RF recommendation for a newbie to exposures and film

[PictureThis]

My daughter who has been raised on DSLRs wants to get an affordable rangefinder. She has just started using my Nikon FE2 and we’ve been going over how exposure works. She can always fall back on auto with that camera.

The features she would like
- smaller 35mm
- good quality but not Leica $
- maybe an aperture priority auto
- cool vintage look and feel
- built in view finder, rangefinder, parallax
- built in meter? Doesn’t want to carry a meter …be right back… of course! There are mobile apps for that!

I was initially thinking of the Bessa R but heard it’s made of plastic and cheap feeling. Anyone confirm or debunk that?

 

[steveyork]

Most non-Leica rangefinders predate the era of built-in meters. The only one I can think of that is not a Leica, modern Voigtlander or Zeiss Ikon is the Canon 7, but that's on the bigger side. Check out the classic camera profiles on the cameraquest website. Lot of good info there in one location.

 

[Mackinaw]

If she doesn't need interchangeable lenses, something like a Canonet G-III may do.

Jim B.

 

[Out to Lunch]

not Leica $

Your budget?

 

[Beemermark]

Olympus 35-SP

Olympus SP

 

[Freakscene]

Do you mean your daughter wants parallax or wants parallax correction? The Konica IIIA and IIIm are about the only 35mm rangefinders with proper parallax correction, but they don’t have meters.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

The Olympus 35 RC is a great little rangefinder. Very sharp 42mm f/2.8 lens, shutter priority auto exposure, aperture and shutter speed indicators in the viewfinder, and the shutter speed controlled by a dial on the top like God and Oskar Barnack intended. You can get one for less than $200 on the auction site. Ken Rockwell has a good review of this camera.

 

[PictureThis]

Your budget?

I was hoping around $350 or less with a lens

 

[PictureThis]

Most non-Leica rangefinders predate the era of built-in meters. The only one I can think of that is not a Leica, modern Voigtlander or Zeiss Ikon is the Canon 7, but that's on the bigger side. Check out the classic camera profiles on the cameraquest website. Lot of good info there in one location.

Thanks I will check that out

 

[PictureThis]

Do you mean your daughter wants parallax or wants parallax correction? The Konica IIIA and IIIm are about the only 35mm rangefinders with proper parallax correction, but they don’t have meters.

She like doing closeups sometimes - not necessarily macro but close enough where parallax would be a problem. She has a fuji polaroid and it took a bit of explanation of why the flower was not in the print. My Fuji GL690 compensates as you focus.

 

[PictureThis]

I think not having a built in meter wouldn't be a deal breaker given that her phone could be the meter. Was reading that the old selenium cell type go bad anyway. I will look at the Konica, Olympus etc.

She played with a Kodak Retina iiic and liked it - fast 50mm f2 and cool folding door. Supposed to be a good camera too. Also looking at the Nikon S / S2 and Canon P. Very nice looking but never held one. We went to a camera show last weekend in Newark, CA and got to play with a few different ones, but much smaller show than I am used to - but its been a long while.

 

[rbiemer]

The Bessa R was my primary 35mm film camera for a long time. It was not cheap feeling but it did have plenty of plastic.
If interchangeable lenses are not a priority, there are lots of good possibilities. Working condition is, in my view, more important than specific brand.
I will suggest avoiding cameras that require mercury batteries. They are not inherently bad but they can be fiddly or expensive to use with modern batteries.

 

[Dayrell bishop]

Konica autos2.

 

[Tim Murphy]

My daughter who has been raised on DSLRs wants to get an affordable rangefinder. She has just started using my Nikon FE2 and we’ve been going over how exposure works. She can always fall back on auto with that camera.

The features she would like
- smaller 35mm
- good quality but not Leica $
- maybe an aperture priority auto
- cool vintage look and feel
- built in view finder, rangefinder, parallax
- built in meter? Doesn’t want to carry a meter …be right back… of course! There are mobile apps for that!

I was initially thinking of the Bessa R but heard it’s made of plastic and cheap feeling. Anyone confirm or debunk that?

Dear PictureThis,

As an owner of a Bessa R bought second hand, I'll second the recommendation of rbiemer. Yes, it is mostly plastic, but I'm still using a plastic Canon EOS Elan bought new in 1993, so plastic doesn't scare me. 😉

I also have a Canon 7 that I use. I enjoy using the Bessa and the Canon but actually prefer the Bessa R for the 1/2000 top shutter speed simply because it offers a bit more versatility when I have ISO 400 speed film on hand. In addition, it is considerably lighter in weight while still being comfortable to me to hold and use.

If your daughter doesn't need the ability to change lenses there are dozens of worthwhile 35mm rangefinders to consider. I have several fixed lens rangefinders that I would recommend with the caveat being that it must be in serviceable condition, or she is willing to bear the expense of a service.

Here is the short list.

Canonet 28 or GIII 1.7

Minolta Hi-Matic 7

Yashsica GSN

Vivitar 35EE

And last but by no means least, a Kodak Retina IIa or IIIc, big or little C is of little consequence. They are however fully manual cameras but the III versions do have a light meter. My IIIc has a meter that works just fine.

Good luck in the search, there are other worthwhile candidates to consider for sure!

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