C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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rangefinder-35mm
The FED-4 is a 35mm rangefinder camera produced at the FED factory in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, from 1964. It is a direct descendant of the FED-2 and FED-3 bodies - all sharing the Soviet LTM (M39) screw mount and horizontal cloth focal-plane shutter - but the FED-4 adds a large built-in uncoupled selenium exposure meter mounted on the front of the body, a self-timer, and a full slow-speed shutter dial (down to 1s). The standard kit lens is the Industar-26m 50mm f/2.8, a collapsible four-element Tessar-formula lens in LTM mount. Mechanically the camera requires no battery, as the selenium meter is self-powered by ambient light; the meter simply informs the user's manual settings. The FED-4 is bulkier than its predecessors owing to the integrated meter housing.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
A substantial Soviet LTM rangefinder with built-in selenium meter and collapsible Industar-26m, made in Kharkiv from 1964.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | M39 / LTM |
| Years | 1964 – ~1980 |
| Shutter | 1s – 1/500s + B, mechanical horizontal cloth |
| Flash sync | ~1/25s |
| Meter | Uncoupled selenium (no battery) |
| Modes | Manual |
| Weight | ~700 g |
| Battery | None |
| Viewfinder | Coupled rangefinder |
FED camera production began in 1934 with the FED-1, a near-identical Leica II copy. The FED-2 (1955) introduced a hinged back and lever film advance; the FED-3 (1961) refined the body further. The FED-4 (1964) represents FED's response to the growing demand for meters in consumer cameras, adding the selenium cell housing in a distinctive raised bezel above the lens. The design is clearly influenced by Soviet and German rangefinder conventions of the early 1960s, prioritizing functionality over compactness.
The FED-5 followed and ultimately became more common in Western markets; the FED-4 occupies a transitional position in the FED line where the selenium meter was the headline feature before battery-dependent CdS meters became standard.
The FED-4's selenium meter is practically useful even today: selenium cells do not require batteries, and functional cells continue to deliver reasonably accurate readings decades after manufacture. This makes the FED-4 an attractive working camera for photographers who want a self-contained, battery-free metering system in an LTM body. The Industar-26m 50mm f/2.8 is a competent collapsible Tessar, delivering clean results stopped down; wide open it is softer, with some field curvature characteristic of Tessar derivatives.
The LTM mount gives access to the extensive Soviet LTM ecosystem (Industar-61, Jupiter-8, Jupiter-3) and - with an M39-to-M adapter - to any Leica M lens. For collectors, the FED-4 is less sought than the FED-2 or early FED-3 but more interesting operationally than the later FED-5 due to the working selenium meter.
Mount: M39 LTM (39mm x 26 tpi). Standard FED/Soviet LTM lens ecosystem:
M39-to-M39 collars and Soviet accessory shoes are compatible. Viewfinder frames are not automatically coupled to focal length.
C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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