The Rangefinder Drug (or: Fanning the Flames of GAS)

[rxmd]

Here are some pictures of the 1961 Drug that I picked up the day before yesterday from my Armenian camera-collector-turned-camera-salesman here in Tashkent for $60. Judging from the thread title, I can see why people usually spell the camera "Droug" or "Droog" instead

The Drug is a Leica thread mount rangefinder camera produced at the Krasnogorsk factory between 1960 and 1962. The name "ДРУГ", pronounced "droog", means "friend" in Russian. In total, about 23,000 were made, making it an uncommon, but not rare camera. According to Princelle, it was meant as KMZ's answer to the Leningrad, which, unlike the Drug, was exported, produced in slightly larger numbers (78,000 according to Princelle) and over a longer period of time (1958 to 1968)

The Drug is a beautiful camera. As you can see, the camera body is very well designed, with clear lines and avoiding unnecessary cluttering of the controls. Its outward appearance completely departs from the FSU's heritage of Leica copies. Workmanship and build quality on the camera is excellent, better than on most other FSU cameras I've seen. The lens is a 1961 Jupiter-8 with very smooth focus and aperture rings; it could well be the original lens the camera came with.



You can see the layout of controls on the top plate. On the left there is the frame counter, recessed beneath a little window and set by means of a serrated wheel that protrudes a little on the left, then the shutter speed dial, an accessory shoe and a film reminder deal. Shutter speeds go from 1/2 to 1/1000 plus B. The form of the body is quite unique, with its flat front and gently curved back.



On the bottom, you can see the fold-out trigger winder borrowed from the Canon VT and the Leicavit. It drives the winding axle by means of a brass chain. On the left, there is a recessed bottom rewind knob, held inside by means of a spring. On the right there is a European 3/8" tripod bushing.

[rxmd]

The Drug's ever-raedy case is very nice, made from brown leather with protective metal edges, and clad out with red velvet inside.



The top is held at the back by means of a rivet that detaches, leaving you with the bottom as a beautiful and very usable half-case.



The bottom is attached with a serrated screw (all-metal, without the serrated plastic that tends to go brittle over time with FSU cameras). There is a cut-out slit for the trigger winder.

[rxmd]

In the front view you can see the viewfinder, which is quite large, bright and has reflected framelines for 50mm and 85mm lenses. The physical rangefinder base is about 43mm, which, together with the 1:1 viewfinder magnification, gives it a respectable effective baselength. This is the best viewfinder I've seen on a FSU rangefinder; it's on par with that of the Iskra, which came out at KMZ roughly at the same time. It is also the only FSU viewfinder which will let me keep both my eyes open at the same time.

The upper button on the right of the lens mount is the shutter release, with a socket for a cable release. Its position at the front of the camera seemed strange to me at first glance, but is actually very ergonomic and allows to release the shutter with very little camera shake. The lower button is the self-timer release. All in all, with the excellent finder, the trigger winder, shutter speeds from 1/2 to 1/1000 and its soft shutter release, the Drug is a very usable camera.



Inside you can see the cloth shutter curtains and the rangefinder arm.



The rangefinder actuator is unique among FSU rangefinders in that it has a roller tip, just like on a Leica. That way, all those Leitz and Canon lenses with lip-shaped rangefinder cams can be used on the Drug, unlike on other FSU rangefinders where they will hang on rangefinder arm.

On the other side of the lens mount there is a rewind release lever.

[rxmd]

Film transport on the Drug goes right-to-left, like on a Zorki-10.

On the back next to the KMZ logo there are two flash sockets for bulb and electronic flashes. The rationale behind this placement was probably to avoid cables dangling in front of the lens and viewfinder windows. Although this is the same placement as on the M Leicas, I personally prefer front-mounted sockets, like on the Zorki-5 and Zorki-6.



If you look into the viewfinder window from the front, you can see the reflected framelines. The outer line is for 50mm lenses, the inner one for 85mm. With some peeping around the edges the entire viewfinder probably covers 35mm, but it is not very comfortable because of the 1:1 high magnification.

