Did any brand ever make a camera like this?

[citizen99]

There's a handy list here which may include some with at least partial compliance to your specification. (I've actually got the one heading that list - the Ilford Advocate. Quirky design by the standards that came to predominate, but with decent Wray or Dallmeyer lenses if f/3.5 or 4.5 is fast enough for you, and if you don't need sub-1/25 speeds and a conventional flash socket.)

However it's noticeable that those from the 'pre-electric' era tend to be bulkier than the 1970s ones.
That said, I've seen some impressive results posted here for the Olympus Wide Super.

I expect you've already researched whether any f=35mm 1970s-on ones can operate with batteries removed, I've nothing to add from any personal knowledge on that.

Good luck anyway.

EDIT :- I've just seen the similar comments above posted whilst I was composing this - converging on a concensus 😉 ?

 

[ZeissFan]

This question seems to come up every few months.

Olympus 35 RC comes to mind, but if you step back into the 1950s, you have a lot of offerings, including many from Germany.

The little folding Zeiss Ikon Contina II has all manual exposure and a sharp 45mm Tessar or Novar lens with an uncoupled rangefinder. The folding and rigid Contessas have the same 45mm Tessar lens, a selenium meter that might or might not work, and rangefinder focusing. The folding Ikonta/Contina had a Tessar or Novar and no rangefinder and no meter.

There weren't a lot of fixed-lens rangefinders with 35mm lenses because these were intended for the general public, and a "normal" lens usually was selected. Camera makers wanted to sell cameras and a lot of them and not cater to a specialty market in a time when household incomes were restricted.

Olympus seemed to make most of them - the Wide-S and the XA come to mind. Until the electronic era, I can't think of many all-manual rangefinders with wide angle lenses.

If you don't mind 40mm, the little Rollei 35 is an awesome camera.

 

[B-9]

Ricoh 500ST

No RF
Manual speed and Aperture setting (does have A mode with batteries)
Nifty VF with bright lines
Very light, compact.
Accepts the Rare Ricoh Motor winder/clockwork winder.

Really though, there are so many ways to get what you want. Just pick one and run.

 

[Solinar]

There's a handy list here which may include some with at least partial compliance to your specification.

That is a nice list of fixed lens 35mm cameras with wide-angle lenses.

http://corsopolaris.net/supercameras/35mmwide/wide.html

I now have it in my book-marks.

Best Regards,

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Well, thanks everyone... Most recommendations here don't even meet the requirements...
Looks like there are close to zero options if the lens (I want) has to be 35mm...
By the way, I already use a Barnack, and four Bessas, with 28, 35 and 40mm lenses (just to name the ones I got close to 35) and I enjoy my HexarAF and my OlyXA too (both 35), but I just imagined there were lots of 35mm fixed lens cameras to pick a really compact and light one without rangefinder, for manual and scale shooting for students...
I guess there's no option at all... Most of the cameras made back then have lenses in the 40mm range (and sometimes 40mm lenses are even longer than 40) and in the unusual case of the Yashica CC, it's a shame that fast 35 must be used with AE only... And if there's any older option, again it's not compact and it's not light: they're horrible or bulky...
I use mostly my 28 and 35 lenses/cameras, and with 28 I feel a bit wide sometimes, while with a 40 scale focusing is a lot less comfortable than with a 35, and that's why I wanted a 35mm lens only, and it's that photographic reason, important and practical IMO, the reason I can't understand those cameras were not made...
Maybe real photographers always liked a heavy Leica... 🙂
Honestly for a 35mm lens I enjoy a lot more my lighter HexarAF and BessaT.
I'll stop searching because it seems that's as good as it gets in my case.
Thanks again.
Cheers,
Juan

 

[tunalegs]

I've used scale focusing with the 110mm lens on my Foldex without any issue. The idea that it is too hard to focus a 40mm or 45mm lens without some sort of aid is an exaggeration. Especially when you've got a leaf shutter camera that's only going to have a 1/300 or 1/500 top shutter speed anyway. Just don't take close up photos at night and you'll have enough DOF to make it work.

