the 'Bay. I used some fabric paint on the curtains and away I went. Yuri is top notch!!!!

[ebolton]

I just bought a Fed-2 from him. My experience was the same as Keith's. A1 all the way.

Ed

[jky]

Bought and traded some items & all's well!

[mike goldberg]

Hi Tom,
I've bought 2 cameras, a J8 and assorted accessories from Fedka.
Like the guys above have said, he's A-1.
All the best, Mike

[Nando]

Yuri is great. I he hand-picked me a great I-22 and soon after I also purchased a black-painted Zorki 1c. Soon after the Zorki arrived, the rewind mechanism screwed up but Yuri arranged to have it fixed free of charge and it worked beautifully. After a few months of use, a light leak revealed itself and I discovered that close-focusing is off. I wished that I would had discovered these problems immediately after purchase but I didn't otherwise Yuri would have probably had them taken care of too. The Zorki is probably long overdue for a CLA anyway and I'll probably be sending it back to Fedka for this service.

I'd highly recommend Fedka without hesitation.

[ugly bokeh]

I will recommend Fedka. I bought my J3 from him and the transaction was smooth, the communication was great and the J3 is perfect. I will definitely order from him again.

[wlewisiii]

He is far and away my prefered vendor of FSU gear. He will cost more but it will be worth every extra penny.

William

[Tom hicks]

Thanks Everyone for the quick replies back . It sound like this is the only place I need to go . Being that he not only sells them but works on the too.

Tom

[brachal]

You can't beat buying from Yuri. I've bought 3 cameras and 7 lenses from him, and all have been great. His customer service is outstanding.

[ZorkiKat]

You avoid the Russian Roulette when you deal with Yuri.

The extra cost is worth it. The price differential is still low compared to the possible costs involved with servicing, calibration, or even outright total replacement when getting the 'cheaper' stuff.

And Yuri knows what he's selling. Being a shooter himself, he knows exactly what needs to be done on a camera or lens so that they can really be described as 'functional'. That's an ability which very very few other sellers
are capable of.

Jay

[wotalegend]

Sorry to say my experience with Fedka was not positive. I wanted a good reliable Kiev and paid a premium price compared with FSU vendors. Based on glowing reports from this and other forums I thought at the time that it would be a safe investment. For reasons beyond my control I didn't get to test it properly for a couple of months after receiving it and found it had a dragging shutter curtain. I emailed Yuri and his response was that the best he could offer me was a small discount off a CLA, plus of course two way shipping from Australia to NY. It would have ended up costing me more than twice the original price so now it sits in a glass cabinet as a nice looking non-working Kiev 4a. I now have several fully functional Kievs for lower prices for which I "took a risk" from FSU vendors.

[Bill58]

I will recommend Fedka. I bought my J3 from him and the transaction was smooth, the communication was great and the J3 is perfect. I will definitely order from him again.

You are fortunate--I've been promised a pristine, collimated J3 for about 6 months now and no word from him. Perhaps he just forgot me or just hasn't found one yet (not to say yours isn't in that class).

However, I've bought 3 other lenses from him that were 100% perfect (paid extra for culled ones and a CLA).

Bill

[mravigna]

I purchased a Kiev II (1954) from Yuri a few weeks ago and I must say that I have mixed feelings about his classification system. It is rated as Excellent minus on his web site but I did have to repaint a lot of the black paint on the camera and also repaint part of the leather which was quite worn out. However, the camera works perfectly and is extremelly quiet. Has anyone else experienced the same? Is this normal?

[mravigna]

I forgot to mention that I have had a Zorki 3 CLA'd by Yuri and the service was excellent. The camera now works perfectly. I also purchased a lens from him several months ago and that was also great. I guess I expected the Kiev II to be in better cosmetically.

[Jocko]

I purchased a Kiev II (1954) from Yuri a few weeks ago and I must say that I have mixed feelings about his classification system. It is rated as Excellent minus on his web site but I did have to repaint a lot of the black paint on the camera and also repaint part of the leather which was quite worn out. However, the camera works perfectly and is extremelly quiet. Has anyone else experienced the same? Is this normal?

No, it certainly isn't normal. In my experience, most 53-year old cameras graded as "Excellent-" by internet sellers are in desperate need of a CLA and as stuffed with bugs as the Natural History Museum. It's absolutely first class. A bit of missing paint never spoilt a photograph and a camera which "works perfectly" is excellent indeed :)

Cheers, Ian

[Aurelius]

SuperService!

Bought a FED2+I22, Zorki4k, J-3, J-8 and film. Everything in very good condition

Highly Recommended
/TBS

[40oz]

bought an LTM J-3 from Fedka that wouldn't match my camera's rangefinder. The lens was fixed for free by Yuri and has been great ever since. And shipping was fast.

[USSRPhoto]

Bought 10+ cameras from Yuri, could not be happier. Everything was in exactly as described condition, the service is impecable.. I keep coming back for more... He is a great guy all around as well... I back him up 100%!

Vlad
www.ussrphoto.com