Sorry for the bad shot, I took this with a the macro mode of my digital compact. (You can see the reflection of the digicam's lens. The first RFFer to tell me the model of my digicam gets a blue plastic Tashkent metro jeton as a geek bonus, sent to them by postcard. )



In direct comparison between the Drug and its other FSU sisters, we can see that the addition of a trigger winder at the bottom and a large viewfinder at the top makes the Drug a larger camera, being about 1 cm higher than the FED-2 all in all. On the other hand, even the Zorki-5, which is a beautifully clean camera in itself, looks a little cluttered in direct comparison - the overall form and control placement of the Drug are very clean and streamlined, and the clear lines and design elements like the angled top corners make it a beautiful piece of industrial design. And did I mention that it's a very usable camera, too?

[fidget]

Congratulations and many thanks for the detailed descriptions and photos. It's a beauty. Thanks also for the new rush of GAS.
Enjoy.
Dave..

[JonP]

Philipp
I too have a new "Friend" (from 1960), and agree it is a very usable camera.
One question, what is the frame spacing on yours like? Mine upset the processor, the frames touch, and care has to be taken to pull the lever the full length of the base to make sure the film is fully advanced. Luckily the guy was awake and didn't cut the negative roll, but the automated printing could not cope.
Also the Drug is a lot more user friendly than the Leningrad.

[RML]

That is one fine looking camera!

I may want one, too.

[mike goldberg]

Phillip,
Your 1961 "Drug" is a beautiful camera, and kudos to you for going to the trouble of presenting it to us, so completely here.

What did you have to do to rehabilitate it, and was CLA required?
Cheers, mike

[Stephanie Brim]

I was looking at one of these but passed...seems like I shouldn't have done that. Looks like a very nice camera.

[alternatve]

It looks great! Now I'm inching towards the Fed 2 I've always wanted, but never got the chance to purchase. Damn!

[mhv]

That's a great design of camera, quite unusual but apparently very useable.

Oh, and for those who did not make the connection yet, in Clockwork Orange, the term "droogies" to which Alex and his buddies are referring to each other is derived from the russian word "droog." So they're just calling each other "buddy."

[Zorkiiglaza]

Phillip
I tried for years to find one in Almaty and my friend said that they were so uncommon. All I ever got was the name plate. Great find!

perry

[Spyderman]

O.T. The transcript of the name of the camera is "drug". Is a person selling this camera a "drug dealer" ?

[Spyderman]

BTW: Philipp - I think your digicam is a Leica C-Lux. All I could read from the reflection was "ELMARIT 1:2.8-5.6" and the only camera that Google found was this one... so... ahem... you can put the "blue plastic Tashkent metro jeton" in the box with the "pass the RF" FED-2

[Michael I.]

it is actually quite rare and considered to be very usable but with an unreliable winding mechanism

[outfitter]

GAS attack.

I have handled a few and they were fine indeed, but resisted as the price was high - now the prices are even higher. Funny thing about GAS, I have regretted not buying more times than I have regretted buying.

Nice acquisition and long live GAS!

Michael

[rxmd]

Hi Mike,

Originally Posted by mike goldberg

What did you have to do to rehabilitate it, and was CLA required?

Oh, I pretty much got it as it is. It took a little cleaning and that was it. I will take a look at what's under the hood, but as I'm here on a field research trip I don't have much with me in the way of tools except a Leatherman and a set of screwdrivers, and I'm somewhat hesitant to start camera surgery with only this basic equipment! When I'm back in Germany in autumn I will take a look "under the hood" using the instructions from jlw's excellent page.

The camera appears to have been sitting in a cupboard for some time; the chain mechanism was a bit stiff at first, but winding and releasing the shutter several times solved that problem. It definitely looks like a camera that, if you don't use it, you should at least wind and release on a regular basis to keep the mechanism going.

