Fed 2 & N22 in South Bangalore

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>I drove East about 12 Kms from home to an older suburb. I have an old friend mechanic [of 25 years] there who attends to my car. I left the car at his shop and walked around with the Fed 2.<br>

I had posted some samples from this a few months ago when it had a whole lot of pinholes in the curtain, about a square inch of them! I painted [or, basted!] the curtain with thin layers of Black Nail Polish. It seemed to work. Yesterday was my first venture with this “restored” curtain. If this did not work out I would have tried to fix for a new curtain set out of material I bought from Mr.Asahi. Right now, I am a little short of patience and tenacity. I shall try to extract the last drop of resources from the existing mechanism.<br>

The Monsoon is on and the light is Sunny, Cloudy or Dark alternately. I shot mostly with the aperture wide open at f/4 and 1/50sec. I am surprised a bit that this little old lens performed well at this setting. Perhaps, these early collapsible Industars 22 were made better than their successor Industars 50 and 50-2 also f/3.5. All of them are so old that one cannot be certain if the fault is with the manufacturer or the earlier owner/users; more likely the latter.<br>

I used the same ORWO UN54 ASA100 film from Wolfen, developed in my home brew.</p>

<div></div>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>Quite handy and 'feels' a lot more compact than the later models, though they are of the same size. Only the'wind-on' knob changed later to a larger one of the mushroom shape.</p><div></div>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>I would be more than nervous in that situation. Necessity makes many cool to these conditions.</p><div></div>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>This picture tells a story about emerging India. The Mercedes is made in India, mostly for export, but increasingly being sold here too to the rich, corporates and the stately establishments. At the other end is the poor income woman pedestrian. In between are the buses and then the middle-middle class of auto rickshaw riders.<br>

I could not take a picture of the MB closer, as the chauffeur was sitting inside and listening to music from the deck! The music deck in these cars is apparently meant for the chauffeurs while they wait!</p><div></div>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>There were quite a few Ice cream chains until a few years ago. Now they seem to have amalgamated into a few big chains. Perhaps, this helps them compete with the multinationals like Baskin & Robbins and others.</p><div></div>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>Up the ladder of mechanization from the older native methods of roasting the cob on charcoal fire garnished with lemon juice, salt and some spices too. The native recipe is still the most common and the more tasty one!</p><div></div>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>The "mandi" seemed like and expensive place. i have not been inside. But the board on the threshold said "Valet parking Available"; aha! that must be the New Class! I wondered where they would park, because there is no space available nearby.</p><div></div>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>These side streets accommodate a number smaller services, such as, Desk Top Processing, Xerox, smaller eating places, etc. There are also small scale training institutes that train data- entry people, typists who would use computers, courier agencies and the like.</p><div></div>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>This is typical Monsoon lighting; it provides a great relief from the Summer heat. That is all from yesterday. Thanks for viewing and your comments. regards, sp.</p>

[gabor_szabo3]

<p>Nice tonal range you're getting lately, SP. Is it due in part to the atmospheric effects with less contrasty or minimal shadows?<br />Please enlighten me on the partuclars of this Monsoon lighting.<br />Also, i have the urge to finally dip my toe into FSU rangefinders .... what are the key things to look for when purchasing one? I have no hands-on experience with these ; the only thing close was my good ol' Zenit SLR and Helios 44-M . <br />Wish i could eat spice-rubbed grilled corn on the cob. My dentist forbids such activities thanks to $$$$ bridge work. He probably owns a Mercedes like that one, too !<br />There used to be a bhuttawallah in the summer time roasting up fresh Jersey corn on Newark Ave in Jersey City. I haven't been to Little India since Singh's Dept Store burnt down in March.</p>

[rod_larson]

<p>So that where Baskin Robins went. I haven't seen one around here in a long time</p>

<p>Another very interesting series, SP. Thanks for posting.</p>

[ndnbrunei]

<p>SP, congratulations on your camera repair and your fine B&W images! Thanks for posting.<br>

Your monsoon light is similar to the light here in Hong Kong ... except that ours is the result of pollution!</p>

[rustys pics]

<p>The Industar 22 does seem like a far more than adequate lens. It looks very sharp yet without overbearing contrast-much like as a Leica lens! Of coure that could be attributed to the diffused Monsoon lighting. I enjoy the social documentary aspect of your work as much as the use of old equipment. I guess since there is no place to Valet park your car, maybe they just drive it around until you're finished eating?<br>

