Bye-bye, rangefinder

[Issy]

Thanks for all of your support, guys. I think I'll stay for a little while longer 🙂

No where does it say you have to own or shoot an RF to participate in this group; there is a wealth of knowledge here regardless.

My primary image-taker is a SLR, but I also own a few rangefinders -- nothing wrong with seeing how the other half lives. 🙂

 

[dexdog]

No reason to say goodbye to the group. I grew up using SLRs, and while they are my native operating system and most commonly used form of photography, I use rangefinders because they force me to look at photography in an entirely different way. For me, RFs are a more deliberate/contemplative mode of photograpghy, because I use handheld meters instead of the onboard meters and AE, because it takes me longer to focus, and because of having to consider parallax in the framing of the shot. I think that very fact that I have to think harder about what I am doing dramatically influences the pic I take. I like RFs because I get results that are different than what I shoot with my SLRs( film and digital). I really like classic RFs, and love this site, but I would never abandon one for the other. OTOH, I would be very tempted if anyone ever came out with a digital Canon P.

dexdog

 

[dhartse]

I bought a Canonet QL17 GIII a couple of months ago. It was akward at first, and I gave it some time, thinking I'd eventually get used to, and (hopefully) enjoy shooting with it. Well, a good amount of time has passed, and I hate how it feels in my hands, and I hate the lack of manual control. Also I know my SLRs like the back of my hand, and I prefer the little extra bulk they have. I realize that I could buy a manual RF, but I'm getting more and more into paintball, and I'm surviving off of $10 a week allowance due to the lack of lawns to mow. Goodbye, RFF, I have enjoyed my time here.

Why not sell the QL17 and use the money toward a different rangefinder? It doesn't sound like your problem is with rangefinders in general, just the QL17 in particular. At least you didn't mention the RANGEFINDER among the things you didn't like about the QL17. And hey, summer is just a few months away now, hang in there!

Duane

 

[rovnguy]

It seems there's always a turd in the grass somewhere.

 

[celluloidprop]

The Canonet takes some getting used to if you have big hands (or if your first cameras were modern SLRs with their built-in grips - how is this a feature that took 40 years to become standard?!). I often find myself wishing that a side-grip existed to give me a little more space, but it's not unusable.

 

[ed1k]

I'm happy with my damn cheap Kiev-4M. It's fully manual camera. And I like sound of shutter; for some reason that's important for me. When I need a needle showing "right" exposure in viewfinder I use my Nikon FM3a though I don't like the harsh "clack" of this not worst in the world shutter. Due to lack of bodies in my arsenal I used to shoot with primarily SLR body and RF for different film; I found such combination very difficult to operate and can't suggest this approach, especially if you don't feel comfortable with GIII. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages. Maybe you want to try different rangefinder. In fact, to get RF quality with long exposures handheld you need an SLR with MLU. And with MLU it's not just "blink" in viewfinder. Oh hell, this list is very long...
Good luck and maybe later you will be back to RF (of course, if you'll continue practise traditional photography).
Eduard.
P.S. Actually I wanted to say I feel comfortable with some SLRs, and I think many different SLR cameras are garbage. Though I have to admit different people have different preferences and like those different SLR and moreover they think I prefer worst SLRs in a class. The same is true for RF cameras.

 

[wlewisiii]

My own $0.02 is that the Canonet is a very fine camera - a great lens, good meter & fits into most pockets nicely. I also hated using it & sold mine quite quickly. And when I found a black one cheap, I resold it for a good price without even putting a test roll through it because I disliked using them that much. Probably could have gotten alot more for it if I could have proven it was good, but the displeasure of using it was greater than my greed.

My hands are not terribly big but my fingers are relativly long. As a result, using the QL17 was an exercise in frustration for me. I'm finding that the same issue is plaguing my use of my Leica CL and may well decide to sell it off as a result. For me, and I emphasize the _me_ part, a larger camera is more ergonomically acceptable. I dearly love the way my Canon 7 fits in my hands and no one is going to mistake it for one of the smaller of the RF breed... 😀 With my Luigi case that has a built in side-grip, it's even easier for me to use.

Just a wordy way to say that there may well be a RF camera that is a better fit for you. Now, you may well find that it's the RF paradigm that is in your way. Could easily be, this way of seeing is not for everyone. But just as not everyone is well suited to either a Canon, Nikon or Olympus SLR, so too, not everyone is suited to the same RF camera. Stick around and try a few others. If nothing else, around here you'll get your investment back... 😉

William

 

[ush]

because you're now in paintball stuff, what about a trade ?
your canon for an automag ?

 

[Richard Black]

Many of us have photographed weddings and will recommend back up equipment, if no other reason than having it loaded an ready to go when your main camera runs out. I like to use a r/f at weddings loaded with TriX or other fast black and white. Meter the light once and your ready for the evening. And most brides like the black and white candids of the reception. Good luck!

 

[AsahiPentax]

Many of us have photographed weddings and will recommend back up equipment, if no other reason than having it loaded an ready to go when your main camera runs out. I like to use a r/f at weddings loaded with TriX or other fast black and white. Meter the light once and your ready for the evening. And most brides like the black and white candids of the reception. Good luck!

