general info on rangefinders?

[rgy1993]

hi guys...

so the other day i was watching this tv series called the genius of photography... and simply fell in love with leica rangefinders... so i've had a think and i want to get a nice rangefinder to play around with...

i know leicas are antique and so cost lots of money so thats defo. out of my price range, but i've had a look around the buysell sections and found a few minolta hi matics and some other rangefinders at decent prices... looking to spend maximum of maybe $300?

i once had a full manual yashica film slr and i know how to work with these types of cameras but i have no experience with rangefinders as such :dunno: so i was hoping someone would be kind enough to give me an idea of how they work as such (eg: metering built in? focus control, etc) and maybe an idea of whats cheaply available and works nicely..

thanks in advance

 

[Yoricko]

hi guys...

so the other day i was watching this tv series called the genius of photography... and simply fell in love with leica rangefinders... so i've had a think and i want to get a nice rangefinder to play around with...

i know leicas are antique and so cost lots of money so thats defo. out of my price range, but i've had a look around the buysell sections and found a few minolta hi matics and some other rangefinders at decent prices... looking to spend maximum of maybe $300?

i once had a full manual yashica film slr and i know how to work with these types of cameras but i have no experience with rangefinders as such :dunno: so i was hoping someone would be kind enough to give me an idea of how they work as such (eg: metering built in? focus control, etc) and maybe an idea of whats cheaply available and works nicely..

thanks in advance

Where did you watch it? What was the full name of the documentary?

Leicas can be quite affordable too, cosmetically beaten up meterless M4-2/M4-Ps cost around SGD800-1000. (Internally in good condition). M6's are around SGD2000-2200 right now (with meter and more framelines).

A Leica for under or around $300 JUST isn't possible.

A rangefinder camera uses mathematical triangulation for its focusing system, where the goal is to simply merge the double (superimposed) image with the scene. Metering is usually built-in in the modern rangefinders like Zeiss Ikon ZM, Leica M6, Bessa R2/R3/R4 whereas the older ones are meterless, Sunny 16 rules.

If you're doing street photography, a Leica is a joy (MUST) to have. Else you can go for the Zeiss or Bessa.

Edit: Some links to help
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/rangefinder.shtml
http://www.photoethnography.com/equipment.html

 

[rgy1993]

thanks for the info buddy...
um the series was called the genius of photography originally on national geographic channel, but i have the episodes on my computer...
basically goes through the history of photography from degarro types all the way to the modern dslr... and the leica is a big part as it was used for a long time to cover things like wars and stuff...

anyway..
back on topic..
what about a minolta hi matic f? i've seen a few around quite cheap...
dont really want to spend much money on a rangefinder for me... just more of a toy to play with at this stage... but never know maybe in the future could be a proud owner of a m8

 

[Yoricko]

Any good cheap aperture priority (at least) leaf shutter rangefinder under SGD150 would do. Make sure the metering work.

 

[mdzmr]

thanks for the info buddy...
um the series was called the genius of photography originally on national geographic channel, but i have the episodes on my computer...
basically goes through the history of photography from degarro types all the way to the modern dslr... and the leica is a big part as it was used for a long time to cover things like wars and stuff...

anyway..
back on topic..
what about a minolta hi matic f? i've seen a few around quite cheap...
dont really want to spend much money on a rangefinder for me... just more of a toy to play with at this stage... but never know maybe in the future could be a proud owner of a m8

Minolta Hi-matic F its fixed lens. If you want with a interchangeable lens, maybe you can look at russian cam like Fed or Zorki with also they do have those pre-war Leica copies. You can get it at $100 and also depends on the conditions. Or maybe can just top-up a bit more and get Bessa R which I guess mostly all the bros here will suggest to you.

 

[dankwan]

thanks for the info buddy...
um the series was called the genius of photography originally on national geographic channel, but i have the episodes on my computer...
basically goes through the history of photography from degarro types all the way to the modern dslr... and the leica is a big part as it was used for a long time to cover things like wars and stuff...

anyway..
back on topic..
what about a minolta hi matic f? i've seen a few around quite cheap...
dont really want to spend much money on a rangefinder for me... just more of a toy to play with at this stage... but never know maybe in the future could be a proud owner of a m8

My 2 cents - fixed lens RF is great to start with, see if you actually like RF style photography. Its an altogether different method of shooting. We all love it but I do know a couple of guys who just cannot get used to it. They revert back to SLRs. You should own a Leicea sometime in your life but it is an expensive obsession. Its like owning history. Having said that there are tons of wonderful non german RFs that are comparable in quality. Even the bunch of us who have Leicas love Cannon or Nikkor lenses and shoot with them on M bodies. Its what you have the most fun with and confidence is not from the brand but from yourself. There are CS guys with Holgas that take wonderful photos. Start with a fixed lens then trade up if you love RF.

