Best entry level rangefinder

[oftheherd]

Bringing back old memories. I went to Japan 12 years ago and took only the Petri (forgot my Nikon F3HP). Took about 30 rolls of Kodachrome. Everyone thought my slides were from the Nikon. A great little camera.

I've never understood why that little camera doesn't get more notice here. The whole Petri line seems quite ignored. I wouldn't trade my Fujica for one, but they did make a nice enough camera for the price as I recall. Anyway, the Computer 35 is a nice little camera to have around. And I like aperture preferred auto exposure.

 

[David Murphy]

Salad Tounge: One of the best places to buy rangefinders in the world is off the Classified Section right here on this Web site. The sellers here are mostly trusted members, and the prices are very reflective of the value of what's being sold. If you wait long enough you will find all popular models from the basic to very advanced.

That being said, I'd recommend either a Bessa R or a Canon 7 body with a Jupiter 8 lens as a starter set. These are easy to use and reliable system cameras that offer a good deal of expandability. Of the two, the Bessa R is the most foolproof. This combo should cost $160-230 if you're a patient buyer.

When you get something going, please start a thread with some sample pics and tell us about it. Good luck!

 

[Salad Tounge]

South of England

South of England

South of England

 

[Sandwick]

Salad Tounge: I might be able to help, I've sent you a PM (I'm in North Yorkshire).

 

[sweathog]

Salad Tongue, if you're near Eastbourne, we could meet up, I can show you a few that have been talked about here (Bessa R, QL17, Electro) if you're interested.

 

[wolves3012]

Some questions that have not been asked:

What features do you want or need? Will fixed-lens be ok or do you want interchangeable? Will you want auto-features like exposure or focus or do you want fully manual? Do you want a built-in light meter or want to try your hand at metering/guesswork?