FED 5 OWNERS MANUAL
All material copyright by Mark Tharp, 2000
Introduction:
The Fed 5 is the final development of the earlier Fed and Fed 2 cameras, being themselves copies of the Leica II and III
35mm cameras. Many of the controls and much of the layout will be familiar to Leica screwmount users.
While certainly not in the same class as the Leica III, or by reputation even the earlier Fed 2 and 3, the Fed 5 actually
has some advantages. Tops among its advantages is the fact that you are not carrying an irreplaceable collectors item
should you decide to use it. The viewfinder is also marginally brighter than a Leica screwmount and is coincident with
the rangefinder. The Fed 5 has a selenium match needle system, a pop-up rewind knob, and a hotshoe. Above all, the
film can be loaded, in daylight, with the ease and convenience of a modern 35mm camera - the entire back comes off!
As compared to earlier Fed cameras, the Fed 5 offers the aforementioned meter, brightlines in the viewfinder -
including parallax compensation for the 50mm lens, and autoreset on the film counter. The build quality tends to be
somewhat poorer than the earlier Fed models.
Without getting into ugly specifics about build quality, the primary functional disadvantage of the Fed over Leica
screwmounts is the relatively slow top shutter speed of 1/500th sec. But when did anyone ever get a Leica to actually
snap its shutter at a true 1/1000th anyway?
LOADING / UNLOADING FILM
1. Self Timer
4. Rangefinder
Optic
2. Timer Release
Button
5. Viewfinder
3. Meter Window
1. Rewind Knob
7. Winding Lever
2. GOST Setting Ring 8. Shutter Speeds
3. Match Needle
Window
9. Hot Shoe
4. Rewind Release
10. Shutter Speed Meter
Ring
5. Shutter Release
11. Match Needle
Numbers
6.Exposure Counter