Ive heard the Hi-matic is a good camera although I have not had any experience with it.

Check out Jaye from madecine.wordpress.com, I buy a lot of old stuff from him and I believe he has some RFs in your budget. He still has a Rollei 35 LED (only $120), nice guy, great service.

Hope that helps.

 

[mdzmr]

Oh yes, Rollei 35 it look small in size but produce a superb quality.
I missed this cam a lot. Used to owned it.

 

[dankwan]

Oh yes, Rollei 35 it look small in size but produce a superb quality.
I missed this cam a lot. Used to owned it.

No kidding... how was it? thats really nice, heard great things about it and always wanted one but somehow never got one (no fate I guess). Funny thing it was made in singapore!

 

[hamustar]

one good resource might be www.cameraquest.com
in particular the "classics" page -> http://www.cameraquest.com/classics.htm

 

[night86mare]

1. leicas are not really antiques. but they cost a lot of money, in part because of branding and in some sense, a novelty factor.

2. for $300 you should be looking at things like canon canonet , olympus xa, yashica 35s, etc, these are shutter priority only rangefinders and can be quite good actually

3. exposure would work almost the same way as slr in Av mode, but focusing is done in a different way. wikipedia and google are your best friend

4. shutter used in rangefinder a lot more quiet than in dslr

 

[undercoverone]

Again, ROLLEI 35 series is not a rangefinder it is a scale focus camera...

 

[geeteethree]

rolando mate
I think i am going to go for a leica to one day
M8.2 in the future, long way away but the original M8's are getting quite cheap in the used market.
Range finder fans will love this new lens by Cosina though :
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0906/09061501cosinanokton50mm.asp
Looking at around 1,900 SGD for this piece of lens which is quite a reasonable price for a 50 f/1.1
Might build up a good rangefinder lens collection and then buy a body at some stage.

 

[osocan]

rolando mate
I think i am going to go for a leica to one day
M8.2 in the future, long way away but the original M8's are getting quite cheap in the used market.
Range finder fans will love this new lens by Cosina though :
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0906/09061501cosinanokton50mm.asp
Looking at around 1,900 SGD for this piece of lens which is quite a reasonable price for a 50 f/1.1
Might build up a good rangefinder lens collection and then buy a body at some stage.

That lens is less than 1.5k sgd

http://www.chiifcameras.com/site2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=2

 

[rgy1993]

thanks for the info everyone... will defo look into the resources y'all gave me

btw completely random but is it possible to get like a leica m8 modified with a digital back?

 

[Yoricko]

M8 IS digital.

 

[mdzmr]

No kidding... how was it? thats really nice, heard great things about it and always wanted one but somehow never got one (no fate I guess). Funny thing it was made in singapore!

Ya, it made in Singapore. There's also a made in Germany.
here the cam

some shots.

 

[rgy1993]

M8 IS digital.

my bad haha... i just googled it... i feel pretty stupid now ;p

so then is it possible to find like modified m6 or m4 or m3 or wtv with like digital backs? just a thought...

 

[Yoricko]

No, the only digital rangefinders are the RD-1 (Epson) and the M8 (Leica), and they cost quite a bit.

If you only have SGD300 to spare, go get a fixed focal range rangefinder that cost under 150, make sure metering works.
If you're never felt a Leica before, its a pity.

What type of things do you shoot normally?

Thanks for the documentary, I knew nat geo was showing something on photography but I didn't know the name of the docu.

 

[rgy1993]

No, the only digital rangefinders are the RD-1 (Epson) and the M8 (Leica), and they cost quite a bit.

If you only have SGD300 to spare, go get a fixed focal range rangefinder that cost under 150, make sure metering works.
If you're never felt a Leica before, its a pity.

What type of things do you shoot normally?

Thanks for the documentary, I knew nat geo was showing something on photography but I didn't know the name of the docu.

i shoot a bit of everything but mainly sports with my current dslr setup...
will head out and have a look around for a cheap rangefinder this weekend i think...

 

[dankwan]

Ya, it made in Singapore. There's also a made in Germany.
here the cam

some shots.

Nice shots....