Canon (V)L series question - 'RF' setting

[Doddle]

Hello all, first time poster long time lurker here.

I'm new to rangefinders and because I want to explore a lot of focal lengths I think one of the L's or VL's would be right up my alley. My thinking is to stick to 1 body and use the hotshoe parallax correcting finders with all the lenses I plan to try out.

Since I have no way of knowing before buying though (no analog camera stores near me..), my question here is what the RF setting on these cameras actually do. Am I right in thinking that you just see the patch? How is the user experience, do you focus first and then frame? Is this cumbersome or does the extra magnification make up for it?

I guess one of the pitfalls of this hobby is that you never know for sure if the gear suits you until it shows up on your doorstep. But I hope someone out there can tell me a little bit about the practical use of these cameras.

Thanks,

Dan

 

[Gregm61]

The magnification option, to enlarge the image and make focusing easier. The magnified view also comes very close to approximating the view if you shoot with a 135mm lens.

https://cameraquest.com/crfvt.htm

 

[Steve M.]

You're correct in saying that you never know until the gear arrives how it will work out. It helps to do a lot of research on the web first, but there's no substitute for having it in your hands. Old rangefinders often present a series of age related problems which can become expensive if you have to send something out for repairs. Due to that, I would recommend something like a Bessa R. They're very dependable, nice cameras, that will take a truly huge amount of great lenses. The questions about focusing will be answered as soon as you have the camera. Keep in mind that not everyone takes to rangefinders. Some of us prefer SLR's for a lot of reasons, especially if you plan on shooting a lot of portraits, so don't tie up tons of money in stuff until you see if it suits you.

 

[davhill]

Hello, Doddle.
I admit I'm a little skeptical. You say you're new to rangefinders, know little about them, but want to explore lots of focal lengths. So I'm going to toss out some warnings, which you can observe or ignore at your pleasure.
(a) I admire that you find rangefinders to be fascinating, but they're quirky: You might like it, you might not, so the prior suggestion to "not tie up tons of money until you see if it suits" is a very important one.
(b) Rangefinders aren't terribly well suited to "lots of focal lengths"; SLRs are perfectly suited to that. A rangefinder's viewfinder is limited, RFs as a type are suited to a fairly close range of semi-wide to short-telephoto lenses, and each particular camera has its own set of ideal focal lengths. A Canon P, for instance, is setup for 35, 50 and 100, but outside of that you really need the auxiliary finders you mentioned-- they work well but you lose some of the natural facility of a rangefinder. You need to focus first through the body finder, then frame the shot in the aux finder.
(c) Lots of lenses: Apart from cost, this gear is somewhat of a crapshoot to find, and you magnify that if you're set on building a large collection of lenses. These Canon RF lenses are 50+ years old, and they show it in various forms of wear, issues with lubrication, fog, fungus, and internal faults. Pristine copies exist, but you'll pay dearly. Newer lenses (e.g. Voigtlander) exist in LTM, but they're costly. Older lenses can be relubricated and some faults corrected, but service is also expensive.

I don't wish to talk you OUT of what you've planned... just to ensure you're walking into this with eyes wide open. After all, WE like this rangefinder stuff, or we wouldn't be here. We use this gear, and love it. This gear isn't perfect, no more than any other camera type is perfect .. its just fits in a niche we (I) like. My suggestion is in line with SteveM .. explore the field, and see what suits you. Remember that old gear is seldom cheap in the long run. Find a good body with a lens or two, get it serviced, and go on from there. And best luck to you 🙂

Dave,
Boston

 

[Peter Jennings]

Canon V series is good, but I'd look for a VI series instead. They have bigger, more comfortable viewfinders and metal curtains that won't deteriorate like the old silk ones. I had a VI-L and preferred it to all the other late-series Canon rangefinders (I tried them all). The auto-parallax-correcting auxiliary finders were excellent, too.

On the VI series, the Rf setting is more properly labeled Mg (Magnification). It does help with fine focussing when you need it.