what rf do you recommend for me? super low budget

[crysmeth]

Hi all.

Poisoned by the leica recently but had another thread and am sure I cannot sell my 5dm3 for it as i like shooting landscapes and my kids.

I have an x100 for street.

So i wanted to give up the idea of owning an RF as really have no budget but was recently convinced by a fellow hobbyist when i went for tour to try a film RF.

I googled almost every budget brand. Kiev, Fed, zorki, ql17, kas2, etc. But am getting quite confuse.

So i need kind csers to give me some suggestion.

Budget : no more than $250 (S$)
Lens : I prefer to shoot at 35mm.
Type : Rangefinders only with lightmeters.

Thanks in advance.

If you have a spare RF, please pm me if you want to sell it too. Thanks.

 

[crysmeth]

Forgot to add. I'm just going to use it for street. Thanks.

 

[FBA]

$250 with lens or just body alone?

 

[NDividualistic]

well, u can consider Canonet QL17 GIII, fit ur budget. owned one before, nice and compact. but tried to get those made in Japan, not Taiwan. Loading of film is easy and quick, since QL = quick loading. one of the few compact RF with parallax compensating framelines. BLack is rare, if u can get it will be great.

 

[crysmeth]

Body and lens.

Yeah. Thinking of that or the kas2 too. But still undecided. Kiev zorki or fed anyone?

 

[CLN2011]

Forgot to add. I'm just going to use it for street. Thanks.

Suggest Yashica GSN. Cheap (<200SGD) ; Reliable & Good. There's a write-up in Photoethnology I believe.
Non ostentatious and even if you get robbed (overseas) it's not so painful on your wallet. I have several other RFs incl. Leica & Canon but
for your budget this is hard to beat.

 

[agawads]

Canonet QL17 GIII, Minolta Hi Matic, Konica Auto S3, Yashica 35GSN... all have their own good spots... each operates with either Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority... so u have to check how you prefer to shoot. if you want super compact, try the Olympus XA.

avoid the russian cameras as they are very much heavy than the Japanese models... and some are bottom loading that is not as convenient.

I second NDividualistic on the Canonet.

 

[Cactus jACK]

Do checkout the links provided here http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/rangefinders/600122-[faq]-so-you-want-rf.html#post5640229

It's a listing of some affordable fixed lens RF cameras by Thedraperyfalls.

 

[raytoei]

i think the yashica electro is going to be a cult camera after spiderman show

 

[maxwinamp]

Here are some of the pics I took using low cost RF

Have a look and read around which one you want to buy.

Olympus XA
Olympus XA2
Olympus 35RC
Canonet QL17 G-III

Personally, I prefer the small size of 35RC and the ease of use of the Canonet QL17.

Haven't tested the 35RD as I need to send it for servicing to fix the stiff focus ring.
The XA and XA2 are rugged to use and I just dump it inside my backpack for anytime shots.

I find the Yashica 35GSN a bit too big to my liking. But it's a GREAT cam.

Rangefinder cameras are very poisonous. You just can't stop at ONE.

 

[CZJena]

Get a Picasso's russian camera, i have 3 of these:

Won't lose out to the Leitz using these, with option to use Leitz glass or Russian Carl-zeiss lens design from the Berlin pre-war factory.

Go for Picasso's FED

 

[lordpain]

i think the yashica electro is going to be a cult camera after spiderman show

LOL. you saw it too? I guess yashica was having a product placement moment? perhaps a comeback in the digital arena?

 

[sinned79]

go search on ebay!

 

[CLN2011]

See the screen grab below:


Spiderman vs Electro - Rangefinderforum.com

 

[Riotbmx]

If i can give a little bit of my 2 cents...I'd go for the Canonet QL17. Firstly it can go full manual, so you don't have to stop shooting if the light meter fails or batt runs dry. It has prolly the best built quality among those you've mentioned. The quick load feature is really useful, it's really easy for you to load your film in the dark to get 2 extra frames from your roll. And of cos the lens is great. But I just find the viewfinder a little dim because it has the bluish tint, kinda hard to see the needle in low light. Personally I find shutter priority kinda hard to use, and if the needle goes out of the range it just wouldn't fire.

The Electro is great, but it has a few drawbacks. Firstly it has electronically controlled shutter, do of the batt dies that's it(but the shutter sounds great). And you have to manually adjust the exposure compensation if you shoot with filter. It's very big, almost as big as my SLR. The film advance lever feels a little weird because you have to crank like 180-190 degree-ish to advance. The good thing is that the aperture priority function is really easy to use, and you can shoot super long exposure with it.

At the end of the day you have to be comfortable using the camera. It seems cool to be using or be seen with a rangefinder, but I'm most comfortable with my Nikon FE. I'll deal with the bigger size and mirror slap, my fixed lens rangefinders are now like my backups I hardly ever use...

 

[CZJena]

When using the FED, i always carry my spot-meter along for difficult exposure, or use the sunny16, no hassle

 

[crysmeth]

If i can give a little bit of my 2 cents...I'd go for the Canonet QL17. Firstly it can go full manual, so you don't have to stop shooting if the light meter fails or batt runs dry. It has prolly the best built quality among those you've mentioned. The quick load feature is really useful, it's really easy for you to load your film in the dark to get 2 extra frames from your roll. And of cos the lens is great. But I just find the viewfinder a little dim because it has the bluish tint, kinda hard to see the needle in low light. Personally I find shutter priority kinda hard to use, and if the needle goes out of the range it just wouldn't fire.

The Electro is great, but it has a few drawbacks. Firstly it has electronically controlled shutter, do of the batt dies that's it(but the shutter sounds great). And you have to manually adjust the exposure compensation if you shoot with filter. It's very big, almost as big as my SLR. The film advance lever feels a little weird because you have to crank like 180-190 degree-ish to advance. The good thing is that the aperture priority function is really easy to use, and you can shoot super long exposure with it.

At the end of the day you have to be comfortable using the camera. It seems cool to be using or be seen with a rangefinder, but I'm most comfortable with my Nikon FE. I'll deal with the bigger size and mirror slap, my fixed lens rangefinders are now like my backups I hardly ever use...

Thanks.

Have you used the kas 2 or 3. It seems its comparable to the ql17. Any thoughts on that?

 

[crysmeth]

When using the FED, i always carry my spot-meter along for difficult exposure, or use the sunny16, no hassle

Yah. I'm tempted to purchased a fed too. Sigh. But that is at 50mm. But I'm just nitpicking here. Haha.

 

[CZJena]

Yah. I'm tempted to purchased a fed too. Sigh. But that is at 50mm. But I'm just nitpicking here. Haha.

At 50mm? don't understand. Do you know FED is just like any Leica camera system?

 

[sinned79]

At 50mm? don't understand. Do you know FED is just like any Leica camera system?

not fixed lens. i think FED can change lens.