Curious to see the little shops and street vendors getting slowly pushed out. Sad. The same happened in America decades ago. It's great to see the collision of Local vs Multinational economies in your photographs. It's very much analogous to the moped drivers and the Mercedes drivers you hinted at in the commentary.</p>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>Thanks <strong>Gabor</strong>! The tonal range is partly due to the lighting, partly my improved brew and processing, as well as a more patient scanning that I have learnt to do, now.<br /><br /><strong>Monsoon lighting</strong> is diffused, partly through the clouds and partly diffused by the hanging humidity. It is much like Seattle or England in Summer except that the Summer here is really hot and glaring bright but for the rain clouds. By rhythm, the light intensity changes immensely within a short time as the clouds rarefy and intensify, alternately. You can see the range from my shot of the Mercedes and the last one the Dark Noon. At times the change is so fast that your reading on the meter [hand held] would be come outdated by the time you click the shutter button. The drama is most enjoyable visually and weather wise.<br /><br />On the<strong> FSU rangefinders</strong>, I find both Fed and Zorki to be very good. I prefer the Knob winds. That means Zorkis 1, C, 2C, 3, 3M and 4 as well as Mir. Zorkis 1 to 2C are bottom loading; the others are back loading. They are all easy to repair. The 3, 3M and 4 have combined RF and VF, with really big images. The Mir is the same as the 4 but the slow speeds have been removed. Zorki 1 with the collapsible lens is absolutely delightful. [it is very small and is similar to the Leica II or III, said to be a copy. Though, there are now some findings that both Leica and the Fed/Zorkis were prototyped in USSR in the Pioneer and one other camera. Perhaps the Soviets wanted the Germans to try out the production before they ventured in to the same. I don’t know about the Leica; so I will not compare the Zorkis with it. Many salesmen do that just to promote the sales, I guess.]<br /><br />The <strong>Zorki 4</strong> is very good with all the slow speeds, self timer, etc. Up to 1962 it came with engraved lettering. After 1962 they used screen printed lettering; that fades away over time. If you are getting a Zorki 4 try to get one made before 1962 with engraved lettering. Get an assurance from the seller that the RF and shutters are working correctly and the curtains are in good shape with no wrinkles or pinholes. If on Ebay, try and get it from Ukraine, Photobuc and Sovdepia are very reliable. Blyatnikov is a bit more expensive but sells a lot of fancy refurbished stuff. Browse their shops before you decide to buy. The Ukrainian post is also very good, reasonable and reliable, in my experience.<br /><br /><strong>After you buy</strong> you may have to do a CLA job. You can make the FSU RFs work very smoothly if you lubricate them correctly. I do not have single rough Zorki or Fed in my collection. And, all my FSU cameras are vintage 1950s and bought for less than $10 each, except the Zorki 1. Many were not even working when they arrived. It is simple to fix them and you can follow detailed instructions from Maizenberg’s excellent book. When I started with these I did not know about Maizenberg. But recently, I have found it, downloadable from the web for free.<br /><br /><strong>Fed 1</strong> is the same as Zorki 1 except for minor cosmetic changes over the years. Fed 2 had a long reign and has a wide range finder spread, much like the Contax and Kiev RFs. Fed 3 and the late model of Fed 2 introduced slow speeds. But they made the body bigger to accommodate the same. Fed 3 onwards they also replaced the knobs with the lever winds. Among the Feds I would vote for Fed 2 series as the most elegantly designed and most reliable model. If you prefer the lever wind then Fed 3 has it all including the slow speeds, Fed 4 and 5 plus are bit bulky.<br /><br />Any more, ask me specific questions, please! I hope this helps. Best, Subbarayan.</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Another fine series, <strong>SP</strong>, and your usual enlightening social commentary. Today's India must be quite an exciting place, especially if you're young and educated. I, too, find black nail enamel useful in a number of capacities that the manufacturer would not have envisaged! That's now a very handsome Fed 2; I like their rugged simplicity, and the Industar 22 gives much the same "look" as the Industar 50's, with a little shimmer in the highlights. The soft light has helped you achieve really pleasant tones.</p>

<p>I'm always struck by the total contrast between the lively chaos of your surroundings and the sterile order and regulation of mine. As someone remarked following one of my posts, none of <em>my</em> urban images seem to contain people, an unthinkable situation in your bustling environment. Thanks for another great post.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I love 'em!</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>More later, I hope, I'm off for my first longer trip in my newly pet-free world.</p>

[Alan Johnson]

<p>Thanks for the pics<strong> SP</strong> ,Is that an "Industar glow" in pic 2?<br>

If it is wished to add the 35mm focal length Jupiter 12 to an FSU rangefinder kit, I think the FED-2 is best avoided as there can be problems with it.<br>

<a href="http://64.38.3.147/forums/showthread.php?threadid=58220">http://64.38.3.147/forums/showthread.php?threadid=58220</a></p>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p><strong>Gabor</strong>! Here is a reference for your interest.</p>

<ul>

<li>Issak S. Maizenberg "All you need to know about the design and repair of Russian cameras" <a href="http://cccp.alien-planet.net/maizenberg-cameras1.pdf">http://cccp.alien-planet.net/maizenberg-cameras1.pdf</a></li>

</ul>

<p>Thanks <strong>Rod, Andrew</strong>; this was almost a pollution free city about two decades ago. Now, there is a dome of dust and grime hanging over the region permanently until the Monsoon washes it away for a few months.<br>

<strong>Russ</strong>, the N 22 seems like a good lens, from my sample of three, very consistent in performance. It is fetching a premium price, now, possibly due to its fanciful collapsible design. Yes, I do recall the American experience of the small business; I studied these in my primary research in the Columbia Basin towns in the Northwest. I think that a new cycle of individual initiatives will happen all over again, as very large organizations cannot satisfy all human needs and aspirations. Even the Soviets discovered that recently.<br>

Yes <strong>Rick</strong>, I have managed to control that “shimmer in the highlights” till now. A little lack of attention might make them flare, I guess. It is a characteristic of the lens that can be used to good effect, I think.<br>

Thanks <strong>JDM</strong>; <strong>Alan</strong>, “glow” or “shimmer” also gets a bit exaggerated by the Monsoon lighting. Makes it interesting. The Soviet manufacturers gave clear instructions even with the originals that each camera body can take only one lens correctly. If the customers wanted to change the lens they were asked to bring the equipment to authorized service centers to fix and calibrate the same. Both the lens and the camera mount and RF were to be re-calibrated for each change! That seemed to have been the normal practice in the USSR. Maizenberg also emphasizes this aspect and cautions users not to change lenses at will. Regards, sp.</p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>Subbarayan, that lens is definitely a good performer. Perhaps this design was easier to correct than the later Industars. Great photos, and as always thanks for the look at your country. It is always enjoyable.</p>