Question: FED 2 vs. Zorki 6

kvanderlaag · 10-10-2005

Hi! I'm sorry to make an entrance in such a straightforward, to-the-point manner, but lucky me, I'm new to rangefinders, and I've already got questions!

I've shot SLRs for a while now, but there's always been something appealing to me about rangefinders over them -- maybe it's the simplicity of the camera, maybe it's the efficiency, or maybe even just how sleek and appealing they are. Either way, I'm looking into purchasing my first, and I've decided that from everything I've heard about them, an FSU camera wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Having read up on what people seem to think about the FSU rangefinders, I've come to appreciate the FED and Zorki cameras almost equally. I've heard lots of good things about the Zorki 4/4K, and the FED 2, in particular. However, I've been looking at the Zorki 6 as an alternative (the hinged back really appeals to me,) and since the difference is a whole $4 between the two, I figured I'd look at the FED 2 in comparison, since I've heard it to be a very reliable, satisfying camera.

I was just wondering, if anyone's had experiences with these two cameras, do you have some pros and cons of each? I'd like to put together a comparison between the two to help me decide which one I'd like to buy.

Thanks a lot!

Nickfed · 10-10-2005

The FED-2 is more elegant. The Zorki-6 is more functional. There isn't much more to be said. I have never used a FED-2 but I have had a Zorki-6 for years. The Zorki's lever wind is not a great asset, nor is the hinged door. The Zorki viewfinder is bigger than most but I don't know if it has much over the FED.

brians · 10-10-2005

From my experience, I know that my Zorki 6 has a brighter RF so that's a plus, and it came with Jupiter 8 lenses which really delighted me. The FED 2 is a bit more compact, but as Nickfed said, it is elegant. It still has Leica clone remnants to it, and all of the models have russian on it. The thing I don't like about it is the accessory shoe. If it were a bit higher and allowed me to mount my VC Meter II on it, I would love it even more. Still, both are great cameras. The lever wind function is a bit more convenient for the Z6, but if your FED2 isn't really stiff, then it's a charm to use. Make sure to get a CLA if it's not in top notch shape. I recommend Oleg Khalyavin.

-Brian

Jocko · 10-11-2005

I agree! I use both cameras and can never decide which I like the most. The Zorki VF is undoubtedly better, but the Fed feels very "right" in the hand. If you possibly can, buy both - and a Fed 1!

If you wear glasses you may have trouble looking through the viewfinder of a Zorki 4/4k. I find that the eyepiece is simply too small and that no amount of jiggering with the dioptre corrector makes any real difference. Happily both the FED 2 and Zorki 5/6 are fine.

kvanderlaag · 10-11-2005

Oh, I fully intend on buying both, at some point! From the way things are looking, I'll go for the Z6 first, as it'll likely be the easiest for me to deal with at first (wind lever, hinged back, bright RF) but the FED 2 really does seem to be just too neat to pass up!

I've developed something of a rangefinder fetish, and the FSU RFs are so dirt cheap that there's no reason not to have lots!

Pherdinand · 10-11-2005

kvanderlaag, from your name i guess you are in the netherlands. If that's true, hans klinkhamer (www.dekamera.nl) has a zorki-6 for 50 euro thta you could try. He's a rollei repair guy and i would trust him if he says the camera works as it should. The lens is only an industar, though.

Solinar · 10-11-2005

I don't know about elegant, but my FED 2 has the accessory shoe that has been raised so it is flush with the top cover. This change occurred somewhere around 1959 or 1960.

Of course condition trumps everything and if you can get a CLA'd Zorki 6, do it.

The day I picked up the FED 2, it just fit the my hand perfectly. A year later, it still does.

nomade · 10-11-2005

I don't have much to say after what the other people have said, but i love my fed-2...

