The most Leica-like FSU copy?

[mike goldberg]

Hi All...
As I begin this, I know that "What is like a Leica?" is a highly subjective topic.

Perhaps NOTHING is really like a Leica. The so-called Leica copies I am familiar with, are the Fed-2 and the Zorki-4. Both are good shooters, and the downside of the Fed is its dim finder. The Zorki-4 just arrived, and it's shape, weight and feel are similar to my Leica M2. Of course, the Zorki IS screwmount, and in screwmount camera bodies, I use one of several 50's. The Zorki-4 finder is bright, the focusing patch easy to use, and the one I have [recently CLA'd by Oleg], has smooth winding and a very quiet shutter.

Both the Fed & Zorki are from the KMZ factory in the Ukraine. I'm wondering what our fellow historians & technicians have to say about a technical issue: NOTE: Raising a small spring-loaded dial, turning it, and dropping it into a slot to choose shutter speeds [after winding+cocking, of course]... is the most unpleasant part in FSU camera usage.

Leica did it differently and apparently better.
So let's hear and thanks,
Mike