info and experience with fed cameras?

[Dikaiosune01]

I was walking down the lomo asile of my local bookstore and a new camera caught my eye. One that i havent seen before.
It is made in singapore and its design is taken from the fed 5b.
Red army camera.

Would you consider this a toy camera?
Assuming aperture and shutter values are spot on, great cheap camera.
Experiences?
Ligt leaks?
Shutter accuracy?

Because i first saw this in the toy camera asile, all these red flags are popping out. But it seems as if these cameras are serious and affordable.

Educate me please.

 

[Romary]

What is "lomo asile"?

 

[Erik Petersson]

Interesting. Are copies of FED 5 produced in Singapore?

I own a FED 3 that serves me well after I have learned about its quirks. It doesn't deliver the highest possible quality, but it's a lot of fun.

Here are some results:
http://erikpetersson.livejournal.com/25710.html

 

[ntenny]

From a quick google, I think these are actual FED-5s that are refurbished and redecorated by Red Army Camera.

The pros and cons of FEDs are reasonably well known, but it seems like the premium you pay for the Red Army versions is kind of extreme (they list them online for $200 and up; even if that's in S$, it's still high compared to the "usual suspects" like Fedka.

That said, certainly not a "toy" camera by any standard; these are perfectly reasonable rangefinders, albeit lower-tech and with spottier quality control than we're used to in modern cameras. Many of the Soviet lenses are decent, and they will of course mount the whole population of M39 lenses. (Opinions vary on whether there are slight differences in the focusing between Leicas and fSU cameras---reputable people have done experiments and drawn mixed conclusions, so it's probably safest to assume that focussing with non-Soviet lenses may be imperfect.)

I'd look to one of the reputable Soviet-camera dealers instead, I think.

-NT