Please recommend a camera with these features ...

OK! I bid on quite a few cameras.

I got outbid on all Canonet QL17 and one Konica C35

Finally I "won" a "Canonet 28" that "works and looks good" and has "shoulder strap" for only $23 shipped right to my door. This little camera apparently has "auto" and "aperture priority" modes.

While it's not exactly what I was thinking of it should be OK to try a roll of film and see what this "rangefinder" business is all about ... We'll see how it goes :)

Happy shooting,
Craig
 
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The Canonet 28 has I believe a f/2.8 lens instead of the f/1.7 lens found on the QL17, hence the lower price.
 
I also prefer Aperture priority for DOF control
but for this Ricoh 500GX (shutter priority) is fun to use too.

Ricoh 500GX is a small & nice camera & quick snap.

Ricoh 500GX, Ricoh 500ME
- 2.8/40mm Rikenon
- internal light meter
- shutter priority
- manual mode
- multiple exposure
- nice body & solid
- good for snap
- cheap
- nice design

* you may need to change the light seal in the back.
* the aperture ring is a little bit too small

another camera is Yashica Lynx 14E that come with a very fast lens
1.4/45mm but someone have mention about some problem (I already forgot).
 
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kitaanat said:
Ricoh 500GX is a small & nice camera & quick snap.
Click to expand...

I finally broke and purchased 500G despite number of cameras I already have - to meet shutter priority RF.

While I'm Av person, recently trying to shoot at skatepark, I quickly got idea of Tv. That said, each dish needs it's sauce.

kitaanat said:
another camera is Yashica Lynx 14E that come with a very fast lens
1.4/45mm but someone have mention about some problem (I already forgot).
Click to expand...

Lynx 14 hardly matches condition #3 :) "3. Tiny or small". Only problem with Lynx is when one doesn't has one :)
 
spystyle said:
Hello from Maine :)

Alright, I'm gonna try film I tell ya, this time I'm really gonna do it!

But I was thinking of a small rangefinder like Cartier Bresson sort of experience, like Leica but without selling any organs to raise the funds, also with "shutter priority" mode.

So, if you would please, recommend a camera that has the following features :

1. Inexpensive or cheap
2. Shutter priority
3. Tiny or small
4. Rangefinder or similar

Thank you :)
Craig
Click to expand...


you're at the beginning of an expensive and very enjoyable journey. it begins with various fixed lense rangefinders, then onto some russian rangefinders, or maybe onto a bessa or zeiss ikon, but either path you take you will always get to the end of the journey with a leica in your hand :)
 
btgc said:
...While I'm Av person, recently trying to shoot at skatepark, I quickly got idea of Tv...
Click to expand...

I know how you feel from shooting flashless indoor school events under poor lights with moving subjects - sometimes you need control of the shutter speed.

nome_alice said:
you're at the beginning of an expensive and very enjoyable journey. it begins with various fixed lense rangefinders, then onto some russian rangefinders, or maybe onto a bessa or zeiss ikon, but either path you take you will always get to the end of the journey with a leica in your hand :)
Click to expand...

I believe it :) I've been through a few different hobbies and that's usually how it goes.

My Canonet hasn't arrived yet but when it does I'll seek out a roll of film, put them together, and see what happens :)

Have fun!
Craig
 
Hi Fellas,

Well it came in ...







...but I can't get the shutter to open. While I don't know how to operate film cameras I can only assume that when I cock it and press the shutter the "click" should be accompanied by a shutter opened for a fraction of a second.

Also I am surprised at the size and weight of this thing, it's as big as a real camera - it's not the pocket affair I had envisioned rangefinders to be. They are real cameras and sized accordingly :)

I really get a kick out of the viewfinder - if I look through and the subject is not in focus I see a "yellow ghost" that I have to align, it's groovy :)

It came with a heavy leather strap that reminds me more of a WW2 rifle sling than a camera strap :) I really prefer the "neoprene bungee strap" (I don't know what to call it) on my modern cameras.

I also find the camera's "black cocker knob" (I don't know what to call it) pokes into my forehead when I use the camera. It's a very uncomfortable design...

So now I have a better clue as to what this "rangefinder business" is about :)

I have only $10 total invested into this camera so it's not a big deal if I can't fix it, but I'd like to see if I can get it going.

