The Fed 5B is a rangefinder camera. It was developed by FED and presented in the 70s. It was built in the USSR and is the successor of the FED 5. The biggest difference is the absence of the light meter of the FED 5B.
The lenses of the Fed 5B can be exchanged. For this it has the M39 thread. The Industar-61 L/D 55mm f/2.8 is often the standard lens. There is no autofocus function on this model. The focus is adjusted manually. When focusing, the photographer is assisted by the rangefinder.
The exposure is not measured by the camera. The exposure time and aperture can be freely selected. If you want to take long exposures, there is the Bulb setting. In this mode, the shutter is opened as long as the shutter release button is pressed. A flash can be used via the hot shoe or PC flash port.
Films for the Fed 5B
The Fed 5B requires 35mm film. There is still a good selection of material for color and black and white images for this film format. Possible films for this camera are the Kodak Ultramax 400* for color photos and the Ilford HP5* for B&W images. The development of the color film is the C-41 process. This is offered by almost every photo lab. The area of the Fed 5B negatives are 24 mm x 36 mm.
Thus, 36 exposures are usually possible per film (135-36). The film in the camera must be rewound manually by the photographer.
The Fed 5B can be released by self-timer or with an additional cable release. A thread for a tripod is provided. The camera body weighs 770 grams. A battery is not needed for the Ukrainian camera.
FED was a camera factory in Ukraine. The abbreviation stands for Trudkommuna imeni F. E. Dserschinskowo. The company was founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky as a machine builder. Dzierżyński was an organizer and the first head of the All-Russian Extraordinary Committee for Combating Counterrevolution and Sabotage (Cheka), the first secret police force in Soviet Russia.
