Which classic rangefinder would you recommend?

KoNickon said:
See my post #32 above and #12 above that. I know we all like Leicas and the other "usual suspects." but he's not asking for advice about them. Let's take him at his word that he's interested in Canon, Leotax and Nicca only. See his post #5.
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Apologies for the thread drift. Let me reframe my answer. I can't recommend the cameras the OP is asking about, as I haven't owned any of them. Kind of like Ko.Fe, after swimming in these waters for several decades, I have made my choices and are comfortable with them. I know folks here have been happy with their Canon RF cameras, particularly the P's and 7's. But if I suddenly came into $500 for a new-to-me 35mm camera and lens, I'd go with [response muffled as our speaker is hustled off, stage right, mumbling in repetition what he said in prior posts in this thread] . . .
 
Ko.Fe. said:
How exactly Leica M series can be serviced?

Well, in USA it is lame and sloppy Leica sales mostly office which sends it all to Germany for service or do they have someone?
Wetzlar service is so-so, comparing to companies making cameras and treating customers not like single use cash cow.

Aside from so-so Leica service here are one and half independent technicians left for USA. One might be on the quit soon and another one is the one - I don't know how to fix it here it goes to the first one.

Canada service is none by now. All are gone. Midland stock of parts (I know from whom it was) went to the number one in USA.

Europe? I'm not sure, is it just Wetzlar (so-so and expensive)?
UK - maybe one company with one year waiting list?

East, Asia ? No idea.

M is way too complicated for service. Nor it is robust and lasting camera for real use (not just taking pictures in leisure mode).

Now lets look at LTMs.
I looked inside of Japanese clones. They were made to be easily serviced. This is why they are larger than Barnacks.
But even Barnack series are much easier on the service comparing to M.
Wanna change RF mirror? It is sold as part on ebay and on-line manual is available.
Curtains, ribbons - easy to buy and here is entire video manual for how to DIY. Impossible with M.

So, if you have pile of money to waste on not much available service and to buy second M (because M service takes month and more) - go ahead.

If you want long lasting device which is serviceable without unique skills and many unique parts - LTM (Japan clones and Barnacks).

Even post-war Contax is made more like a watch and could be serviced by more-less common service and even DIY.
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You forgot the Contax G series. The exception to your last paragraph. Nightmares to have serviced, deep pockets a necessity. A beaut camera, tho', and the lenses, well, wow...
 
There are at least three super-quality independent repair folks, and two good companies beyond them, for Leica M cameras in the USA. Leica USA themselves have also done excellent service for me. Complaining about Leica service seems absurd when you consider other brands, for which there might be ONE service person left world-wide that can do a decent job.

That said, I love the Leica IIc/IIIf generation cameras too. Very nearly bought another recently, but I have too many lovely 1950s generation 35mm cameras already (several Kodak Retina IIc and both Voigtländer Vito II and Vitessa models...). I may yet go for another Leica IIc ... my favorite of that generation ... I had a IIc and IIf once upon a time, both lost to the vicissitudes of time and use.

G
 
I haven't checked lately but the IIf was always a bit of a sleeper, generally selling for less than its more glitzy relatives but often in very good condition.
IIf + coated Elmar + Fison = job done!
 
davidswiss said:
Contax IIa. Very well made, excellent lenses, light and easy to use. Lastly there are still quite a lot of both cameras and lenses available at reasonable prices.
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(y) Definitely. Today, the classic Contax cameras are traded below cost. The exception might be the Contax I from 1932, which is primarily a collector's item.
If you check any Contax body very carefully you might be able to obtain a versatile tool at a reasonable price
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Two classic Contax bodies (for coloured and black-and-white slides) combined with Zeiss 2,8/35, 2/50, 2/85 and 4/135 are my working leightweight cameras to travel with :cool:.

As santino wrote, the viewfinder could be better (it's still on the state of the Contax II from 1936). This is the weak point of the Contax. But there are very good Zeiss Ikon external "Universal" viewfinders. They have a more elaborate optical design than the Leitz "Universal" viewfinders.

