The FED 3 is a coupled rangefinder camera that followed on from the FED 2, but introducing slow speeds. For a time both FED 2 and 3 were manufactured in parallel, in all it's forms FED 3 production ran from 1962 to 1980. Initially featuring a stepped top housing, in 1963 FED swapped to the flatter top to produce what I consider to be the most handsome looking of the FED models, with a passing resemblance to the Leica M3. It essentially remained in this form with a change of covering, lens enhancements and several minor mechanical differences internally for the next 17 years. The shutter mechanism remained similar to the earliest FED 1 and it's Leica II copied arrangement and accordingly the shutter speed selector only indicates the correct speed after the shutter is cocked. However, far from simply copying cameras at this time, FED exhibited some ingenuity of its own and instead of adopting the Leica III slow speed solution, they cooked up their own mechanism which slips over the selector spade internally and delays it before letting the second curtain go. It's a very neat solution and internally the top housing is pleasantly clear of complicated linkages as a result. Perhaps the only quirky outcome of this is the spacing and order of the shutter speeds around the selector. An odd styling feature is the mixture of square and circular viewfinder windows, a pragmatic styling choice as the round window is arranged to rotate - to allow for vertical adjustment of the rangefinder images. Distance adjustment can likewise be made without taking off the top housing by removing the blanking screw by the main rectangular viewing window, then feeding in a screwdriver to locate the end of the adjustment screw hidden within. Again, well thought out and the build quality and finish is good.