I've seen very nice results from the Walz and Olympus 35 cameras. Although they are not much smaller than a typical 1950s RF. I'm about to test a Welmy 35, but it is of dubious quality and actually quite large.

The Smena 8m is a decent choice despite being quite cheesy, it does have a nice lens. Also they're easy to find and less collectible than the older Japanese 35s. A lot of nominally 35 lenses are a bit longer in reality so the difference in angle of view between 35s and 40s is often minimal if not negligible.

 

[Dante_Stella]

Well, thanks everyone... Most recommendations here don't even meet the requirements...
Looks like there are close to zero options if the lens (I want) has to be 35mm...

Juan, your major difficulty in the specs is the battery - and even taking the relatively battery-hungry Hexar AF (which in my experience is the best performer of everything mentioned or suggested), the bulk of an extra 6V lithium battery is dwarfed by the bulk of the 40-50 rolls of film it will shoot.

Dante

 

[nongfuspring]

Well, thanks everyone... Most recommendations here don't even meet the requirements...
Looks like there are close to zero options if the lens (I want) has to be 35mm... again it's not compact and it's not light: they're horrible or bulky...

Yeah, seems kind of a bit typical of this forum sometimes - when someone asks for cheap rangefinder suggestions someone will suggest an M6, or when someone asks for a small SLR suggestions you get people recommending a nikon f5.

That said, there aren't close to zero options, there are quite a few. The Olympus Wide, Wide-S, and presumably some of the other cameras suggested are pretty compact (comparable to the Canon QL17) and in my opinion almost always gorgeous. The main issue is they tend to have been made in small numbers and not always that easy to come across.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

I've used scale focusing with the 110mm lens on my Foldex without any issue. The idea that it is too hard to focus a 40mm or 45mm lens without some sort of aid is an exaggeration...
...the difference in angle of view between 35s and 40s is often minimal if not negligible.

Hi,
Maybe I wasn't clear enough: more than scale focusing I meant prefocus for street shooting, where not focusing at all can sometimes mean getting the shot instead of missing it, and where to my liking most interesting photographs show subjects close to camera (1-5 meters)... That's a range that's hard to keep covered all the time without focusing, with a lens longer than a 35mm one. At least you have to agree doing it with a longer lens is harder, and more photographs will be out of focus or will require focusing... Simple optical laws... The difference in angle of view is not negligible: that's why apart from 35mm lenses, 28 and 40 ones are made, even by the same brand, and even during the same years...
I respect your opinion if it's the same for you, but mine is if I give students the option of trying prefocusing, they'll find it really useful if they discover it with a 28 or a 35, instead of the much more limited results a 40 or a 50 give.
Cheers,
Juan

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Yeah, seems kind of a bit typical of this forum sometimes - when someone asks for cheap rangefinder suggestions someone will suggest an M6, or when someone asks for a small SLR suggestions you get people recommending a nikon f5.

That said, there aren't close to zero options, there are quite a few. The Olympus Wide, Wide-S, and presumably some of the other cameras suggested are pretty compact (comparable to the Canon QL17) and in my opinion almost always gorgeous. The main issue is they tend to have been made in small numbers and not always that easy to come across.

Manual, compact and light, with a 35mm lens, none... I wish there were quite a few as you say... The Wide and Wide S have a 35mm lens but they're close to 60 years old now, and those are heavy cameras compared to more compact ones.

By the way, here's a link to a PDF I just saw for the first time, with lots of Olympus cameras for anyone interested:
http://lens-club.ru/public/files/pdfs/90a6c25244851056c38ee164e013b3f1.pdf
Cheers,
Juan

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Juan, your major difficulty in the specs is the battery - and even taking the relatively battery-hungry Hexar AF (which in my experience is the best performer of everything mentioned or suggested), the bulk of an extra 6V lithium battery is dwarfed by the bulk of the 40-50 rolls of film it will shoot.