It is also attractive to use the uncoated Zeiss lenses from the pre-war period alongside the coated Zeiss lenses. They might produce charming effects in certain lighting situations. Leica photographers are already familiar with this:

Sonnar 50mm.jpg

Dresden railway station 2023, 1937 Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 50mm f2 uncoated, Contax IIa
 
ON a practical note, the IIf was great because though it lacked slow timed shutter speeds, it had flash synchronization. Not that I like to use flash all that much, but it extends the range of the camera. The IIIc is a better pick if you don't plan to use flash so you have access to 1/15 and 1/8 second shutter times. :)

G
 
If you can get a good working Contax l don't hesitate to buy it, because these are rare as hens teeth. I have only once seen a good working Contax l and that camera is now in my collection. It is a Contax l version 3.

gelatin silver print (nikkor 50mm f2) contax l

Amsterdam, 2016

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Better than a Leica lllc is the Leica lll. A Leica lll is also better than a Leica llla. Repairing a lllc is very difficult because of the top plate. This top plate is in one piece. Go figure.

The IIIa has a top speed of 1/1000. This fact causes often problems when the shutter is repaired, unless you have a great Leica-repairman. A Leica lll has a top speed of 1/500 wich is the normal top speed of that generation cameras. In practice, 1/1000 is of no use. Joseph Goebbels wanted the 1/1000 on the Leica to gouge out the eyes of the foreign photojournalists who came to watch the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936.
 
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DownUnder said:
You forgot the Contax G series. The exception to your last paragraph. Nightmares to have serviced, deep pockets a necessity. A beaut camera, tho', and the lenses, well, wow...
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G is not a rangefinder. How could I forgot something which has nothing to do with rangefinder cameras.... :) Not sure about beaut. Looks bessarish to me.
 
You are right. The G series does not belong in a Contax RF discussion. Having said that, the Contax G 1 and G2 are marvelous modern RF sort of cameras. I had a G2 years ago and sold it when digitals finally improved beyond 10 megapixels. Recently I returned t film even though I still shoot digital. Among my favorite film cameras is a gem of a Contax G1. Smaller that the G2, slower to operate and the VF is not as bright as the G2. Still a great camera if you want a fast on the go automatic/ manual operation at you choice and the best lenses ever conceived by Zeiss or anyone else. So, even though it is not a real Contax, don't knock it. It is a great and vastly under rated camera.

Just to remain a purist for this site and thread, I recently bought a completely overhauled 1938 Contax II that looks and responds like a brand new camera. And it has no "Zeiss bumps" in the morrocan leather covering. It has its quirks, but it is nice to shoot and is nearly as old as am I.:)
 
Erik van Straten said:
Better than a Leica lllc is the Leica lll. A Leica lll is also better than a Leica llla. Repairing a lllc is very difficult because of the top plate. This top plate is in one piece. Go figure.
[...]
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I don't usually do camera repair myself, I find a qualified tech to do it. But, remembering how much I liked my old IIf and IIc, I poked around and found a reasonably priced IIIc in very nice shape and bought it. I fitted an Elmar 5.0cm f/3.5 and a modern Voigtländer clip on meter, along with a cord neckstrap...


Leica IIIc fitted with Elmar 5.0cm f/3.5​

Just finished processing the roll of Delta 400 I ran through it: everything seems to be working beautifully. And I really love shooting with these cameras...

G
 
Erik van Straten said:
The IIIa has a top speed of 1/1000. This fact causes often problems when the shutter is repaired, unless you are a great Leica-repairman. A Leica lll has a top speed of 1/500 wich is the normal top speed of that generation cameras. In practice, 1/1000 is of no use. Joseph Goebbels wanted the 1/1000 on the Leica to gouge out the eyes of the foreign photojournalists who came to watch the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936.
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When Calumet made and marketed their shutter speed tester, I bought one (boxy plastic thing with a 9V battery) in the 1990's. No mechanical camera I owned with a 1/1000 shutter speed marked on the dial actually had one. Pentax K1000, Leica M3, Leica M4P, Leica M6, Nikon FM2 . . all had top speeds around 1/750 and no two exposures on the same camera measured exactly the same. I came to the conclusion, that it didn't matter. And went and made more photographs. Film photography did have a wonderful inexactitude to it. Within a 1/3 of a stop and you could always produce a printable negative. "Ansel Adams Perfect?" No, but then his weren't either. ;)
 
I'm all Leica but for a Canon P (which finder I hate--too tight for me, never for glasses) but if I were responding to this thread I'd recommend a Tower 35 Leica copy. There are a couple on Ebay right now. It's just a Nicca, but they're cheap and easy to find, and I love the Sears Roebuck connection. I saw 10 of them on Ebay before I got tired of paging down.

Check out the Tower 24 and the 22 while you're scrolling--an Alpa copy by Pentax sold by Sears! Has WL-SLR AND VF bits for the worst of everything.

I never use a meter, so shutter speed accuracy is only a theoretical thing for me :) A funny statement given how many nice meters I own, but I just hate lugging one around.
 
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