Here it is...

rbiemer · 10-11-2005

kvanderlaag,
Welcome aboard! I've never owned a Zorki 6 but I did have a very nice FED2 for a breif while. It's a good camera but for me, the viewfinder was very hard to use.
The FED is certainly capable of taking good pictures and I would not suggest to any one any thing else.
I don't know if you are buying locally or not but the most important choice is, I think, the dealer. Find a good seller and that's 3/4 of any problems solved.
There is a thread or two here about which dealers some of us FSU addicts like.
The most recent is HERE .
Lots of good choices abound and the FED2 and Zorki6 are good starting points.
Rob

pshinkaw · 10-11-2005

As long as they are both 100% functional, a late model Fed-2 is just as good as a Zorki-6. The late model Fed-2 has a fixed take up spool or it can be transplanted from a Fed-3, 4 or 5. The Zorki-6 has a slightly bigger viewfinder and I think it has a slightly wider (+ to -) range of dioper correction. I believe the rangefinder base is identical. The Fed-2, because its mechanics are slightly simpler, is slightly easier to "tune-up" at home. Also parts are easier to acquire for the Fed-2 since a lot of them can be transplanted from the Fed-3, 4 and 5.

-Paul

w3rk5 · 10-11-2005

Hi kvanderlaag. I have both the FED 2 and the Zorki 6. I like the FED 2 better. As mentioned earlier, the VF on the Zorki is better. Even though the FED lacks the lever wind, hinged back, ang a bigger VF, I wouldn't say it's strike against it. It's just different.

If I had to keep one I'll keep the FED. Both are great cameras if working properly but the "feel" of the FED is sooo much better to me.

Jocko · 10-11-2005

It's interesting how many of us have mentioned the "feel" of the FED. I wonder if that's partly because of the horrible nylon covering of the Zorki. In contrast, the vulcanite on the Fed makes for a very tactile camera.

dll927 · 10-11-2005

I have three FED-2s that I bought mostly because I already had several Zorkis and wanted some of the 'colored' bodies. Frankly, I don't think much of the FEDs as cameras. They just don't seem as well-made - I have trouble getting the backs on and off of all three of them.

Some websites seem to say that the FEDs were the "every man's" camera. Whatever the intent, I would stick with the Zorkis.

kiev4a · 10-11-2005

The Zorki 6 finder is much brighter than the FED 2. It's easier to load. To me the Zorki has a better feel. As someone else pointed out, the FED (at least to me) seems a little more crudely made (although it is easier to repair). Both cameras are worth owning. If I could only have one of the two I would go with the Zorki 6. But I wouldn't sell my FED 2

kiev4a · 10-11-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jocko

It's interesting how many of us have mentioned the "feel" of the FED. I wonder if that's partly because of the horrible nylon covering of the Zorki. In contrast, the vulcanite on the Fed makes for a very tactile camera.

My problem with the FED 2 vulcanite is , at least on my camera, its rough enough to peel the skin off your knuckles if your aren't careful. I don't care for the nylon cover on the Z6 but intend to replace it with leather.

Nickfed · 10-11-2005

[quote=Jocko]It's interesting how many of us have mentioned the "feel" of the FED. QUOTE]

It's the elegance coming out......
Also the hand-size.

The pic shows a FED-1. I beleive a FED-2 is about the same but the Zorki-6 behind towers over it!

kiev4a · 10-11-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nickfed

It's the elegance coming out......
Also the hand-size.

The pic shows a FED-1. I beleive a FED-2 is about the same but the Zorki-6 behind towers over it!

The FED 2 is a little bigger (and heavier) than the FED 1. The Zorki 6 may be a little taller than the FED 2 (Don't have them in front of me), but I always get the impression the Z6 is more compact, for some reason.

