Usually when I review an SLR I tend to caveat my reviews by pointing out optical performance depends on the Lens glass and don’t focus on that side of things. But with this Ukrainian beast it really is all about the glass in the form of the Helios-81N ( гелиос-81н )50mm 1:2 lens.
But let’s not ignore the camera and we’ll begin there.
Continue reading It’s All About The Lens Baby – Kiev 19 Review Part 1Since I got my Olympus PEN EE-2, I’ve been seeking out a more focusable Half frame camera. As well as the obvious EES-2, one camera caught my attention from the Old USSR, the ФЭД Микро or in English the FED Mikron/micron sometime dubbed the Soviet PEN.
So when I finally got a working one I headed out with a roll of trusty Kodak BW400CN.
This gorgeously bonkers 35mm compact hails from 1980’s Soviet union but looks like a mix of 60’s & 70’s with its bling gold styling and Olympus Trip-esque selenium meter array. A relative rarity in the west it does make for quite an interesting & useful choice for a point and shooter. Continue reading FED 50 Review: The shape of things that might have been
