FEDs

[T3D Martin Simon <msimon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

    Someone here asked for info about the FEDs.  Maybe this discussion
belongs on the P3D list where the FED has been talked about before, but
I'll say some qualitative things.  John B. covered much of the technical
details in his repost.  I bought 3 FED BOYs from Marty Hewes when he was
still doing business, one for me and two for resale.  
    The FED BOY model is technically the same as the model John B. tested
but has some improved handling and control features.  The f stop for B
setting was changed to 5.6 instead of 2.8 on the earlier models.  The 
battery was changed to the SR44 type.  At first Marty Hewes reported in
Stereo World that the quality control was much better in the BOY model
but later in personal communications he told me that his early report
was premature and that after seeing more cameras he saw lots that required
tuning up.
    I was worried about how the FED BOY's sharpness would compare to my 
Realist 2.8.  I was happy to see that the images produced by the FED were 
very sharp.  I think that the contrast was better than the Realist, probably
because of the more modern? lenses.  Contrast is not always desirable and the
pictures from the Realist sometimes seem "warmer" and seem to have less
harsh shadows and more shadow detail.  This is subjective and I haven't done
any real tests so I shouldn't be reporting this on the technical list.
    When I bought the cameras, I paid a premium in order to get a tuned-up
camera and a 3 year warranty.  The FEDs are prone to mechanical problems,
light leaks, etc., and the one I use has been no exception.  At present,
the film advance is completely screwed up.  The worst thing for me is that
Marty Hewes has not been able to follow through with his business
committments and I don't dare send the camera in for warranty repair.
One of the other new BOYs I had had a simple film loading problem and I
sent him the camera for repair.  A year and a half later and I still have
no camera and he doesn't respond to email, letters, or phone calls.  I
will try to fix the film advance myself rather than send the camera into
a black hole.  I'm afraid that there are other people in the same situation.
I also still have the 3rd FED BOY which I've never run a roll of film 
through.  It's available if anyone's interested in it.

Martin Simon     
mailto:msimon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx     
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~msimon


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