A black and white street photographer's first rangefinder?

varjag said:
You are free to do without the wheel, focussing by the lens barrel; it's there, but you ain't obliged to use it :) In fact, you can't use the wheel with 85 and 135 mm lenses.
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Nor the 35mm either... I think only the 50mm uses the body's focus helix and the associated focusing wheel. Other focal lengths have their own focusing helix and thus bypass both the body focusing and the wheel.
 
IIRC you can use them with the wides; they have less tough helicals. My J-12 can be focused with the wheel fairly easy, although I rarely do that.
 
varjag said:
My J-12 can be focused with the wheel fairly easy, although I rarely do that.
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Oops, you're right... I had even tried it to verify I was right, but looking at it again it's just quite stiff. But focusing with the lens definitely turns that wheel! Hadn't noticed that before...
 
varjag said:
IIRC you can use them with the wides; they have less tough helicals. My J-12 can be focused with the wheel fairly easy, although I rarely do that.
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My J-12 stripped the focusing wheel so it spins like a roulette wheel now, so just watch yourself. My j-12 works just fine with the focusing ring on the lens though...and I don't use my 50mm at all on it, so it's okay. I'll fix it this winter sometime.

Bob Clark
 
Well, a properly lubed J-12 is a requirement for that, of course. Any lens with decades old grease would require way too much torque.
 
I'd echo the Canonet (or similar) mentioned by others. Cheap and reliable, a good lens, compact.

I wouldn't echo the need for AE - if you're using a print film, the Sunny-16/Sunny-11 rule will work well for most street situations. Get a basic idea of the light situation, open up as appropriate and then change shutter speeds a stop or two as you feel appropriate. AE is helpful, but not a necessity.
 
Hey Kim. I’ve been watching this thread ~ certainly some interesting input. But back to your original inquiry, Kim, I’d put a vote in on the Z3M. It’s not perfect, not 110% reliable, but mine is reliable enough that I don't worry about it and a heck of a fun shooter. It’s comfortable, has the large VF and yes, it’s totally manual so it's always a good learning experience. Any FSU has it’s own little idiosyncrasies and that’s part of the fun … for me anyway … learning to be comfortable operating each one in diverse situations. Linked with a good Jupiter 8 & 12 (I also enjoy the Orion 15, but they're not as economical as the J8 & 12) I can have a pretty good day out shooting.

As you can see by my sig, I like Zorkis. I like what I like and as I’m sure most here would agree, we don’t feel like we have to justify our choice of equipment to each other. That’s why we’ve all got such great and varied opinions and jump at the chance to share them! (It's also why we're all suffering from chronic GAS attacks!) The popular cry here is ~ “Get whatever trips your trigger.” FSUs can still be found at fairly good prices and if purchased cheap, you can always resell what you don’t like and try something else. The only downside to FSUs is… you can’t just own one!! And I’ve got the ball of imported Yak hair string to prove it! :eek:

Good luck!
 
matt soul said:
Who is Kim?
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HA!! Well, that's a fine "Welcome to RFF" heh? :rolleyes: Sorry matt. Please forgive... That's what happens when one is reading too many threads at once. I'd replied to Kim Coxon in another thread. [I think...? Maybe I didn't. Maybe my name is Kim...] duh. Anyway, I think you'll like the Jupiter 12. Have fun.
 

Check around "Camera Quest" and see if he still has a Bessa T, or even a Bessa L. $199 for a new T and 75 bucks for a new L til they are gone. Then go cheep on a viewfinder and get whatever lense you can at first then save for a second hand or new CV 35 1.7 which is a great inexspensive all around lense.
I totaly disagree on getting a older camera when you dont already have experiance or time to mess around with this type of camera. Old shutters, old electronics, light leaks, fungis, name your own buzzkill on old cameras. Again I disagree about any automated process in street or life photography because its just one more thing that can go wrong with a hard use camera. Simple and new manual shutterd with ttl metering using your head and hands for ajustments is a better solution than old and used electronic shutters and old and battered lightmetering setting the apeture or shutter speeds when it comes to lowbudget rangefinder photograghy. While I tend to disagree I still respect others oppinions on the subject, I wish you well on your new undertaking.
 
"I totaly disagree on getting a older camera when you dont already have experiance or time to mess around with this type of camera."
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Just curious ~ Exactly how does one gain this valuable experience without spending the time actually using said "older camera"? :confused:
 
CVBLZ4 said:
Just curious ~ Exactly how does one gain this valuable experience without spending the time actually using said "older camera"? :confused:
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The question was originaly about a first rangefinder for black and white street photography. This is based on my personal experiance as I have a whole collection of assorted old cameras which I enjoy messing around with but are unreliable and always need tweeking. I dont see how anyone would disagree on a new shutter and light meter verses a 30 year old set for reliability when your on a budget. Then one can get a second inexspensive body and assortment of lenses to experiment with. While some high end camera users have complained about the loud mechanical copal shutter in the Bessa lineup " L,T, R, R2," I have yet to hear one complaint about its reliability or practicality. This cant be said about any of the other cameras mentioned with a price of under $300 U.S. and the L body while new has been advertised for as little as 69.95 and offers the same shutter as in the R and R2 Bessa. Yes it is limeted by not actualy having a rangefinder but a street shooter is ajusting on the fly and shooting from the hip in many cases so having the light meter on the outside of the camera and big viewfinder to use for framing can more than overcome this. The shutter is the single most important piece of gear on a modern camera, A new one is a good place to start.
 
Yes, thank you for reminding me of the original question. I remembered that. I also remembered the later post....
matt soul said:
"...that's why I don't want to dish out the money, even for a Bessa."
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I've only owned a Bessa L and that was for a very short time, but you'll get no argument from me about Bessas being reliable and a really great bang for the buck; one of the best, no doubt.

Not sure how my inquiry got translated into questioning the quality of the Bessas; it wasn't my intention. ...... cheers :)
 
CVBLZ4 said:
Yes, thank you for reminding me of the original question. I remembered that. I also remembered the later post....

I've only owned a Bessa L and that was for a very short time, but you'll get no argument from me about Bessas being reliable and a really great bang for the buck; one of the best, no doubt.

Not sure how my inquiry got translated into questioning the quality of the Bessas; it wasn't my intention. ...... cheers :)
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No worries, I missed the part where a Bessa was to much money. As for myself I wasted mucho cash and time on cameras that didnt work good.
 
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