Ken Rockwell says Electro 35 better than Leica & Nikon RF's

I have to say thats a mighty nice photo of a GSN that Ken is using on his page..

........Also, notice he doesn't list the Yashica GL
 
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I have to say thats a mighty nice photo of a GSN that Ken is using on his page...
........Also, notice he doesn't list the Yashica GL

not reading much of Ken's reviews, I agree that he puts out appealing pictures of reviewed gear.
....and note, Gold Anniversary model is missing, too :)

Actually Ken R. is quite smart as blogger. There are lots of people writing, reviewing, scoring gear but people like to how K.R. does and they return to his site. He puts info about digital gear, poems like that "Little wonderful Trip" and now "Yashica is better than number of other RF's", mixes it up with his affairs with car dealers, pic's of his kids and wife, adding dose of irony, sometimes balancing on edge. He's like manager of construction site, taking a smoke together with plain workers (his statements like "A510 does same as high-end DSLR does, and costs just $150"). And lots of people like that, he for sure either is nice guy or learned psychology right way to look like what people like.
 
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I don't know what those pictures prove. Many people get by with a center weighted meter. I get by with no meter on my M2 and a spot meter for my 4x5. I like the additional control. Any meter, no matter how good, will see a scene as middle gray. Take a picture of a completely white wall (or snow) with the electro. Unless you are claiming that it has magical abilities to recognize the scene and your interpretation of it, it will see middle gray. I don't mind that - but I prefer a camera which lets me take control easily and override that reading. I want to be the boss for exposure decisions, not the camera - no matter how good. So, I feel crippled by a camera like the Electro - YMMV. I much preferred my Minolta 7sII and my old Canonet, both of which I used without a meter.
 
Why didn't HCB, Winogrand, Sam Abell shoot with an Electro?

I suppose he has to fill his webpage with something controversial.
 
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Speaking of leaf shutters I used to own a Voightlander Prominent rnagefinder camera (not the folder) which used a leaf shutter. I can say with certainty that insofar as quietness goes this camera knocked the Leicas into a cocked hat! It was whisper quiet! And it meant that flashes could be used at all shutter speeds too. Apparently this appealed to some newspaper camera men in the 1950s for this reason.

I liked the camera as such, but it was a very quirky design that I just could not use as much as it desereved and so ended up selling it. Something I still regret a little bit.
 
Why didn't HCB, Winogrand, Sam Abell shoot with an Electro?

I suppose he has to fill his webpage with something controversial.

With the Electro you don't have direct control of the speed, therefore it is a camera for amateurs no matter how good the lens or anything else is.

Besides it is not a system camera enabling lens exchange.

Nevertheless it can make an extraordinary companion camera to be used ocassionally. Or permanently for the folk liking the 45mm length, as single length, and dominating the speed counting exercise.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
I like my YE35 GSN very much. It's my first RF but will not be the last, cause I miss the total Control. The Picturequality is quite good, but the Handling is near a P&S Camera. But I go out and take pictures with it untill it's broken or I got enough money for a "serious" RF. I bought mine in Top Condition for about € 50,- and for this price it's an absolutly High Quality Camera and a good Camera for RF-Newbies like me.

After using my Konica T3Ns and checking out a M6 I was very shocked about the "cheap plastic" Feeling of the GSN. I was frightend not to brake it in normal use but after a few Rolls I'm shure it's a very solid Camera.

regards CHristoph
 
Especially if one is eating ice cream.

Exactly. What's "best" when it comes to gear (and tools) depends heavily on what you want to do. Or what your view of the world is like.

I'm sure prison breaks are more successful with a spoon than with a jackhammer ;)

Using a spoon is much much better when you're at that fancy dinner meeting the gf's parents!
 
Why didn't HCB, Winogrand, Sam Abell shoot with an Electro?

I suppose he has to fill his webpage with something controversial.

For the same reason Van Gogh didn't use Photoshop: not invented yet. Had he lived long enough, I'm sure he still wouldn't have used it.

How many 80 year-olds use e-mail on cellphones today? :)
 
Other than price and shutter noise, I'm at a loss to understand why the Electro 35 would rate better than todays AE RFs like the CV Bessas, ZI, CLE, M7 and my trusty Hexar RF. I'm sure there are plenty of compact RFs like some of the Minoltas, Konicas, Canonets and Olympus' that out perform the Electro 35. If we're talking about rf finders alone, nothing beats the parallax and field compensating framelines of some of the Konicas.
 
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Exactly. What's "best" when it comes to gear (and tools) depends heavily on what you want to do. Or what your view of the world is like.

I'm sure prison breaks are more successful with a spoon than with a jackhammer ;)

Using a spoon is much much better when you're at that fancy dinner meeting the gf's parents!

I'm sure one could break out of prison using a spoon, but the jackhammer would be better if you have a short sentence...
 
Nick, you are still using LINDO?
I remember the DOS version from the early 90s and the latest one I used was 6 me thinks

I replaced it with a quick piece of code in my HP48GX and now work on non-linear optimizers
 
Ken Rockwell on Ken Rockwell:

"This site is purely my personal speech and opinion, and a way for me to goof around.

While often inspired by actual products and events, just like any other good news organization, I like to make things up and stretch the truth if they make an article more fun. In the case of new products, rumors and just plain silly stuff, it's all pretend. If you lack a good BS detector, please treat this entire site as a work of fiction. "​
 
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