Gordon Coale · 10-11-2005

Wayne -- I just checked out your site and realized it was one that I looked at a lot when I was considering getting into FSU cameras. (Now it is 2 FED 2s, a Zorki 6, and 2 Salut-Ss later.) Thanks...I think.

kvanderlaag -- My first FSU camera was a Zorki 6. Unfortunately it has shutter problems and then I bought a FED 2. I went with the Zorki first because of the back and lever winder. After using the FED 2 I don't see the removable back and knob winder as a disadvantage. The viewfinder on the Zorki is a little larger but not a whole lot. I think the ergonomics on the FED are a little better. The shutter release is in a more natural position for the finger to reach. The fatal flaw, for me, with the Zorki is that the rewind button is in the same place as the shutter release on the FED 2 and the Leica IIIc that I'm used to. That's a personal problem. Both cameras are gems. However, be sure and get one with a Jupiter 8 on it. A great lens. A lot more Zorkis come with the J8 than the FEDs. You can't go wrong with a good example of either.

hoot · 10-11-2005

Welcome to RFF, Kvanderlaag.

Beware of FSU cameras with film advance levers. At least one other RFF member in addition to myself had his Zorki-6 rip film to shreds. Dunno if a CLA will fully fix it or not, but it's possible.

The combined range/viewfinder on the FED-2 is so bad that I intend on using this camera with scale focus only, use a shoe-mounted finder and ignore the built-in viewfinder altogether. Don't get me wrong; the rangefinder patch has wonderful contrast and is easy to focus with. You also get very accurate focus because of the wide baseline. The problem, to me, is that the viewfinder itself is so dark and small that squinting into it gives me a headache. This might not be the case for you, however.

Both cameras have decent ergonomics, in my opinion, especially for that price. But at the same time, at the risk of making myself unpopular here, I'll say that there's a reason for that low price.

Jocko · 10-11-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiev4a

The FED 2 is a little bigger (and heavier) than the FED 1. The Zorki 6 may be a little taller than the FED 2 (Don't have them in front of me), but I always get the impression the Z6 is more compact, for some reason.

So do I! I couldn't resist getting out my tape measure: My FED is 14.2cm long and 8.6 cm high. The Zorki is 13.6cm long and 8.8 high. Although the differences are not very great, the Zorki seems noticably shorter and chunkier, hence, I'd suggest, the impression of compactness.

Yet the FED seems to feel smaller than it is....

Solinar · 10-11-2005

If you look at the shutter release of the FED 2, before the last series, it resides in a low spot on the top cover. It is located behind the forward bulge of the top cover which houses the RF window. My index finger naturally seems to cradle over the winder to rest in this spot. Pressing down on the shutter release from this position is smooth as glass.

The flat, raised top design of the top cover of the Zorki 6 puts the shutter release higher up than on the FED 2. Also, the fashionable placement of the shutter release at the center of the film winder places it towards the outer edge and results in an finger position that seems awkward. The finger is bent downward in a hook without much of rest position.

je2a3 · 10-11-2005

Here's a size comparison - Zorki 1, Fed 2 and Zorki 6. As many have mentioned the Z6 is slightly taller than the Fed 2 but not as wide which accounts for the "compact feel" a lot of users have reported. The brighter VF/RF, lever wind and swing back are all pluses for the Z6. In certain ways the "feel and handling" is like a "budget Leica M". However I consider the Fed 2 to be a highpoint in Soviet mid-century industrial design. I was torn between the two that I had to have both plus others...GASp!

brians · 10-11-2005

That's a neat picture, it's like a step ladder

kvanderlaag · 10-11-2005

I just purchased the Zorki 6, and when the funds transfer from my bank account to my PayPal account clears, I'll probably pick up the FED 2. I'm excited.

Thanks for all the input and help, everyone! I really appreciate that everyone seems to have a pretty good idea of what they're doing, and that they're willing to share it with me while I'm learning!

Gordon Coale · 10-11-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvanderlaag

I just purchased the Zorki 6, and when the funds transfer from my bank account to my PayPal account clears, I'll probably pick up the FED 2. I'm excited.!

That's the RFF attitude -- buy them all!! You will enjoy them both.