Recommend me a small compact range finder.

[ricohflex]

richoflex, can i help u clear stock? =)

lend you one to use on your next shanghai trip
friend says modern shanghai is super
walk 4 streets deep in from shiny new shanghai road and you will see the old poor shanghai

 

[stnicholas81]

haha i looking for one for daily use in sg leh.~! sent u a pm.

 

[tush]

Well... you can consider the Rollei 35:
http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?Rollei35.html~mainFrame


Technically it is not really a rangefinder (You have to guesstimate the focusing - Just like Minox 35). I'm using the Rollei 35 LED

-never bothered about the lightmeter on mine, using the Sunny 16 rule most of the time. basically I got it for almost the same reasons as you. I wanted a small handy camera that i can bring around to take street photos (for times when dont wanna lug around my equipment - its slightly bigger than a cigarette box - about the size of the Canon IXUS. the lens barrel can be collapsed into the body when not in use and it feels solid -metal body).... Actually I was initially looking at the lomo L-CA but realised that for the price of a new one I can get a pre-owned Rollei 35 or Minox 35.

 

[bigfatfish]

whats the street price for these rollei 35? i think the better ones are rollei 35s and 35se rite?
anyone knows?

 

[kodachrome]

I've been lurking in this discussion for a while. I got to say, all are good recommendations so far. If you don't mind not having a "real" RF and are happy living with an AF compact cam, there are 2 to consider not so far mentioned;

Olympus Mju II and Yashica T4.

A web search will probably give you lots of info on these 2. Probably hard to find the Yashica now but there is a regular supply of Oly Mjus on the secondhand market in Singapore. It has an excellent 35 mm f2.8 lens and is quite hardy. They also can be had new for around $200/-. I'm on my second one.

If $$$ is not a concern, Contax T2.

 

[dreamseeker]

bigfatfish,

Used to see a couple of 35s & 35se at TCW going for about $400-$600 last time. Drink kopi next time & I show you one.

 

[bigfatfish]

bigfatfish,

Used to see a couple of 35s & 35se at TCW going for about $400-$600 last time. Drink kopi next time & I show you one.

haha ... look forward to that man!

 

[tush]

whats the street price for these rollei 35? i think the better ones are rollei 35s and 35se rite?
anyone knows?

Yeah. The better ones are rollei 35s and 35se.

 

[stnicholas81]

wow the rollei is way out of my budget. but it sounds good, will go read more abt it. Guesstimate is ok since i m guesstimating on my holga and so far so good. How much does it cost, the rollei? Olympus XA is good too but pricy for one in 9 -10 condition.

 

[bigfatfish]

Contax T2 i saw in TCW, about 450 in an obiang gold color. Seems quite robust and sleek shape.

Is contax T2 good? other than the Sonnar lens, can you manually set ASA?

 

[ricohflex]

Contax T2 i saw in TCW, about 450 in an obiang gold color. Seems quite robust and sleek shape.

Is contax T2 good? other than the Sonnar lens, can you manually set ASA?

you have exposure compensation on T2

 

[Keltzar]

T2 is good but heavy.

A cheaper alternative to the XA is the XA-2, but with less controls. More like a refinded Lomo LCA.

Or else, strip a disposable camera and reload! I hear the kodak gold MAX disposables are esp. good for this.

I just stripped a freebie NTUC disposable camera.
Imagine my surprise to find a roll of Konica VX400 film, and even a proper film and battery compartment withh doors, a new AA-sized battery ("made in japan") and a complete counter system, flash circuit etc.

Only the spindle for the film needs modifying for reloading.

Its a heck of a lot lighter than an olympus XA.

 

[stnicholas81]

Oh btw, i've always been wanting to ask, is the XA series coupled rangefinder or guesstimate?

 

[n0d3]

Coupled rangefinder. Just got mine from Terence. ^^

 

[stnicholas81]

oh u bought his? quite a good buy, i missed one in exc condition on ebay complete with boxes and paperwork for 50 GBP + 9 GBP shipping which is ard S$170.

 

[n0d3]

Haha, the warranty on this camera was still intact. Bought on the 17th of August, 1980 by some guy living in Denver.

 

[ricohflex]

look
rollei AFM 35
does not matter that it is made in indonesia

 

[stnicholas81]

Hi Ricohflex the man, some day must go ur home see ur RF collection man, haha heard u got a lot.

 

[Terence]

Perhaps you should state your budget. I'm guessing it's around the $100 region. If that's the case, the earlier recommendations have covered it already. You're looking at a GSN or the likes for that price.

 

[ricohflex]

Hi Ricohflex the man, some day must go ur home see ur RF collection man, haha heard u got a lot.

mine's cheap stuff
i buy them only because as time passes no one will make anymore
the production process of RF is just too expensive now to make in japan or germany
and still sell new at low prices
unless you sell at leica [high] or even bessa [mid] prices
old rf are metal body, glass lenses, got rf prism mechanism, usually manual shutter B to 1/500, aperture user controllable
leaf shutter flash synch to 1/500
quieter than the leica M
some are small and cute

leica M is very good but high cost
if it cost 1/5 of its price many will want to own
so expensive that you always worry when you use it
that you may accidentally scratch it or drop it and value goes down
spoils the whole shooting experience

production cost cheaper and easier for camera makers now to put in a few integrated circuits, plastic lenses and plastic bodies in new af compact
the better ones of this type are oly mju2 and yashica t4 (both sharp glass lenses)