Do You Still Shoot RF Cameras On A Regular Basis?

gb hill

gb hill

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When I joined here in 06 it was all about RF Camera's. Times have progressed, especially for digital camera's. I know this type of thread has come up before but unless I've missed it, in August 2015 do you still shoot with a rangefinder camera on a regular bases or have you moved onward?

For me it's still my Bessa R & the first rf camera I bought, a Canonet QL17 GIII. I must say that last time I photographed the Spring Furniture Market I decided to use my Bessa L with 25/4. It was refreshing to just point & shoot, grabbing that "moment" shot as I ventured about. When the fall market comes in Oct. I will probably use the L & leave the R at home. So with that I can understand the freedom of fiddling with focus on a rf unless you are shooting with wides. My normal lens on my Bessa R is a 50mm for some reason.
 
I still use my Mamiya 6 a lot. I had to sell my Leicas last year to keep from losing the apartment I lived in after I missed a lot of work due to my health. I recently bought an SLR I have wanted for years, a Canon New F-1, and I have been shooting it a lot. I like it better than the Leicas!
 
I barely shoot anything else. I'm not a pro, though. But I shoot quite a lot on a daily basis. I guess, 90% of it are RF. That is, why I'm here. It is about rangefinders.

And contrary to what I'm reading in some threads here more and more often, I don't "fiddle around" with RF focus or have other problems with the character of RF shooting. I'm really fast with my RFs (but use mainly 35mm, almost exclusively). The experience of others may be different, but for me a RF is still the best and easiest shooting experience, even though I have a really good EVF/AF camera.
 
Starting a few years back I began to migrate away from Digital and back to film. Now I spend "about" 50% with RF's (Leica M3's) and "about" 50% with SLR's (Nikon, Canon.) On rare occasion I still use Digital to record things for an Estate Inventory or for night shots handheld.

I find it much more enjoyable to use film cameras, and especially my RF's. More nostalgic, more old world. Although it is really the same between Digital and Film to evaluate and create a shot and decide what shutter speed and aperture to use, it is just more rewarding for me to click that shutter and wind that film.
 
I tend to rotate among systems based on Nikon FG, Leica M4, and 8x10, often sticking on one for months at a time. For about a year I was stuck on 8x10, then felt I needed a lift a couple of weeks ago, and am currently shooting M4. That will probably change in a couple of weeks or months or a year, but I've learned not to sell anything, because I always eventually rotate back to cameras I thought I'd lost interest in.
 
gb hill said:
When I joined here in 06 it was all about RF Camera's. Times have progressed, especially for digital camera's. I know this type of thread has come up before but unless I've missed it, in August 2015 do you still shoot with a rangefinder camera on a regular bases or have you moved onward? ...
Click to expand...

Yes: Leica M-P typ 240 and M4-2 most often. Yesterday I did my shooting with a Voigtländer Perkeo II.

G
 
Like Krotenblender I only really shoot on Rangefinders, apart from the odd record shot on my iPhone. I prefer the whole rangefinder way of shooting and have a couple of Leica bodies and a Fuji GS645 Pro for medium format. Actually I also shoot on a Rollei 35 so I should add scale focus to that as well, although the Rollei has not seen much use recently. Shooting rangefinders is why I'm still drawn to RFF but I also enjoy the diversity here and the feeling that despite it being a rangefinder site its not exclusive and other types of camera are embraced too.
 
Still on 2x MPs and a Fujifilm GF670. An R4A and an R2 in the background. I don't like using SLRs much but I do like my Pentax 67, and have a rarely used Nikon FM3a too. I've recently been having fun with a Pentax MX and some russian lenses, but my heart is with the 2 MPs.
Pete
 
I shoot my Leica M4-2 daily.
Even on set taking behind the scenes photos.
While I use DSLRs for work, I use Leica M glass for video work.
 
Yes, a lot. A friend has lent me her Leica M-240 which I’ve used quite a bit the past few months. My film camera of choice since spring has been a Canon L1 rangefinder.

Jim B.
 
Yes, rangefinders every day for me too. A Leica M3 with B&W film, and an M9 for color. They share my lenses, although with the M3 it's mainly 50mm and 90mm, and the M9 is mainly 35mm or 50mm.
 
only a few RFs left here

only a few RFs left here

Got into photography professionally two years ago and the stuff I shoot and how I shoot it made me give up the rangefinders. My love affair with Leica was over anyway so I did not bother too much. Sold some stuff I really liked for disappointingly low prices so that surely was the end of it!

Rangefinders, I still own two Zeis Ikon Super Ikonta B cameras (the 532/16 type) but one needs repairs and has needed those for over a year so I might sell it to somebody who will actually have it repaired...
Also a Graflex 4.x5" Pacemaker Speed Graphic with a Kalart rangefinder but I always use the ground glass since the RF is not collimated with the lens I have on that camera.

A Horseman Convertible 6x7 camera, a three-lens Hasselblad kit, two FF DSLRs and two Rolleiflexes complete the line up.

The FF DSLRs get 90% of the work, the remaining 10% is the MF and LF gear.
 
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