« Back to blog

Re-skinned Russian Rangefinder

I recently bought a new iPhone, so I was looking for a case. I ran across a website called www.skinslove.com in the Netherlands. I saw this red leather-like replacement skin for the Fed 3b camera. Coincidentally the leatherette was beginning to peel off my 1970s – era Soviet union rangefinder camera. I couldn't resist a tip of the hat to the Red Army. I would be willing to bet that many conscripts carried this model when on leave. My Fed works quite well for such a shoddy approach to manufacturing. The Industar lens is actually pretty sharp if you can control flare. I've got an old roll of consumer color film in it right now. The skin, by the way, is really a specialty printable plastic from Avery. It has a nice grip to it. It was perfectly cut for my camera and was a breeze to put on. The only thing I had to do was punch holes for the screws. The only negative to the skin is its thinness. On roughly-manufactured cameras like this one, you can't hide the uneven places on the body. Overall a fun upgrade.