Have fun!
Craig
 
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OK, I had to check the manual to figure out where the battery was. If I'm reading my meter correctly it has 1.6 volts in it. It is marked "625A China"
 
Sorry to put finger in your cake, though even not owning Canonet I've read enough on them here to have idea they often suffer from stuck shutter syndrome. Idea is shutter blades are gummed together and nominal force of mechanism can't make them opening. Battery operates meter and stops down aperture in Auto mode - that said, try if it functions in manual mode.

So you'll need to clean shutter yourself (they say Canonet isn't easiest camera for first DIY experience, though YMMV) or send out for CLA. Wish you patience and success.
 
Canonet 2.8 similar body size to QL17 GIII.
This is not a big RF camera compared to the earlier versions of Canonets and other brands like the Yashica Electro 35's.
Camera has been left in "A" mode as mentioned in above post. Check that. The A is found on the aperture ring on the lens.
The film advance lever when used initially will protrude out but can be pushed back so that it becomes flush with the body again.. Perhaps you are a "left eye" user if it is getting in your way!
 
spystyle said:
Hello from Maine :)

Alright, I'm gonna try film I tell ya, this time I'm really gonna do it!

But I was thinking of a small rangefinder like Cartier Bresson sort of experience, like Leica but without selling any organs to raise the funds, also with "shutter priority" mode.

So, if you would please, recommend a camera that has the following features :

1. Inexpensive or cheap
2. Shutter priority
3. Tiny or small
4. Rangefinder or similar

Thank you :)
Craig
Click to expand...

Rigid bodied cameras: Canon Canonet GIII QL-17, Konica Auto S2, Minolta Hi-Matic 7s, Minolta Hi-Matic 9, Olympus RC, Voigtlander Vito BR. Folding cameras: Ansco Speedex Special R, Kodak Retina IIa, IIb, and IIc, Agfa Karat 36 and Karat IV, Balda Super Baldina. There are a lot more, but these are ones that usually won't break the bank and that won't take an advanced engineering degree to restore. Incidentally, of the cameras I have listed, the Ansco Speedex Special R is the only medium format rangefinder I can think of that is both good and cheap.
 
spystyle said:
Hi Fellas,

Well it came in ...

...but I can't get the shutter to open. While I don't know how to operate film cameras I can only assume that when I cock it and press the shutter the "click" should be accompanied by a shutter opened for a fraction of a second.
Click to expand...

Well, you picked one hell of a camera to learn camera repair on.

1. It isn't going to work right without a battery. Since the thing was designed to take PX625 mercury batteries, and since it is now illegal for anyone to make or import them, this presents a problem; it isn't that difficult to solve though. A couple of companies make 625 alkaline batteries that they sell to people who don't know any better. They won't work right (1.5 volts won't work right in a camera meant for 1.35 volts). HOWEVER, you can punch the middle out of the POS alkaline battery, ream it a bit, and you have an adapter that will let you use #675 zinc/air hearing aid batteries -- those WILL work, and they are (relatively speaking) cheap as dirt.

2. Canonets are very susceptible to sticky shutter syndrome. This is what happens when excess oil slowly spreads onto the shutter blades over a period of years and then dries out. The drying lubricant becomes sticky and tar-like and sticks the shutter blades together. The usual solution is to flush or scrub it out of there with naptha.

To do that, you will first need to get a lens wrench with fine tips. A cheap $15 lens wrench from ebay won't do the job, as is, but you can grind the tips down thinner and narrower. Once you have a wrench that works, you remove some lens elements and this gives you access to the shutter blades, which you can then scrub (gently) with naptha on cotton swabs about 50 times (no, I'm not kidding -- 50 times, firing the shutter between each of the swabbings). This should free up the shutter and get the speeds very close to accurate -- well within the acceptable error range.

To get it really accurate you need to get a shutter timer and you need to take the whole thing apart and clean each part individually, by hand. Then you need to lube it, very sparingly, and keeping oil well away from the blades.
 
spystyle said:
I see :)

Well thank you all, I'll probably just get a different rangefinder :)

I'll keep you posted :)
Click to expand...

One thing: ANY inexpensive older rangefinder camera you get -- on ebay or anywhere else -- is going to need to be opened up and cleaned and will need new seals.

If you are going to get another camera from ebay or somewhere similar (a non-overhauled camera), I'd recommend a Konica Auto S or a Konica Auto S2. Those are among the simplest and easiest cameras I know of to clean, lubricate and adjust. They also have Hexanon lenses, which are extremely good.
 
I've got my canonet ql17 up for trade, but id part with it for cash as well , if you're still looking for one send me a message. Mine works flawlessly but i have too many cameras i'm not using.
 
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