OddCameras.com
FED 1d or FED-NKVD (CCCP)
The
FED was the first Leica copy, made in the Soviet Union. Its production
started in 1934, only 18 month after the Leica II was presented (1932)
and lasted till 1955. This FED is a type 1d, also known as FED-NKVD
(CCCP). It was produced from 1939 to1941. It is a historically
significant camera, a part of its history is engraved on its top plate.
The
engraving says: FED NKVD-USSR Kharkov Combinat IM. F.E. Dzerjinsky (ФЭД
НКВД - CССР Харьковский комбинат им. Ф.Э. Дзержинского)
FED,
for Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, founder of the NKVD (later:
KGB). NKVD, for Narodny Komissariat Vnutrennih Del (Interior Ministry).
CCCP (Cyrillic for USSR).
Based
on the serial number (128 213), this FED-NKVD is an early 1d, it was
made in 1939. I bought it because it came with a matching lens, its
original leather case, a later Zorki box and, which is rare, with an
original sale paper from 1942. As a genuine Leica copy, it accepts the whole range of Leica threadmount lenses.
Specifications:
Lens:
collapsible FED, F=5 cm, 1:3.5, 39 mm LTM mount, closest focus 1,2m. It
is a copy of Leitz 50/3.5 Elmar. As all prewar lenses, it is uncoated.
Shutter: Z (B), 1/20, 1/30, 1/40, 1/60, 1/100, 1/200, 1/500.
Aperture: F 3.5 - F 18 (old graduation)
The set: the camera in its case, the box and a copy of a later manual, which the kind seller provided.
Case open. Original lens hood.
Camera
front. Viewer and 2 rangefinder windows. Scale in meters around the lens shaft on the body, aperture setting on the lens front.
Camera
back. Viewer and rangefinder eyelets
Camera top. rewind button, accassory shoe, speed setting, rewind lever, shutter and film advance.
Camera bottom open
Rear of the lens with serial number.
Sales
receipt from 1942. It was sold in a comission store for 850 Rubles.
This would have been $170 in those days and $2.700 today. A fortune!
The Zorki box.