The FED-5

Seems like they don't make 'em like they used to. FED's website says they quit camera production in 1997. Pending a proper article, here's how to use the FED-5's light meter.

1. Set the film speed on the large dial. Even though the speeds on the dial are in GOST, just set the ASA value.
2. Point the camera to the scene you want to photograph.
3. Look through the light meter window to see which number the needle indicates.
4. Turn the light meter dial until the silver number underneath corresponds with the number from [3].
5. Read off the suitable shutter speed and aperture combinations and set the camera accordingly.

This is the Industar-61L/D, the FED-5's standard lens. The L stands for lanthane, a constituent of the optical glass. (For more about lanthane's apparent radioactivity, see my FED-5 Radioactivity page.) The D stands for "dalnomernaya", which means "rangefinder type". The Z (as found on for instance the Industar-61L/Z macro lens in M42 mount) stands for "zerkalnaya", which means "mirror type", i.e. suited for SLRs. More I61 info on Bob Monaghan's site.