Thoughts on this mystery camera?

[stuken]

http://vancouver.craigslist.org/pho/459431052.html

What do you think?

[triplefinger]

looks like FSU -- check the aperture ring and shutter release



http://www.xs4all.nl/~tomtiger/fakes.html

http://www.camera-net.com/english.htm

[xayraa33]

it is a Fed 1

[M. Valdemar]

It's a Fed and a clever attempt by the ad writer to profess ignorance that it's a fake. He wants to snare in some ignorant dunce who thinks he'll make a deal for a once-in-a-lifetime find of a rare "Leica". The old "given to him by a deceased friend" gambit. Dead men tell no tales.

[L39UK]

Re:- www.camera-net.com
RUSSIAN & SOVIET CAMERAS
For many years, Soviet cameras were not too common in Western Europe, and rarely if ever seen in the United States. This phenomenon of the "Cold War" has suddenly been reversed. The Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc countries have suddenly opened their walls. Many Soviet cameras once considered extremely rare are appearing in record numbers at collector fairs and in camera shops throughout Europe and in the United States. Prices on many Soviet cameras dropped rapidly during the 1990's with the new supply. Supply and demand, however, have stabilized prices in recent years. Some Russian cameras may still be rare, but not necessarily the same ones which were formerly regarded as such.
To further damage the long-term market for Russian/Soviet cameras, there are great quantities of "fakes". Any camera with special finish or special engraving is more likely to be a fake than a genuine artifact. There is an organized cartel of Russian and Polish dealers creating a steady stream of "collectible" cameras. In the process, they have ruined some cameras that had historical value, and transformed them into gold-plated or specially engraved junk. This practice will continue as long as collectors and dealers encourage it. Provenance will be all-important, because lies and made-up stories come free with every camera.
Some of the fakes are laughable, such as a "Luxus" Leica with a 4-digit serial number and WWII military markings. Not all fakes are so obvious (4-digit Leicas were out of production before Hitler came to power; military cameras were not "Luxus", etc. etc.) There are many gold-plated (brass-plated), custom-engraved "Fed" cameras appearing at every camera fair. Whether they are engraved "Leica" or "Bildberichter", "Luftwaffe" or "Lufthansa" or any other imaginative name, with swastika, eagle, or other designs, these are invariably junk made only to sell to unwary collectors. At camera fairs, most dealers freely admit that these are fakes. But we have seen them offered and sold on eBay without any warnings, and indeed with false claims about their origins.



Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)

[LeicaTom]

Russian fake!

Tom

[Finder]

Kind of sick for a Russian camera to be used to make money as a NAZI artifact.

[Solinar]

Kind of sick for a Russian camera to be used to make money as a NAZI artifact.

I always found it to be bit ironic as well for the grand children of the great patriotic struggle against fascism selling fake NAZI paraphernalia to make a quick buck.

[peterm1]

Yep Its Russian alright. Once you know what to look for they stick out like the proverbial dog's "bits." I have nothing against these incidentally so long as they are honest about them being Russian copies. They could be a whole collecting stream in themselves. There are many on eBay labelled as fake Nazi Leicas and sold as such for around $100.00. So this one is way over priced.

[Dralowid]

Try soaking it in a vat of vodka. After a couple of hours it should come clean...

Michael

[wolves3012]

Looks to me like a FED 1g but the lens looks like an Industar 22 rather than the correct FED lens. I can't see the aperture tab that a FED lens would use, although the pictures aren't the clearest. Interesting that he says the case is certainly genuine (presumably because it says Leica on it, which is no guarantee) yet he's not sure about the camera (which also says Leica on it!).

I love these "I don't know anything about cameras" type ads - they know nothing yet they have set a price. Anyone with half a brain would go do some research before selling an item that they knew nothing about. How else would you know that you got a fair price?