scottgee1
RF renegade
A lot of people contributed to the original thread named in the subject line. I appreciate your input and want to follow-up.
As mentioned, I did indeed go to a local camera fair yesterday. It was a 'Photorama' show in Southfield, Michigan near Detroit. I've attended these shows for decades now (yikes!) and watched them grow to a pre-digital peak of ~100 dealers in a hall to the now 20 or so jammed into a hotel meeting room.
I was able to handle and compare a number of the models suggested in the original thread. Of course everything that follows is from my point of view and therefore reflects my opinion and biases. YMMV - 😉
Executive summary:
For sheer portability, nothing can really replace a 35mm RF kit. The M39 form factor combined with RF results in a much smaller kit than 50mm plus lens mounts and pentaprisms. Most of you probably already knew that; I apparently have to touch the stove to find out it's hot. 🙄
I was disappointed in almost all of the viewfinders. Most were dull and difficult to focus and/or offered a relatively small image. My recently sold Canon F1N probably spoiled me. Of course it was a tank with a superb screen and real glass pentaprism. And the R2 finder remains a delight.
Some exceptions surprised me. I was able to do side-by-side comparisons of an OM-G and an OM-2n. I was amazed at how much brighter and easy to focus the 'G' was. 50/1.8 lens on each, BTW. When I got home, I did some research and found out the 'G' has Lumi Micron (so-called '2' series) screen. Too bad those screens are so tough to get and pricey. What's weird is that I could buy the whole 'G' camera with that screen built in for about the price of the screen alone!
A couple Ricoh K-mounts offered a smaller viewing area than the Olympus models but were perhaps even easier to focus and brighter than the OM-G!
Also very nice was a Contax Aria, but I prefer manual advance to keep weight and noise down and allow me to advance film when I prefer. Sadly, that rules out all the Contax bodies. That and I remain concerned about future serviceability, legal requirements aside.
I couldn't find a single M42 that I liked. Most were of the 'heavier is better' school and the VFs were quite dark.
True to its design concept, the OM-2n had the quietest shutter and minimal vibration.
Honu-Hugger, I saw only one Alpa and it was a collector's model. An '11A' which the seller says was built for the postal service in Britain.
BTW, dealer Bill Moritz has a lot of Leica M and LTM gear. Unfortunately, he remains a bit of a low tech kind of guy and his Web site is only marginally helpful:
http://photomall1.com
but he's a nice guy. If you contact him tell him I already sent the Elan IIe manual to his customer. 😉
So, will I add a small 35mm SLR kit to my cabinet anyway? Perhaps, but I'll definitely do more hands on research first. In the meantime, I'll concentrate on improving my RF skills and enjoying the kit I have.
Thanks again for all the helpful input and suggestions. And sorry it didn't amount to more GAS. Well, I'm sorry but my bank account isn't. 😀
Cheers!/ScottGee1
As mentioned, I did indeed go to a local camera fair yesterday. It was a 'Photorama' show in Southfield, Michigan near Detroit. I've attended these shows for decades now (yikes!) and watched them grow to a pre-digital peak of ~100 dealers in a hall to the now 20 or so jammed into a hotel meeting room.
I was able to handle and compare a number of the models suggested in the original thread. Of course everything that follows is from my point of view and therefore reflects my opinion and biases. YMMV - 😉
Executive summary:
For sheer portability, nothing can really replace a 35mm RF kit. The M39 form factor combined with RF results in a much smaller kit than 50mm plus lens mounts and pentaprisms. Most of you probably already knew that; I apparently have to touch the stove to find out it's hot. 🙄
I was disappointed in almost all of the viewfinders. Most were dull and difficult to focus and/or offered a relatively small image. My recently sold Canon F1N probably spoiled me. Of course it was a tank with a superb screen and real glass pentaprism. And the R2 finder remains a delight.
Some exceptions surprised me. I was able to do side-by-side comparisons of an OM-G and an OM-2n. I was amazed at how much brighter and easy to focus the 'G' was. 50/1.8 lens on each, BTW. When I got home, I did some research and found out the 'G' has Lumi Micron (so-called '2' series) screen. Too bad those screens are so tough to get and pricey. What's weird is that I could buy the whole 'G' camera with that screen built in for about the price of the screen alone!
A couple Ricoh K-mounts offered a smaller viewing area than the Olympus models but were perhaps even easier to focus and brighter than the OM-G!
Also very nice was a Contax Aria, but I prefer manual advance to keep weight and noise down and allow me to advance film when I prefer. Sadly, that rules out all the Contax bodies. That and I remain concerned about future serviceability, legal requirements aside.
I couldn't find a single M42 that I liked. Most were of the 'heavier is better' school and the VFs were quite dark.
True to its design concept, the OM-2n had the quietest shutter and minimal vibration.
Honu-Hugger, I saw only one Alpa and it was a collector's model. An '11A' which the seller says was built for the postal service in Britain.
BTW, dealer Bill Moritz has a lot of Leica M and LTM gear. Unfortunately, he remains a bit of a low tech kind of guy and his Web site is only marginally helpful:
http://photomall1.com
but he's a nice guy. If you contact him tell him I already sent the Elan IIe manual to his customer. 😉
So, will I add a small 35mm SLR kit to my cabinet anyway? Perhaps, but I'll definitely do more hands on research first. In the meantime, I'll concentrate on improving my RF skills and enjoying the kit I have.
Thanks again for all the helpful input and suggestions. And sorry it didn't amount to more GAS. Well, I'm sorry but my bank account isn't. 😀
Cheers!/ScottGee1