Philipp

[rxmd]

Hi Perry,

Originally Posted by Zorkiiglaza

I tried for years to find one in Almaty and my friend said that they were so uncommon. All I ever got was the name plate. Great find!

Thanks!

Incidentally I replied to your e-mail a week or so ago, about me going to Almaty and the possibility of a post-Soviet Central Asian RFF mini-meeting, but I've had some intermittent problems with outgoing e-mail; did you get that mail at all?

Philipp

[rxmd]

Hi Ondrej,

Originally Posted by Spyderman

BTW: Philipp - I think your digicam is a Leica C-Lux. All I could read from the reflection was "ELMARIT 1:2.8-5.6" and the only camera that Google found was this one... so... ahem... you can put the "blue plastic Tashkent metro jeton" in the box with the "pass the RF" FED-2

Close, but not quite there yet... it's not a Leica But either way you'll find a couple of nice things in the box.

Philipp

[rxmd]

Hi Michael,

Originally Posted by outfitter

I have handled a few and they were fine indeed, but resisted as the price was high - now the prices are even higher.

What did they cost then? I must admit I haven't been following prices. Last time I looked, they were going for something like 100 to 120 USD, not cheap, but you'd probably pay the same for a Leningrad in good shape which is a much more common camera.

Originally Posted by outfitter

Funny thing about GAS, I have regretted not buying more times than I have regretted buying.

I guess that quote was GAS in a nutshell... and also why I jumped the chance this time

Philipp

[rxmd]

Hi Michael,

Originally Posted by Michael I.

it is actually quite rare and considered to be very usable but with an unreliable winding mechanism

yes, the guy here I got it from says the same thing about the Drug, and also about the Zorki-5 and Zorki-6, that their rewind mechanism is a bit capricious. According to him, one should stick to the FED-2 or (hark, hark!) the FED-5 if one wants a good compromise between features and lack of capriciousness

Philipp

[rxmd]

Hi Jon,

Originally Posted by JonP

One question, what is the frame spacing on yours like? Mine upset the processor, the frames touch, and care has to be taken to pull the lever the full length of the base to make sure the film is fully advanced. Luckily the guy was awake and didn't cut the negative roll, but the automated printing could not cope.

I can't really say yet. It does have a sprocketed film advance, so at least it should be even. The lever gives good audible feedback when you reach the end of the pull. I'm currently still photographing here with the "Pass-the-RF Part 3" FED-2 and will start using the Drug exclusively after that. I'll post when I have results, but I'll ask them to leave the first roll uncut. Thanks for the warning.

Originally Posted by JonP

Also the Drug is a lot more user friendly than the Leningrad.

Definitely. I was lusting for the Leningrad for quite some time, but then got the opportunity to borrow a friend's for a while. It's nice, especially with the etched framelines in the finder, but it's heavy, winding and rewinding are a pain, and the film can't be processed automatically. In comparison, the Drug seems a lot better in terms of usability. The finder alone is a marvel.

The Krasnogorsk factory apparently had a period between about 1955 and 1965 that was characterised by a spark of productive creativity that has given us great cameras like the Zorki-3, -5 and -6, the two Iskras and the Drug, and interesting projects like the Rodina and the Drug-2. It is a great pity that their innovation was apparently stifled and the factory's camera section was relegated to five-year-plan production of Zorki-4's at the beginning of the Brezhnev period.

Philipp

[Spyderman]

Originally Posted by rxmd

Hi Ondrej,


Close, but not quite there yet... it's not a Leica But either way you'll find a couple of nice things in the box.

Philipp

Then is it the Pansonic Lumix FX07 ?

[oscroft]

Oh, and for those who did not make the connection yet, in Clockwork Orange, the term "droogies" to which Alex and his buddies are referring to each other is derived from the russian word "droog." So they're just calling each other "buddy."

Funnily enough, I just thought "Aha, I wonder if that's where 'droogies' came from?"

[Michael I.]

droog means friend