Any famous photographers that used fixed lens rangefinder?

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Danlo

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Yea, thats the question.. All you see and read about are the ones who used Leica, but there must have been some who rebelled against the "if you dont shoot leica, your not a real photographer" thing..? Or?
 
Danlo said:
Yea, thats the question.. All you see and read about are the ones who used Leica, but there must have been some who rebelled against the "if you dont shoot leica, your not a real photographer" thing..? Or?
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First, no, there are plenty who used other interchangeable-lens cameras: Contax, Nikon and even Foca. Probably Canon too but I can't think of them off-hand.

Second, who would care? Famous photographers are famous for their pictures, not their equipment. They didn't/don't define themselves by using or not using any particular kind of camera.

Third, high-end interchangeable-lens cameras were designed to withstand heavy use. Many fixed-lens RFs weren't. There were times when "famous photographers" used semi-disposable fixed lens RFs, but only in special circumstances -- such as Bailey with his Olympus Trip.

Cheers,

R.
 
Danlo said:
Why could not a fixed lens rangefinder withstand heavy use?
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If it is well enough made, it can. Most were not well enough made. They were designed for a few hundred rolls of film and a sheltered life. Towards the end of mass-market film cameras, some would have worn out in 100 rolls or so: I was told this by designers. Making a robust rangefinder costs money, too. Probably the best, such as Konicas, could have stood professional use.

More to the point, though, why would someone choose (let us say) a Ricoh or a Samoca over a better camera? As I say, a "famous photographer" is concerned with getting the pictures, rather than with playing with cameras. What would be the advantages of a fixed-lens rangefinder over (say) a second-hand Leica? "Famous photographers" don't buy cameras to prove points: they buy them to take pictures.

Turn the question around. Why did Leica never make a fixed-lens M-series? Or Nikon a fixed-lens S-series? Because once you've made a full-feature RF camera, there's no advantage in making it fixed lens. Even if the camera is used only with one lens, all its life, different photographers may want different lenses: faster, smaller, longer, shorter...

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger's right.

In fact, I can think of only three examples where a manufacturer has made a fixed lens variant of a pro-level, interchangeable lens camera and two of them are roll-film: Fuji's 690 "Texas Leica" series, which went from interchangeable to a series of fixed lens versions; Hasselblad's Superwide derivative of the V series and the Zeiss Hologon, based on a de-mirrored Contarex chassis.
 
Sejanus.Aelianus said:
Roger's right.

In fact, I can think of only three examples where a manufacturer has made a fixed lens variant of a pro-level, interchangeable lens camera and two of them are roll-film: Fuji's 690 "Texas Leica" series, which went from interchangeable to a series of fixed lens versions; Hasselblad's Superwide derivative of the V series and the Zeiss Hologon, based on a de-mirrored Contarex chassis.
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And both the SW and the Hologon were made that way because of the need for extreme precision when mounting ultra-wide lenses, plus the fact there was no room for a mirror: the back of the lens was too close to the film plane. I'd forgotten about the Texas Leica: thanks.

Cheers,

R.
 
Contemporary:
Wim Wenders - Plaubel Makina and Bessa III.
Dan Milnor - GF670 (in addition to his Leicas)
Ragnar Axelsson - Mamiya...though with exchangable lenses - besides his Leica.
 
Rogers analysis makes sense. Of course "famous photographers" have used fixed lens cameras and all other types of camera at times. David Burnett uses Holga's and Speed Graphics (of course with a 120n Holga you could buy 10 for $250 and just throw them away when they quit) That said he is not going to an assignment without his heavy duty prefessonal Canon DSLR's left at home.
 
nobuyoshi araki, mitch epstein, tod papageorge, mark steinmetz, jeffrey ladd, christian patterson, and annie leibovitz have used fixed lens fuji 6x9s for varying amounts of their work.
 
Terry Richardson uses fixed lens cameras. I saw pictures of Helmet Newton somewhere, using a small fixed lens camera.

Len Jenshel as well.
 
mfogiel said:
Mario Giacomelli has used the Kobell Press 6x8 camera with a Heliar lens most of his life:
http://www.fotografareblog.it/blocnotes/kobell-mario-giacomelli/

Also, Helmut Newton, among other cameras, has been using the Plaubel Makina 6x7 and a Fuji 645
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Plenty of pros were using the Makina 6x7 in the eighties and nineties. By then, 6x7 had succeeded sheet film as the minimum size required for double-page spreads in high print quality magazines, and until Mamiya released the 7, the Makina was the only truly portable device of that format (at least with a modern, high quality lens).

The Kobell Press was a variable lens camera, by the way - but perhaps no variable lens rangefinder, going by what I've read on it, its rangefinder seems to have been coupled to the standard lens only.
 
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