Capable compacts for the discerning film shooter

[Murchu]

Hi,

Just wondering what capable film compacts are out there that one should be aware of. The Contax T series, Ricoh GR series, and the Nikon 28 & 35 Ti's spring to mind, but really do not know too much of the landscape of film compacts.

Any thoughts or feedback welcome

 

[FrankS]

For mechanical compacts, I have the Rollei 35T, 35S, and Retina lla.
For electronic compacts I have a Rollei AF35M. The Contax Tvs is a great zoom lens electronic compact.

 

[nightfly]

Yashica t4. Not much control but wonderful lens. Olympus XA.

 

[keytarjunkie]

The ones that spring to mind that you're missing from that list are the Olympus Stylus Epic, Yashica T4/T5, and Fuji Klasse series. If you're willing to go a little bigger, the Contax G series and Konica Hexar AF act like point-and-shoots but offer nice advantages. Even bigger will get you the Fuji 645 autofocus cameras, which are medium format point-and-shoots.

 

[Paddy C]

The Contax T3 is the one camera I do regret selling. Not enough to buy another one at the prices they command, but enough to consider it every so often.

 

[thegman]

If you can find one, Yasuhara T012, never even seen one in the flesh, but it looks quite interesting. Fujifilm Klasse is very nice, the Natura looks cool too, but less manual control I believe.

 

[ottluuk]

Minolta TC-1. Rare and expensive, though.

 

[Murchu]

Any relatively inexpensive options/ best buys in this category by the way?

A small capable compact is not something I would mind on occasion, especially to designate as the 'colour' camera for the odd few rolls of colour I would shoot every now and again, but don't want to drop €300/ €400/ €500 to scratch such a minor itch.

I have and like a Rollei 35T, but I would enjoy something other than scale focus in such a camera. The XA would be a nice option, but for the fact I found the similar shutter release on an XA2 to require more than one press to trip the shutter on occasion, something I did not like in the design at all.

 

[Greyscale]

Any relatively inexpensive options/ best buys in this category by the way?

Lots of cheaper options. Off the top of my head, any of these will serve you well.

Nikon L35AF, L35AF2 (One Touch), Lite Touch/AF600

Canon ML, MC, Classic 120, and many others from the Sure Shot line

Pentax PC35AF, Espio/IQZoom 928, 90MC

Konica Lexio 70

Ricoh FF70/FF90, FF35AF, Big Mini

Rollei Prego series

and many, many more from Fuji, Chinon, Samsung, etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greyscale3/collections/72157625428641704/

 

[Mablo]

Olympus Mju II (Stylus Epic in US) is inexpensive and gives you great results.

 

[steveniphoto]

i personally use a yashica t4 and olympus mju. great compacts and cheaper than contax t/ricoh gr /fuji klasse. no manual control though.

 

[Shutterspark]

Big fan of the Klasse W, but it's rather expensive and not as fun as a mechanical compact.

 

[btgc]

Let's first define capable compact - does it have direct control over aperture or speed? This class is rather small. Only then there is reason to dive into ocean of fully-AE compacts. AF or MF? Range of speeds? Some very good cameras don't fit the bill because of requirements. Not all cameras are same, not all people shoot same scenes in same way.

 

[Pentudlian]

Olympus 35RC, Rollei B35 and Ricoh 500G.

 

[Murchu]

Let's first define capable compact - does it have direct control over aperture or speed? This class is rather small. Only then there is reason to dive into ocean of fully-AE compacts. AF or MF? Range of speeds? Some very good cameras don't fit the bill because of requirements. Not all cameras are same, not all people shoot same scenes in same way.

All noted, and to be honest, why I kept the thread title deliberately vague. Rather than dive into definitions, am more curious as to what photographers here use, or consider capable compacts for their usage. Consider it a thinking out loud exercise, although if people want to add why they like/ consider the cameras they note, in such a good light, am sure that will be welcome, helpful information 🙂

 

[matt_mcg2]

I've used and had excellent results with the Rollei AFM35 [same as the original Fuji Klasse] and Konica Hexar AF. The latter is fairly large. I'd happily use either of these as a sole camera on a trip, as both produce consistently sharp well-metered images, and offer the right degree of manual control.

I've also used and had very good, but less consistently stellar than the first two, results with the Olympus mju-II, Olympus XA, Ricoh R10, and Minolta Freedom Zoom Explorer (aka 70 or 75W) among others. The mju produces very good results [although not as good as the Rollei/Klasse or the Hexar] but offers almost no manual control at all.

 

[zuiko85]

Psychologically I can't like cameras that don't have full independent manual control over shutter speed and aperture, at least as an option.

So....that being said my recommendation would be;

Olympus 35RC
Olympus 35SP
Canon GIII QL17
Minolta HiMatic 7sII
Ricoh 500G (already mentioned and a "sleeper")

There are more from the 1970's, cannot think of all of them now.

If you don't mind handling a larger camera then;

Minolta HiMatic 7 or HiMatic 9

All of these have superimposed image rangefinder focusing and will operate even without a battery. They are, or course getting along in years so finding one that is fully functional dictates a careful search. Many use outdated and unavailable mercury batteries for the meter. My personal experience with the Olympus 35RC and Canon GIII is that #675 zinc air batteries perform well, are cheap in 12 packs and last at least 3 months after activation.

Repair, cleaning;

All of these have leaf shutters. Sitting unused for years usually results in a pristine camera with a inoperative shutter. You have to decide if paying $100+ for cleaning and putting the camera back in service is worth it for your use. If you get a really good deal on a very clean camera that only needs a cleaning then that option might be viable. At the same time the insides of the range/viewfinder will be cleaned and that can make a real difference in the view.

Of course, my personal hang up's regarding auto only cameras are not intended to limit your selection.