Is There Really Such a Thing as a Pocketable Camera?

[Huss]

Olympus XA is huge. I use a Rollei A110.
Forget pocketability.
If you cant put a camera in a body cavity, its too big to take with you.

 

[FujiLove]

Minox cameras don't use 110. You can cut down 35mm to reload their cassettes pretty easily. I shoot a Minox B from time to time, great fun.

Shawn

I don't know why I assumed they use 110 film, other than the shape of the camera being similar to a 110 cassette!

 

[markjwyatt]

Minox cameras don't use 110. You can cut down 35mm to reload their cassettes pretty easily. I shoot a Minox B from time to time, great fun.

Shawn

I have half a Minox B (I need the part that contains the back and meter).Still does not take half pictures though!

 

[benlees]

If you live in a cold place then one of the nice things about winter (and if you have a decent coat) some cameras are indeed pocket-able. A Ricoh gr1 and/or grdiii used to live in my winter coat.

 

[presspass]

Lets look at this the other way. Maybe we need to choose clothing with pockets that suit the cameras we carry. Maybe some day I will find a coat with a big enough pocket to fit my F3/MD4/firing rate converter camera with its mounted 400 2.8 ais lens.

 

[JoeV]

A brass swivel clasp lanyard fitted to one's belt is a darned handy place to quickly attach the wrist strap, when needing both hands free.

 

[jawarden]

I had an enjoyable chilly walk in Philly last weekend with a friend. I carried my Hasselblad on its strap, and in my coat pocket was my Holga, which is pocketable in the winter and so light I don't notice it. Great fun, too.

 

[retinax]

There are few truly pocketable AND capable cameras, sure. And I've felt silly for bringing a camera that was pocketable, only to find it lacking for what I wanted to shoot. Just like I've occasionally felt silly for bringing a full sized camera when when there turned out to be nothing to shoot or it got in the way somehow.

That's precisely why truly pocketable AND capable cameras are a big deal. I loved the GR for slipping into a pocket AND delivering everything really needed (except a longer lens from time to time). Extreme case for me is when traveling, meeting locals and going from taking photos to being less of a foreign intruder behind a big glass eye, effortlessly.

 

[jawarden]

That's precisely why truly pocketable AND capable cameras are a big deal. I loved the GR for slipping into a pocket AND delivering everything really needed (except a longer lens from time to time). Extreme case for me is when traveling, meeting locals and going from taking photos to being less of a foreign intruder behind a big glass eye, effortlessly.

That's exactly why the Contax T has caught my eye. Excellent quality lens and it's pocketable too.

 

[karateisland]

I agree with the spirit of the OP--I started buying Fuji cameras because they were small and "pocketable," but wore it on a strap almost all the time. Then I bought a Rolleiflex when I got into film and realized that the MF TLR was no more cumbersome to wear on a strap than the Fujis were, and all bets were off!

Now, my only real consideration is whether the camera/lens/film kit takes up too much space when I'm traveling.

 

[markjwyatt]

...

Now, my only real consideration is whether the camera/lens/film kit takes up too much space when I'm traveling.

Another issue is if you fly, you have to get film/loaded-cameras hand checked (I do at least; don't want my film x-rayed).

 

[wwfloyd]

You can carry a camera that's too big for a pocket and too small for traditional strap. There are neck lanyards that are kind of like long wrist straps -- attach to one camera lug, often adjustable, sometimes with quick release fasteners. I have a handful that were made by Hakuba 12-15 years ago.

 

[zuiko85]

All you've done Nick is get everyone to comment about their personal preference. Which may not be your personal preference. So what. Anyway, 'pocketable', as we have seen means very different things to different folks. Again, so what. If the next guy (or gal) wants to stuff their Nikon F with a unmetered prism and a 45mm GN Nikkor in a cargo pocket it's no skin off mine (or anyone else's) nose.
In short, you can, and do, what you like. And all the other folks can do what they like.

As an aside, I sometimes carry a Pen F (film, of course) and the 25mm f4, while a bit slow, is a nice compact lens. I'd like to have the 38mm f2.8 pancake, but those are too rare and expensive for this cheapskate. This combo is easy to fit in a cargo vest pocket and I use no strap at all when I do want to travel light. But other times I'll use a strap on the same camera.

 

[Pioneer]

It would appear that you do not like to carry cameras in your pocket.

I frequently carry a Leica III with Elmar in my shirt pocket, though my shirt does sag a little from the additional weight.

Additionally, I frequently wear a vest and I own several cameras that will easily fit in my vest pocket, including but certainly no limited to, my Lomo LC-A 120.

My Leica M-A and my Zeiss Ikon easily fit into my jacket pocket assuming I am using a small enough lens. My Cron collapsible or ZM Sonnar fits easily, my Summilux 50 not so easily. In fact I am carrying the Zeiss Ikon with Color Skopar 35 to a basketball game this evening and it will ride in my jacket pocket. I will also be packing a few extra rolls of film, 2 extra lenses (a 90 and a 50), all in my pockets.

I do own a couple of camera bags but they are used more like storage locations for gear I am not currently using. However I do pack my Pentax 645Nii and some lenses around in a large camera bag. That gear is certainly far too large to put in any of my pockets, even in my Parka. 😀

I don't own any pants with cargo pockets so I have no idea what I could carry if I wore those. Hmmm...I wonder if the Pentax would fit in those??

 

[Dante_Stella]

Try the DxO One. It's half the size of a Rollei 35 and a third the size of an "ultracompact" 35mm p/s.

 

[Ted Striker]

My Fuji GA645 camera fits in my jacket pocket. It's a great travel camera during jacket season.

 

[jsrockit]

My GR is in my jeans pocket right now.

Either you have huge and baggy jeans, or it is bulging out and uncomfortable. I agree with Nick. That said, I did used to carry the GR in the inside pocket of my jacket and that was completely transparent and easy. To me, that is what I mean when I say pocket-able. Unfortunately, that is only for certain times of the year. Anything heavier than a GR tends to swing in your pocket and that is uncomfortable IMO. So, sure, fit your speed graphic in your special pocket... but just because it can fit doesn`t mean it is practical. Practicality is what Nick is talking about.

 

[Pioneer]

Olympus XA is huge. I use a Rollei A110.
Forget pocketability.
If you cant put a camera in a body cavity, its too big to take with you.

Since I am not into shoving cameras into my body cavities the Leica III is more than small enough for me. 😀

 

[David Hughes]

We can't get the film these days but the top of the range APS cameras were truly pocketable and had decent lenses. That made me think of the Contax Tix and wonder about the 35mm Contax P&S sized ones. And there was the Leica mini and so on. But I'm mostly using the XA2...

Regards, David


PS Our great great grandfathers were better off, there was the Ensignette by Houghton.

 

[splitimageview]

how big is a pocket?