Specs 

 ·  Produced: 1961-1969 by FED, Kharkov, Ukraine (former
       USSR)
 ·  Film:  35mm
 ·  Negative Size: 24 X 36mm
 ·  Lens: Industar-26m 52mm
 ·  Aperture: f2.8 - f22
 ·  Focal Range: 1 meter to infinity
 ·  Shutter: Double cloth curtain, Speeds: B, 1sec - 1/500sec
 ·  Viewfinder: Coupled rangefinder

I had been sneaking peeks at these Fed-3a's after hearing they were great to use, everything in the right place. Strange how I thought their stepped-down body was ugly at first. But then I had my chance to get one, and they rival the Fed-2 for comfort. More rare than the Fed-3b, they are still not hard to find. The -3a retains the film wind knob, instead of the lever on the -3b, but the shutter speeds are the same wide range. Actually, after some practice, winding with a knob becomes second nature. When holding this camera, one's shutter finger naturally curls up and over the wind knob to rest on the shutter release, while the other three fingers grip the camera at the self-timer lever. It's a perfect arrangement. Yes, the shutter speed dial rides a little high on the body, like a smokestack, but don't these Russian cameras have character?