I have two slrs that I will be carrying with me. Thanks a lot, I'll try my best 🙂

because you're now in paintball stuff, what about a trade ?
your canon for an automag ?

If that was a PMag I would trade you, because I like to play pump-action. I'm all set with semi-auto; already have my Tippmann A5. Thank you for your offer and I hope you sell it soon

 

[Penguin_101]

I have two slrs that I will be carrying with me. Thanks a lot, I'll try my best 🙂

Just out of curiosity, what slr system do you have?

Edit: Is it Asahi Pentax? I really feel smart now. :bang: 😉

 

[AsahiPentax]

Just out of curiosity, what slr system do you have?

Edit: Is it Asahi Pentax? I really feel smart now. :bang: 😉

That's okay 😀
I have a Pentax *ist with 28-200mm Sigma AF and a Pentax ME Super with a 50mm

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

Actually - Have you joined over at DSLRxchange? You can post imagesfrom your Pentax *st and I know that Bill Mattock, also a Pentax *istuser, is a member there as well.

 

[NoTx]

Many of us have photographed weddings and will recommend back up equipment, if no other reason than having it loaded an ready to go when your main camera runs out. I like to use a r/f at weddings loaded with TriX or other fast black and white. Meter the light once and your ready for the evening. And most brides like the black and white candids of the reception. Good luck!

Recomend is too light a word... I shot one wedding where I actually ran out of power with all three cameras. I am now getting an M6TTL... and I have a light meter🙂

It was actually kinda freakish. But equipment had been moving around, and not all was mine. Funny though, it was the formal bridal portraits, AFTER the reception that were finished... take the last shot and my camera turned off. I was SO LUCKY!

So, um, not just backups, if you borrow gear, get used to ALL of it before using it.

 

[dmr]

GIII's operate in manual. The meter doesn't. But, it's no biggie to pick up a cheap handheld meter.

At the risk of sounding like devil's advocate here, there is one shortcoming with the GIII that does bother me, and that is the lack of a match-needle mode. It's either all auto, or dumb as a rock. 🙁 And, I agree that carrying along a meter is a pain.

I've learned to live with it, though, and if it had this one feature, it would be very close to being what I'd call the ideal camera.

Last night I was shooting some urban scenes right at dusk. Complex lighting made up of twilight and afterglow in the sky, street lights, shop lights, vehicle lights, etc. In a few places I knew that if I let the auto exposure do its thing, it would be bad, so I noted what the meter said, took the camera away from my eye, set the exposure to what I really wanted, recomposed, and shot. Not convenient, but workable. Sometimes I can just move the framing to a lighter or darker area, trap the meter, and recompose and shoot. Again, messy.

However, when I think of the choice -- the GIII or the Pentax -- the GIII is much easier to focus in low light under those conditions. It would have been worse trying to use the SLR. Plus, the >>>THWACK<<< of the mirror would have cost me an f-stop for sure. It's much more reliable handholding the GIII at 1/30 and even at 1/15 than the Pentax.

 

[NoTx]

I always bring spare new batteries for everything, along with a spare of everything. I did a wedding ceremony yesterday morning. Thank God it lasted less than one hour! 😎

I do too... but NEVER trust the other person when they say they are charged.... and I only brought spare for digital, and my COntax had finally had enough too...

 

[Kin Lau]

If you're used to needle-match metering, then the Bessa R is a good body to try. Very easy to focus in low light, fully mechanical and an over/under light just like the ME Super. Size wise, they're both about the same but the Pentax is heavier.

 

[AsahiPentax]

Actually - Have you joined over at DSLRxchange? You can post imagesfrom your Pentax *st and I know that Bill Mattock, also a Pentax *istuser, is a member there as well.

I suppose it couldn't hurt. Only problem is I don't own a digital slr, let alone any kind of digital camera.
My *ist is the less-popular film version 😉

 

[jamiewakeham]

My *ist is the less-popular film version 😉

Good lad 😉

As others have said, there's really no reason to leave us, even if that GIII passes from you to another.

I'd second (third? fourth?) the suggestion to take along plenty of spare cameras to the wedding, and I think I'd sugest that at least one was a rangefinder, just becausee they're so much easier to focus in the dark. Last couple of weddings I did, I used a pair of SLRs most of the time, but my Zorki with I/61 stayed with me all night long. I was particularly glad of this when my EOS ran out of battery just as they cut the cake...

You shooting B&W or colour?

Good luck!
Jamie

 

[AsahiPentax]

Good lad 😉

As others have said, there's really no reason to leave us, even if that GIII passes from you to another.

I'd second (third? fourth?) the suggestion to take along plenty of spare cameras to the wedding, and I think I'd sugest that at least one was a rangefinder, just becausee they're so much easier to focus in the dark. Last couple of weddings I did, I used a pair of SLRs most of the time, but my Zorki with I/61 stayed with me all night long. I was particularly glad of this when my EOS ran out of battery just as they cut the cake...

You shooting B&W or colour?

Good luck!
Jamie

I'll be shooting in color and converting some images to B&W digitally if needed