A Fed 2 goes to Chincoteague

In May, my wife Ann and I returned to Chincoteague, Virginia, one of

our favorite places, for a long weekend. Although I had my Nikon F-3

for telephoto work, a Fed 2C was my fun camera, and I had brought

along both a Jupiter 8 and an Industar 61-L/D. Fujicolor 200 was the

film.

 

Chincoteague and Assateague are barrier islands on the Atlantic coast,

along a major flyway, and less than 200 miles from the Washington D.C.

metro area. Chincoteague is reached via causeway from the mainland,

and there is a bridge from there to Assateague Island. Assateague is

a wildlife refuge and a National Seashore with over 14,000 acres,

countless birds and wild ponies (made famous by Marguerite Henry?s

?Misty of Chincoteague? and the subsequent movie). The area is a

mecca for bird watchers, beach-goers, photographers and seafood lovers.

 

Chincoteague?s true population is about 4,000 people. During summer

weekends, 8 to 10 thousand people visit. During pony penning in late

July, when the local firemen-cowboys round up the wild ponies and make

them swim from Assateague to Chincoteague, the population rises to

25,000, or so the locals say. I recommend you go at another time,

off-season if possible, for a calmer experience of the place.

 

I like the Fed 2 for its solidity, low cost and the availability of

lenses. Mine needed the usual rangefinder adjustments, lens helicoid

lubrication and other tweaking. (You will see shutter tapering on

some of the shots, light on the left and dark on the right. I think I

have fixed this now by re-tensioning the shutter rollers.) The

Industar 22 that came with the camera needed to have the mount

re-shimmed so that lens would focus with the same rangefinder

adjustment as the other lenses I acquired later. Even with this, my

specimen is a true dog. The Industar 61-L/D and both of my Jupiter 8s

are equally sharp at 2.8; the Industar is slightly sharper than the

J-8s at 5.6 and 8. Both Industars have a tendency to flare, even

though I keep a hood on the I-61. The Jupiter 8s are well-behaved and

have nice image quality.

 

Would I have gotten technically better pictures if I had just used the

F-3? Probably. But then I wouldn't have the right to inflict myself

on all you good classic camera folks.

 

We?ve been going to Chincoteague since 1981. I am happy to share the

place with you. For a selection of photos from the weekend, go <a

href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder.tcl?folder_id=508649">Chincoteague</a>.<div></div>

wow, great pics, I like "crab traps" and "dunes" the best, nice work!

Nice, Dennis! My wife's family has been going to Chincoteague every summer for thirty years now. We're going next weekend (my third time!) and your pictures make me even more excited about returning.