Any fans of small cameras?

The Rollei 35 has always been a personal favorite. I never have to worry about a dead battery shutting me down. The Tessar is excellent, and it's always easy to carry in a bag, briefcase or coat pocket.

The later Tessars have excellent lens coating and are quite flare resistant.

Both taken with a Rollei 35 T in 1980 on Kodachrome 64. Ah, K25 and K64. The good old days ...

Morbach%20snow%20and%20sun.jpg

No filter or hood on the lens.

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There's a horse in the background. This is much nicer at 800 pixels.
 
I also have and like my XA. I also like my Welta Welti. Below is a comparison of the Welti, a Welta 6x6 and a Zeiss 6x9.

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Not an RF, and no auto exposure, but it is quite compact and easy to fit in a pocket.
 
I used to carry an Oly XA in my pocket whenever I didn't want to carry one of my larger cameras. Now, I pretty much have one with me all the time, regardless of what else I may or may not be carrying. Ray- when the shutter release gets dodgy, most of the time it just needs to be cleaned out and it'll work like new again. Great little cameras, so much so that I don't bother with other small 35mm's- even my Rollei sits collecting dust.
 
the contax t is the smallest most pocketable film cam ive seen. i carry it with me in the rain in my pants pocket--could be a pack of cigarettes, if you could find marlboro with a zeiss lens!
tony
 
I'm rather surprised no one has mentioned the Kodak Retinas or the Minolta Hi-matics ? Not digital camera tiny,but still small and solid enough.
Regards,Peter
 
Funny enough, a clean Kodak Retina IIa is among the cameras next on my list.
Speaking of folders, the Zeiss Ikon Nettar is a wonderful size, even though it is not a rangefinder. Unfortunately the one I bought had a gummy shutter I have not taken for servicing yet. One of those could slip into a coat pocket and produce medium format prints.
 
I've always liked to work with compact cameras, as long as I can get what I want out of them. In 35mm full-format film, the Rollei 35S, Minox 35GT-E, Olympus XA, and Ricoh GR1 have all been favorites, the Rollei 35S in particular.

Today I'm scanning two rolls of film, exposed with my Minox C and Minox EC ultraminiature cameras. Teensy tiny format, teensy tiny cameras. It's fun, and the quality can be terrific. One of my favorites from some years ago with the Minox:


Subway Ride - San Francisco 1999
Minox IIIS​

G
 
I love small cameras. As great as my SLR's are, you can't stick an EOS 5 or Minolta XG-1 in a jacket pocket. If I need a small, capable camera, I'll take a Minox 35. Positively tiny, fits every pocket and has great results - when it works properly. Another option is the Konica Big Mini 201.

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It's an autofocus, 35mm f3.5 lens with built in flash. Great little P&S camera. The only downside is: it's nowhere near stealth. The film advance sounds like a belt grinder and you can't delay it like on a manual camera. No stealth street photography with this one.
 
I have a Minox 35GL, and have another Minox on its way to me. Little jewels. I just wish they'd managed to incorporate a rangefinder across the top.

I'd love a Rollei, but it's never going to get to the top of the list...
 
I often use my Minox GT and now also an ML. These tiny cameras have sharp lenses. The Olympus XA is also a great little camera. The Olympus Pen S half frame camera has a sharp lens and is tiny. The Zeiss Tenax II is beautifully crafted, and it sports a Sonnar 40/2. It is a square format camera. The Contax T2 is also cool, and so is the Konica Auto S3.
 
Somehow I crave for a very small camera but in the end I always find that very small compromises usability. Or at least easy of use. If you have to take too much care where to put your fingers it ends being fun.

What I find more objectionale is weight. Today someone handed me an EOS 100D. Could hardly believe it. Almost as light as a small p&s.
 
I'm back on the Rollei 35 bandwagon now, and I actually think it's fairly uncompromised. If you have big hands, then maybe, but otherwise, the dials are pretty big and easy to use. It's fully manual too, bulb mode and everything.

The only obvious compromise for me is that it's scale focus, but even that is less of an issue than it might first appear. It's a 40mm lens, f/2.8 for my one, which when tapped into a DOF calculator shows more room for error than I would have guessed, except when you're very close up.
 
I'm a big fan of the original Olympus Pen. This camera is actually as big as and heavier than the XA series but has full manual control and the controls are easy to see and operate and I like the 3:4 aspect ratio of half frame. My oldest sample was made July/1960 and is still clicking away. The 28mm f3.5 D Zuiko fitted can be scale focused down to two feet and has an angle of view about the same as a 40mm lens on a full frame camera. The projected bright frame VF, when cleaned, is as good as my Leica M4-2.

My other small camera is a Minolta 16II, but of course that uses 16mm film with a negative size of 10X14mm. Real small negative but handy in some cases.
 
Another vote for the Vito B. very good value. Great build quality and they fit real nice in the hand. One of the first non SLR's that I bought. Still sees alot of use and I,ve added many cameras since.

A Barnack is my favourite small camera. I go for small alot, especially if I am also going to take an slr along. MF folders also make great second cameras for packing along.
 
Count me in as a fan of small cameras. Over the years it's been: Rollei 35, Olympus Pen, Olympus Pen S, Olympus Xa, Xa 2, and Leica IIIa with Industar 22. Currently, I shoot mostly medium format, usually with a Zenobia folder (which should definitely count as small for the format). Just today I got a yellow filter for my Retina Ia which is noticeably smaller than the Zenobia and the camera that keeps me shooting 35mm film.
 
To me Rollei 35S is as perfect as a 35mm compact camera could be - I even love the ergonomics quite a lot. Take a look at my signature you will know why ... 😀
 
farly I had a chance to get one for 25 bucks but there was a bit of fungus inside. The images look great, I had no idea it was capable of that sharpness it didnt feel all that solid in the hand. One day an elderly lady walked up to my driveway and asked about something I dont remember, we ended up chatting and cameras came up and a few days over she brought it over but I passed. ....
farlymac said:
My favorite small camera.


The Camera by br1078phot, on Flickr


Gone To Seed by br1078phot, on Flickr


Launch Pad by br1078phot, on Flickr

PF
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