A light rangefinder-to-go: suggestions?

[Whateverist]

Come the summer I'd like to take pictures at a few events, particularly at one outdoors music festival. The problem is that there are strict limitations on what sort of items you can bring onto the festival; the only cameras allowed are "pocket or disposable" and even then only when they're light and small. This is a problem, since most my rangefinders are metal and can probably double as clubs in an emergency.

So what I am looking for is a 35mm rangefinder camera, small enough to pass as a compact, with a decent lens, preferably plastic or at least light enough to pass for plastic, at a price that won't make it disastrous if it's lost or broken (not that I plan to lose or break it, mind). Bonus points for cameras that have a fully manual mode and can work without batteries. I'll be happy if it reliably takes decent pictures.

So far I've found the Minolta Hi-Matic 9, as well as the less affordable alternatives like the Olympus 35RC, but I'd really appreciate any other suggestions.

 

[ruby.monkey]

The Olympus XA seems to be the classic pocket rangefinder.

 

[Uwe_Nds]

Vivitar 35 ES aka Revue 400 SE.

Cheers,
Uwe

 

[Muggins]

How about the later Ricoh 500s like the ME and the G? Small, weigh diddley-squat, and a very good lens.
eg http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Ricoh_500GX

You'd need a separate meter or a wein cell, though, as they were designed for mercury cells.

Adrian

 

[Merkin]

Your best bet is definitely the olympus xa, or an xa4 if you can find one, although they are more expensive. It looks like some utterly crappy point and shoot, but has good glass and decent controls. Then again, if the music festival you are attending is much like any music festival i have ever been to, if people can smuggle drugs in, you could probably smuggle a speed graphic in and have no problems 😉

 

[Whateverist]

The one thing stopping me from getting an XA is that it looks like it only has an automatic mode, and that you can at best fudge manual overrides by fiddling with the film speed setting. Now, if the camera works fine, that's no real issue for me, but I'd rather have a camera that doesn't rely on a working or accurate light meter. The Ricoh looks good in that respect...

Then again, if the music festival you are attending is much like any music festival i have ever been to, if people can smuggle drugs in, you could probably smuggle a speed graphic in and have no problems

😀

It's Werchter, and the last time I was there they did pay attention to what people brought in (or at least they paid attention to the big and bulky stuff).

That does make wonder though, a 120 folder folds down to something pretty small...

 

[Merkin]

the original xa is aperture priority instead of full auto, but yes, it does rely on batteries, but what you lose in bomb-proofness, you gain in pure stealth. If you get a good example, test it before you go, and be sure to put the camera away after the tenth beer, you shouldn't have any problems. If you really need something more manual, what about those little rolleis or minoxes (not the submini ones, the ones with the collapsible lens and the flap)? A lot of the fixed lens rangefinders are surprisingly large. Alternately, you could go with a fed or zorki with a collapsible industrar, or even a Leica CL, which is significantly smaller than most of the fixed lens rangefinders, and works just fine without a battery.

 

[mr_phillip]

My first thought was an Olly XA - it's the closest thing to an invisible camera I've found. The original XA is aperture priority with a proper coupled rangefinder. The XA2 is the full auto one with zone focusing.

I also found that the Minolta CLE was generally dismissed by onlookers as either a point and shoot or a compact digital, and I was able to carry on using it in situations where people with SLRs were being stopped.

 

[Whateverist]

I have a Zorki with an I-22, but it's a bit too precious to me to bring along. The size is right but I'd rather branch out a bit.

Do you mean the Minox 35 range? I always thought the doors looked like they were about to fall off. How are they to shoot with?

The CL... in a heartbeat, of course, but $200 for just the body is steep. Maybe someday. Right now I'm looking for something closer to $50, maybe $100 tops. Really a grab-it-and-go, take-anywhere sort of camera.

EDIT: I'm having some trouble finding Ricoh 500GX's online - are they hard to find, or am I doing it wrong?

 

[Merkin]

I have never shot with the minox 35, and i agree that the door looks incredibly flimsy, but i met a guy with one a while back and he said the optics were great. Take that with as many grains of salt as you feel is healthy for your blood pressure.

 

[mr_phillip]

You could also think about a Voigtländer VF135 (also sold as the Rollei XF35 with slightly different styling). It's auto-exposure but has a wonderful little lens on it. It's also solidly built but light, and can be found for pennies.

 

[Whateverist]

Come to think of it, what be a good source to find these cameras? EBay? Are there online stores that specialize in this?

 

[Merkin]

Come to think of it, what be a good source to find these cameras? EBay? Are there online stores that specialize in this?

Personally, when I am hunting for gear, i use a combination of KEH, local shops, the classifieds here, and the used departments of b&h and adorama. I am a bit ebayphobic.

 

[sevo]

The Minolta Himatic F is the lightest all manual mode one among my fixed-lens compact rangefinders.

 

[Krosya]

Canon GIII Canonet Ql-17 is a great camera with great lens easy to find and not expensive.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim has a following, I know photographers producing some good stuff with this little 21mm lens camera. Budget for new about $5-$10.

Upmarket, ffordes of Scotland recently had some refurbished Olympus mju-V's for about $100, but only from their eBay store, not the main online shop.

 

[btgc]

Small and light (relatively) RF's very often don't have DOF scale. Of course, one can figure out DOF without scale, though I like having it, especially on rangefinder. But this is only me; YMMV.

 

[kazeonrff]

How about a rollei 35?

You could put in your pants i think it would still pass off as a reasonable hard-on.
😀

 

[Bingley]

Another vote for the Canonet QL17 GIII. Not expensive, well constructed, very nice 40mm lens, and you can shoot it in fully manual or shutter-priority mode. And its reasonably compact (about the same size as a Hi-Matic or Leica CL).

The XA is also outstanding as a pocket/stealth cam, as others above have said. It's for your jeans pocket. Nice lens on it, too.

 

[raid]

Another vote for the Canonet QL17 GIII.

I saw one for sale a few days ago ($45). Is this a good price for a clean copy?