The ideal camera

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Brian Legge

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I'm relatively new to rangefinders. Over the last few months, I've become more attracted to them and more interested in street photography. I feel a bit like I'm trying to catch up on 60+ years of camera knowledge while looking for the right camera for me.

I value:
- A compact camera. My first rangefinder was a Canonet 17 GIII; its size was one of the draws over my SLRs. The GSN for example feels too large (and the Lynx 14 very large)
- A quiet camera. Doing more street photography, I don't want to disrupt the moment. I tried doing a bit with a Nikon FG (my smallest Nikon body) but the sound of the shutter tended to interfere.
- A wide angle lens and a fast lens. I've found that I like shooting between 28-40mm. I also usually am short on light. These don't have to be the same lens.
- Ideally unified focus/finder.
- Fantasy would be aperture priority but that rules out too many cameras.
- I'm cheap. 😉

The best fitting camera for me seems like it might be the CL/CLE, maybe the Hexar? For those who have handled more cameras, any others I might be interested in?

I've been playing mostly with fixed lens cameras (Canonet 17, Lynx 14, Olympus 35DC and XA). I also picked up a Leica IIIc. Maybe the right solution is to simply use a couple of different cameras depending on the situation - the Leica/J12 for wide angle, the Lynx for low light, the others for automatic functionality/compactness - but I have a hard time ignoring the 'there must be something better' feeling. Maybe I could drop the Lynx for a fast lens on the IIIc if I could find a decent one around $100. The J3 seems like the best bet but I don't want to roll the dice too many times trying to find a good one.
 
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The Nikon 35Ti (titanium body) has AE priority, 35mm F2.8 AF and is decent.
Mine is a sharp camera.
Now they cost about $300 used.
They cost $1000 new.

They also made a Nikon 28Ti, but they are super expensive.

No filters though as the lens retracts and is not threaded.
Also they only have a wrist strap.

The Minolta hi-matics are sharp and cheap, 38mm F2.8.
No controls. Its point and shoot.
I have 3 nice ones I bought on _bay for $10-12 each. I like the AF-2 model.

They made several models. I think the AF-M is motorized. The af-2 has a lever to advance the film.

The Fuji Natura-S has a 24mm lens and is very sharp, and too expensive now
for me.

I had one super sharp contax TVS II (28mm-54mm) and one that was not so sharp.
I am thinking about looking for another one, sometime soon.

Right now I shoot mostly with the hi-matics.

I have a plastic Ricoh 38mm F2.8 I bought for $8 that is as sharp as anything else I own.

Other than that, you might have to go to the Contax G2 and removable lenses, but its expensive.

I used to have a hexar and it was nice too.

I think carrying 2-3 small bodies makes a lot of sense.

Maybe like one AF autowind like the TI, another that can take filters like the hi-matic, and maybe a 28mm camera like a oly XA4, 28Ti, or a natura S.
 
Thanks for the recommendations. That is confirming my suspicion - that multiple cheaper cameras may make most sense for my needs.

I'll continue keeping an eye out for the Nikon 35Ti. I'd like to handle one before putting down that much money and I actually stumbled across one yet.

I thought I had deal on a Hi Matic 7sII but it fungus on the inside element. Handling it taught me how much I like the little nub on the bottom of the aperture ring - makes it much simpler to change. I'll definitely keep an eye out for one.

Hmm. Lots to think about, particularly on the wide side. 🙂
 
most of started with fixed lens rangefinders and were very happy...until trying something more sophisticated and where a second lens could be added.

small is good but too small is over rated in my book. i prefer to have a kit with a body and maybe 3 lenses.

for your needs, a fast 28 or fast 40 sounds like a good start. cv makes both.
one of the cv bodies would be a great platform in which to show case the lens/es.
i can't recall which, the r3 or r2 has 40mm framelines.
 
I've faced this same dilemma. For now, I'm using a Yashica GX (similar to the GSN but smaller and with a 40/1.7 lens). Its aperture priority, small, has a great lens and is relatively cheap. The only downsides to the camera that I can see is the 1/500s top shutter and no manual override.

Ultimately, I think my ideal camera would be something like the Minolta CLE with the CV 40/1.4. Same strengths as the GX, but more versatile (interchangeable lenses and manual exposure).
 
90% of what I shoot is with a IIIf & a Summitar 50/2.
9% is with a FTbN and a 50/1.8
1% is with everything else.

Find something that you like, that feels good and/or looks good and just use it. Carry it everywhere and don't fuss with anything else. The perfect camera is the one in your hand.

William
 
Konica Hexar.
The original fixed lens autofocus one, not the new M mount RF (even though the Hexar RF is fantastic). The black Hexar is so quiet in silent mode, the only way you'll know you took a photo is when the framelines return to their default setting in the viewfinder.
I sold mine to buy my first Leica. Now that I've owned 3 m bodies and a Barnack, it's the one camera above all the many I've used in the last 15 years that I wish I had kept.

Phil Forrest
 
Haha, thats sort of how I started, though I was focused on single cheap cameras to fill certain rolls.

It started off as:
F4s = Serious work, dedicated photography
Canonet 17 = Street photography, easy to carry, etc.
Rolleicord = Different DoF, higher quality.

...then specialization kicked in...

A Lynx 14 for low light work (hey, it was cheaper than a 1.4 Nikon lens)
A Leica IIIc as an experiment in flexibility in a smaller package.
A Nikon FG as an experiment in aperture priority street photography.
A SQ-A for MF flexibility (probably my most questionable purchase - I still only have a single lense for it and the size of the camera makes it one of my least used)
A Zenobia as a compact, go anywhere medium format camera.

Other purchases have been opportunistic impulse buys or cameras I thought might fill a roll better than others. Most of those duplicates are cameras I'll sell at some point once I know what doesn't get regular use.

The biggest feeling is that there is a bunch of duplication at the street photography/compact camera level but that different cameras serve slightly different rolls. Ideally, a single system camera would replace several for portability reasons, but I think that is asking too much in the end.
 
I think you're right. Long term, I'll probably try to find opportunities to spend time with the CLE/Hexar/R3A if i find people with them. Given the cost, I'm not in a rush, but I have a feeling that one of those three have the best shots at being fits.
 
The ideal camera? It is the size of a Leica M, shoots 4x5 roll film, has a 75-360 zoom, gets 100mpg, plays music, and walks the dog.

Which reminds me - I miss my big dog. Great Pyrenees. He used to be my back-packer in the Winter.
 
Pico said:
The ideal camera? It is the size of a Leica M, shoots 4x5 roll film, has a 75-360 zoom, gets 100mpg, plays music, and walks the dog.
Click to expand...

Make mine a 5x7 (min. size for contact prints). It would be to cameras what the 'Homer' is to cars - everything, all at once:

800px-the_homer_by_carlos_bisquertt.jpg


But, if I had to have one camera... it'd be an M9 with a wild wide, a 50 and a 90.
 
Oh boy, best to get a leica m and a 28mm and a 50mm. You won't be satisfied until you do and will save money and time by not buying and shopping for less satisfactory gear.
 
The perfect camera for any situation, should be small and with a wide and a tele... I think it would have to be a RF... And if I had to pick just one for the rest of my life, I think it would be a film, manual camera, and with AE too... I don't own one like that, by the way...

Cheers,

Juan
 
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