Dante

Hi Dante,
I'm sorry: I think I don't understand what you're saying...
Apart from the cameras and lenses I own, it seems if I want to recommend -to my students- a small, light, low sound compact camera for prefocusing, I'll have to pick one from cameras with lenses a bit longer than 35mm, or, teach them on digital cameras, or lend them mine...
Thanks!
Cheers,
Juan

 

[tunalegs]

Hi,
Maybe I wasn't clear enough: more than scale focusing I meant prefocus for street shooting, where not focusing at all can sometimes mean getting the shot instead of missing it, and where to my liking most interesting photographs show subjects close to camera (1-5 meters)... That's a range that's hard to keep covered all the time without focusing, with a lens longer than a 35mm one. At least you have to agree doing it with a longer lens is harder, and more photographs will be out of focus or will require focusing... Simple optical laws... The difference in angle of view is not negligible: that's why apart from 35mm lenses, 28 and 40 ones are made, even by the same brand, and even during the same years...
I respect your opinion if it's the same for you, but mine is if I give students the option of trying prefocusing, they'll find it really useful if they discover it with a 28 or a 35, instead of the much more limited results a 40 or a 50 give.
Cheers,
Juan

How about handing them a bunch of disposable cameras? Or one of the cousins of the Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim.

 

[Greyscale]

Altissa Altix V or Altix N or a Braun Super II/Super Paxette are both tiny interchangeable lens cameras with available 35mm lenses. They are smaller than most of the compact fixed-lens rangefinders from the '70's and '80's.

 

[splitimageview]

Your original post didn't mention anything about acquiring these for students. How many are there?

I recently consulted with a school who was putting together an after-school program for film photography. It was fairly easy acquiring multiple identical 1970's era SLRs in top working order (16 units to be exact.)

This would be a tall order for any compact fixed lens RF from the same era. Nearly all of them, unless they've been recently serviced, are going to have gummed up seals at the very least. And many of them are going to have lots of other issues, such as sticky shutter blades or other problems.

Some compromise is in order if a 70s era compact is the goal, either with regards to AE, RF or focal length.

 

[JustPlainBill]

Hi,
The Minox 35 GL or one of the other two Minox 35 models have a scale focusing 35 mm lens.
JustPlainBill

 

[Sparrow]

if you could go to 45mm you could try a 1961 Yashica J

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I'm extremely surprised that nobody has (completely) mentioned the Canonet QL-17. Fixed lens, "fast" aperture, can be used without any battery on in "manual" mode. Meets all your requirements (and more).

 

[Bingley]

The Canonet is a nice camera but it has a 40mm lens. I thought the OP was looking for a 35mm lens instead.

 

[Archlich]

Manual, compact and light, with a 35mm lens, none... I wish there were quite a few as you say... The Wide and Wide S have a 35mm lens but they're close to 60 years old now, and those are heavy cameras compared to more compact ones.

By the way, here's a link to a PDF I just saw for the first time, with lots of Olympus cameras for anyone interested:
http://lens-club.ru/public/files/pdfs/90a6c25244851056c38ee164e013b3f1.pdf
Cheers,
Juan

I weighed my Canon QIII GL17, 620 grams. Olympus RD, 515 grams.

The Olympus Wide-S, 650 grams. The Olympus Wide, 540 grams. I don't think they are either heavy or large.

Some of the cameras listed in the first page here (http://corsopolaris.net/supercameras/35mmwide/wide.html) are really small and meet all your needs. Won't be easy to acquire in quantities though.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

The Canonet is a nice camera but it has a 40mm lens. I thought the OP was looking for a 35mm lens instead.

Thanks.
Well, most cameras here recommended are longer than 35mm, or AutoExposure. And 600 grams cameras are heavy for young students: a Minox or an Olympus XA weigh a third of that...
I see two real options, but none manual, with 35mm lens, and light.
My best compact option -if I don't go with a 40mm lens instead of a 35mm one- is the XA... It's not manual, but at least it has a useful fast +1.5 for white walls or light sources, and it's very light and compact.
The second option is giving up with 35mm lenses: it would be the Rollei 35SE, with a 40mm lens... That would educate in a better way because it can be used manually, just picking speeds without checking metering information.
Bigger standard RF's with a common 35mm lens are a heavier, more expensive and dangerous set for streets in Colombia.
Thanks for all the comments.
Cheers,
Juan