FED 2
How different does a camera's design have to be before it's no longer considered a copy or a clone? While the Soviet camera factory (founded by Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky in Ukraine) most certainly copied the Leica for their first camera, by the time the Soviet Union retooled after World War II, the FED factory was ready to roll out its own camera. Making its debut in 1955 and remaining in production until 1970, the FED-2 was a complete redesign of the original FED.
While the FED-2's looks certainly draw comparisons to the its Leica counterparts, the Soviet version had certain features that set it apart from the German M39 camera. Instead of having to trim the leader in order to load the film, the FED-2 has a completely removable back so that the entire film cartridge and take-up spool can be loaded more easily. Additionally, all of these cameras come with a diopter adjuster and later versions of the FED-2 even have self-timer levers.
The FED-2 cameras did not have the same range of shutter speeds as their other M39 contemporaries. Most notably, the Soviet version is missing the shutter speeds below 1/25th of a second, and its fastest speed is limited to 1/500th. Overall, the simplicity of design makes up for the lack of shutter speeds.
Thanks to the build quality, low cost, or perhaps just the quirkiness factor, the FED-2 remains one of the most popular 35mm cameras to come out of the former Soviet Union. If you frequent camera shops, it won't take you long to come across one of these. They'll likely be in the case next to the Leicas, but after you handle it, you may decide that these little cameras belong in a class by themselves. Read that as you will.
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